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African American Leadership (AAL) Scholarship

Since its inception, AAL’s focus has been high school graduation. We are pleased to now be able to further our work and assist students with the next vital step through our AAL scholarships. 

The Merl F. Code Scholarship is returning to award eight local students with $5,000 scholarships for the 2024–2025 academic year.

Scholarship Criteria:

  • Be an African American high school senior graduating in 2024 and a resident of Greenville County
  • Plan to pursue a degree, certification or trade at an accredited institution
  • Carry a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale
  • Participate in extracurricular or volunteer activities, or have work experience

Scholarship Information:

  • One-time $5,000 scholarship
  • Allowable use of funds:
    • Tuition
    • Books
    • Program Supplies
    • Other financial needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis
  • Funds will be released directly to the institution the student is attending. If a student is awarded funds for books or other program supplies, United Way staff will make separate arrangements with the student.
  • Upon being awarded a scholarship, the recipient will have the option to be paired with an AAL member as a mentor. The mentor/mentee commitment is for six months and will include semi-monthly communication (at a minimum), as well as paired attendance at three development workshops.

Required Documents:

  • Unofficial transcript
  • Two Letters of Recommendation (must be current) – Please ask references to address one or more of the following:
    • Leadership taken by student
    • Examples of student overcoming an obstacle
    • Community service, extracurricular activities, or work experience
  • Personal Statement (minimum of 1,000 words, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt, 1-inch margins) – Write an essay sharing the reason for pursuing your educational path, your career goals and how the scholarship will assist you in achieving them. Discuss any obstacles that you have overcome, indicating how each has impacted your life.

APPLY NOW

This application will close on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024.

AAL Scholarship Application

Name(Required)
Gender
Address(Required)
Do you live in Greenville County?(Required)
MM slash DD slash YYYY
Annual household income (before taxes)(Required)
Do you receive SNAP benefits?(Required)
Max. file size: 64 MB.
Do you have a 3.0 or higher G.P.A.?(Required)
Have you received an official acceptance letter from this institution?(Required)
Max. file size: 64 MB.
Max. file size: 64 MB.
Max. file size: 64 MB.
Write an essay sharing the reason for pursuing your educational path, your career goals and how the scholarship will assist you in achieving them. Discuss any obstacles that you have overcome, indicating how each has impacted your life. Statement must be 500-1,000 words, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt, 1-inch margins.
By adding my signature and checking all of the following boxes, I am indicating that I have read and fully understand the following:(Required)

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