Niche College Scholarship
Updated: June 26, 2023

2008 Winners

$1,000 Scholarships.com Engineering Scholarship Award Winner

Samantha W.
Centerville, IA

Sam is pursuing her Associate of Arts degree at Indian Hills Community College and hopes to transfer to a four-year school where she can major in Graphic Design and English. When she isn’t working or studying, she enjoys reading, writing, and catching up with her friends.

Get matched to Scholarships that fit you. Find Scholarships Now. Completely free. Vetted college scholarships

"I put off applying for scholarships for months because I didn’t know where to start. I was intimidated by the enormity of the task; I didn’t know where to look or how to sift through the thousands of scholarships available. But Scholarships.com made the process simple by tailoring search results and e-mail notifications for scholarships to fit my qualifications. I’m excited to have won this scholarship, and I’ll definitely continue using this site as I attempt to pay for my college education."

- Samantha

Read Samantha's Winning Essay

shrt

$1,000 Scholarships.com Engineering Scholarship Award Winner

Kristen S.
Chagrin Falls, OH

Kristen is a high school senior at Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio and will graduate in May of 2009. She is looking forward to finishing the college application process that seems to overwhelm first semester of senior year. Her college choices include OSU, Penn State, Purdue, UVA, BU, Syracuse, University of Miami in Coral Gables FL, SLU, and Notre Dame in South Bend. She plans to study aeronautical engineering. Outside of school, Kristen participates in dance, drama, varsity swimming, and competitive debate. While Kristen’s favorite subjects have always been physics and math, she fostered a desire to become an engineer outside of the classroom. Fifteen years of ballet, out of control science fair projects, and countless hours watching her father, also an engineer influenced her decision to pursue engineering.

"Scholarships.com was a simple solution to the seemingly insurmountable problem of paying for college. The website was easy to use and understand. Scholarships that could be particularly applicable to a student were immediately apparent and could be accessed without difficulty."

- Kristen

Read Kristen's Winning Essay

shrt

$1,000 Scholarships.com Education Scholarship Award Winner

Crystal J.
Whitewater, WI
University of Wisconsin

Crystal is currently working toward her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. After graduation she plans to spend her life convincing others of the importance of literacy. In other words, she will teach. Crystal believes that the written word holds more power than anything else. She believes that words change lives and that only through education can we truly expand our minds and make sense of our world. She currently works in the tutorial center at the university and spends most of her time either there, in class or at the office where she is completing my internship.

"College has given me a wider lens from which I have learned to view the world. Unfortunately, it is a very expensive lens. Scholarships.com makes paying for college a little easier by offering so many great opportunities to students who are willing to take them. Up until I stumbled upon Scholarships.com the scholarship hunting process was daunting at best. This site made it both accessible and efficient to apply for scholarship opportunities; by taking into account your specific needs and interests and then mapping out a comprehensive list of the scholarship opportunities most suited for you. Thanks so much!"

- Crystal

Read Crystal's Winning Essay

shrt

$1,000 Scholarships.com Computer Science Scholarship Award Winner

Samantha F.
Elkton, MD
University of Maryland, College Park

The primary reason Samantha attended UMD was because it had over one hundred majors. Luckily she found her niche in computer science and economics. Currently, Samantha is working to create a mathematical model that can predict transitions in a system like our atmosphere.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when I read your email. I have applied to so many scholarships in the past, but have never won any! Plus, this good news could not have come at a better time. It is a great honor to for me to have my essay chosen as the winner for the College Computer Science Scholarship. I sincerely thank you and everyone involved in the awarding process."

- Samantha

Read Samantha's Winning Essay

shrt

$1,000 Scholarships.com Design Scholarship Award Winner

Darby T.
Sherman, TX
Savannah College of Art and Design

Darby is pursuing a career in design by attending the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her first design class challenged her in a way that was invigorating and inspiring. Darby's major allows her to study everything she loves –art, psychology, anthropology- while giving her the satisfaction of applying her knowledge in a way that benefits people. When she needs an outlet for more expressive art without constraints, Darby works as a freelance artist, or plays the cello.

"As a busy student, hunting scholarships was a task that was difficult to fit into my demanding schedule. Scholarships.com made it easy by narrowing opportunities to fit my needs and interests. I could spend less time hunting for scholarships and more time creating quality entries. I would still be in the dark about so many scholarships if it weren’t for this great site."

- Darby

Read Darby's Winning Essay

shrt

$1,000 Scholarships.com Culinary Arts Scholarship Award Winner

Sarah G.
Oak Park, IL
Kendall College

Sarah is returning to college for a degree in Culinary Arts after getting a BA in English at Cornell College in Iowa. Her dream is to one day open a restaurant that not only serves delicious, healthy food from local sustainable sources, but also helps to educate and promote environmentalism in its customers. She hopes to organize trips to restore prairie at the nearby Morton Arboretum, invite speakers to the restaurant for evening events, and, if she has the space, even grow her own garden to produce some of her own ingredients.

Read Sarah's Winning Essay

shrt

$1,000 Scholarships.com Business Scholarship Award Winner

Aaron I.
Pittsburgh, PA
University of Pittsburgh

Aaron recently retired from a nine year career as a professional classical ballet dancer with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Ballet has been a wonderfully fulfilling dream job for Aaron, and has cultivated his keen interest in travel. He attended school part time while dancing and is returning full time as a junior, simultaneously pursuing a degree in History and Finance.

"Since registering with Scholarships.com I have found a number of scholarships and grants for which I am eligible including the Scholarships.com Business Scholarship, the Seabee Memorial Scholarship, and the Union Plus Scholarship. Scholarshps.com utilizes an intuitive search that makes it easy to find scholarships that are appropriate to me. I will continue to use the service throughout my schooling with the goal of graduating loan free!"

- Aaron

Read Aaron's Winning Essay