Quick Highlights:
- New Hampshire has one of the best median-income-to-tuition ratios in the nation.
- Adding room and board costs can more than double the total cost of attending college.
- Scholarships in New Hampshire help bridge the gap between family contributions and tuition costs.
- Scholarship programs are available based on financial need, academic merit, and specific fields of study.
New Hampshire college students and their families might be relieved to learn that their state has one of the best median-income-to-tuition ratios in the nation. Even so, the typical cost of full-time enrollment at a public university in the Granite State exceeds $14,500 on average. When the cost of room and board is added in, costs can more than double. That means many students must find ways to fund their educational pursuits that don’t result in a significant amount of student debt upon graduation.
Scholarship programs in New Hampshire help fill the gap between a family’s expected contribution and their ability to pay for the high cost of tuition. With programs based on financial need, academic merit, and even a student’s specific course of study, there’s a program for every student looking to make college a bit easier to afford.
1. New Hampshire Society of Professional Engineers Scholarship
Designated specifically for New Hampshire students who are studying an engineering field, these college scholarships are offered by the New Hampshire Society of Professional Engineers each year. The organization typically receives about 45 applicants from a pool of students across the state and chooses three winners of the $1,000 scholarship each spring.
Though the award is not renewable, students are eligible to apply every year as long as they’re enrolled in an undergraduate program. Student achievement, academic merit, and recent community involvement are all considered when issuing these three awards.
2. The New Hampshire County Farm Bureau Scholarship Program
Though New Hampshire might not be identified as an agriculture state by outsiders, the industry is quite big in the state. The New Hampshire County Farm Bureau promotes the study of agriculture through its county-based scholarship awards.
Each year, a single student studying agriculture is selected for the award in each of New Hampshire’s counties. To qualify, students must be New Hampshire residents studying agriculture at a public or private university in the state. The awards are non-renewable, and typically cannot be reapplied for in successive years, though each county’s policies vary.
3. New Hampshire Dietetic Association Judith Duffy Clark and Helen Evangeline Gilson Scholarship
The $1,500 scholarship offered by the New Hampshire Dietetic Association is designed to advance the study and profession of dietetics and human nutrition. The program is open to graduating seniors and current undergraduate students who are either studying nutrition or plan to do so.
As part of the scholarship application, students must submit their current transcripts and answer a few, brief essay questions regarding their interest in dietetics. The scholarship cannot be renewed, but students are encouraged to reapply each year for this unique program.
4. John B. Andrews Scholarship Program
Children of state and local government employees are eligible for this scholarship fund. The program also accepts applications from the children of public school teachers in the state of New Hampshire. Several awards are granted each year in the amount of $500. Students must be prepared to submit a brief essay, a high school transcript, and proof that at least one of their parents is employed by a state agency, municipal agency, or school district within the state of New Hampshire
5. DownEast Energy Scholarship
One of the most widely available scholarship opportunities in New Hampshire, DownEast Energy picks as many as 18 graduating high school seniors for this program each year. The program offers scholarship winners a fully renewable award of $1,000 per year of undergraduate study. In order to apply, current high school seniors must send academic transcripts, fill out a brief application, and be related to a current DownEast Energy employee. Applications are accepted through late spring, with awards announced during the month of August each year.
6. Believe and Achieve Scholarship
Known for being the largest convenience store chain in New England and the northern Mid-Atlantic states, Cumberland Farms offers its “Believe and Achieve” Scholarship program students in any state where it does business. To qualify, the student must live within 30 miles of a Cumberland Farms location and be either a graduating senior or a current undergraduate student. The company selects 130 students for the program, evenly distributed throughout the eight states in its service area, for a $1,000 scholarship award.
7. American Federation of Teachers’ Honey Cascio Scholarship
One of several education scholarships given by the American Federation of Teachers in New Hampshire, the Cascio program is available to any New Hampshire high school students whose parents are members of the nation’s second-largest teachers’ union. In order to qualify, students should be graduating high school seniors who have been accepted to a New Hampshire college or university. A single $1,000 award is available each year. The program is non-renewable; students are not eligible to apply after their first year of college.
8. American Council of Engineering Companies of NH Scholarship
Another program designed to reward the study of engineering at a New Hampshire college or university, the scholarship offered by ACEC is open to graduating high school seniors, current undergraduate students, and graduate students. All applicants must be studying an engineering concept or related fields like geology. Two scholarships are awarded each year in the amount of $2,000. If applicants have only one semester of college remaining, they will receive a reduced award of $1,000. This program is not renewable, but recipients are encouraged to apply each year again.
9. Greater Manchester Black Scholarship Fund
One of the largest scholarship programs in the state, the Black Scholarship Fund is open to all students, regardless of race, religion, or other characteristics. The program is entirely need-based, awarding variable award amounts based on the financial need of its applicants and the cost of their chosen New Hampshire University. Each year, recipients of the Black Scholarship are invited to a prestigious dinner attended by state officials, school administrators, and recipients’’ parents, to honor their ongoing education and their receipt of this excellent scholarship award.
10. J. Wilfred Anctil Foundation Scholarship
The Anctil Foundation Scholarship is a unique program in the state of New Hampshire. Limited only to students who reside in or near Nashua, and attend one of the school districts serving the Nashua metropolitan area, the program awards several scholarships each year. The award currently offers students $1,500 per academic year of study, renewable for up to four consecutive years. The ability for renewal makes this program one of the most generous for Nashua-era students. Both graduating high school seniors and current undergraduate students are eligible to apply.
11. Bruce Clement Post-Secondary Education Scholarship
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12. Miss New Hampshire Scholarship
The Miss New Hampshire pageant program isn’t often thought of like a scholarship, but the winner of each year’s pageant receives up to $81,000 toward the cost of higher education. To qualify, participants must be a New Hampshire resident, attending a New Hampshire college, and meet other criteria specific to the pageant organization. The pageant itself is held once per year, and the scholarship can be divided to cover all four years of study at an undergraduate institution.
13. Mary Felicia Falzarano Scholarship Fund
Offered by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the Mary Felicia Falzarano Scholarship fund is open only to students in certain New Hampshire towns: Bradford, Croydon, Goshen, Lempster, Newbury, New London, Newport, Springfield, Sunapee, Sutton, Warner, and Wilmot. The program is need-based, open to students at two-year, four-year, or vocational schools, and is non-renewable. Scholarships range from $2,50 to $1,500. Preference is given to a New Hampshire applicant enrolled at a vocational school who demonstrates exceptional financial need.
14. The Francis X. Crowley Scholarship
Given each year by the New England Water Works Association, this unique financial aid program is open to students who are enrolled in certain academic majors. Both undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to apply for the Francis X. Crowley Scholarship as long as they meet the academic requirements. Currently, the program is open to students enrolled in civil engineering, environmental engineering, or business management programs at a 4-year university located in New Hampshire. Applicants must be a permanent New Hampshire resident.
15. Frank Blanchard Scholarships
One of several scholarships given by a New Hampshire society involved in the medical field, the Frank Blanchard Scholarship Program is open to current members of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists who are studying to become a nurse anesthetist themselves. In order to qualify for the program, applicants must be New Hampshire residents or natives who are attending a program in New England or New York. A $25 application fee is required. Two non-renewable scholarships of $1,000 are awarded each spring.
16. New Hampshire Society of CPAs Scholarship
The New Hampshire Society of Certified Public Accountants offers scholarships annually to graduating high school seniors and current undergraduate students. The program is open only to students who are currently studying accounting with the intention of becoming a CPA upon graduation. Additionally, applicants must be at least “student members” of the organization when they file their application. Two annual awards in the amount of $1,500 are offered to students studying at a New Hampshire college or university. The program is not renewable, and recipients are ineligible to reapply.
17. PLAN/NH Scholarship and Fellowship Program
New Hampshire’s architecture is something that tourists from all over the country come to see each year. The PLAN NH scholarship was created to award students who are studying architecture and who have taken on an activist role as it pertains to the built environment in the Granite State. Applicants for this program must be undergraduate or graduate students in an architecture program, must have relevant work experience in the field, and should be able to point to activist activities as they concern preservation of historic architecture or advocacy of a new built environment within the state. Over $32,000 in funding is issued each year to several qualified students.
18. KASF Scholarship – Eastern Region
The Korean American Scholarship Foundation offers several $1,000 awards to Korean-American students in its eastern region each year. Students eligible for this program include American citizens, permanent residents, and foreign nationals with Korean ancestry. The scholarship program does not renew, but successive applications are encouraged. Each year, the recipients of the Eastern Region scholarship join their parents and several public officials at the KASF-ERC Award Ceremony & Banquet in Washington, D.C.
19. Mary Eileen Dixey Scholarship
Sponsored by the American Occupational Therapy Foundation, the Dixey scholarship is open to all New Hampshire students who are enrolled in an occupational therapy program. Qualified applicants will be New Hampshire residents, enrolled at a New Hampshire college or university, and studying occupational therapy within a two-year, four-year, or graduate-level program. A single scholarship is awarded each year. The $2,000 award is non-renewable, but students are permitted to reapply during each year of enrollment in a qualifying program.
20. Fisher Cats Foundation Scholarship
The Fisher Cats Foundation is focused on youth athletics and academic achievement. Each year, the organization helps students with paying for college by awarding 12 generous scholarships to student-athletes. Ten of the 12 recipients are New Hampshire residents, while two recipients are residents of Massachusetts. To apply for the program, applicants must have participated in a sport all throughout high school, must be residents of New Hampshire, and should intend on studying at a New Hampshire college or university. Each award is worth $2,500.
21. Wayne S. Rich Scholarship
Offered by the Pine Tree chapter of the National 4H organization, this award is open to students in New Hampshire and Maine, who are both active 4H participants and first-year undergraduate students. These are the only requirements; the 4H does not require that students enroll in a certain plan of study or maintain a certain GPA. To be considered, students should file the formal application and submit an official copy of their undergraduate transcript after completing their first semester in an undergraduate program.
22. New England FEMARA Scholarship
Created to advocate the use of amateur radio in New England, the FEMARA scholarship is open to any applicant who has an interest in amateur radio and the unlicensed airwaves that it occupies. The scholarship program requires that applicants live in a New England state, enroll in an undergraduate program at a university in the region, and maintain active involvement in amateur radio. A letter of recommendation testifying to the applicant’s use of unlicensed airwaves is required. A $1,000 scholarship is granted to as many applicants as possible, based on FEMARA funding levels for the program.
23. American Automobile Association of Northern New England Scholarship
The American Automobile Association, or AAA, awards several scholarships each year to students enrolled in a New Hampshire community college. In fact, the application for this program is only available through the Community College System of New Hampshire student portal. Based on both student financial need and academic merit, the awards granted by this program range from $1,000 to $2,000 each year. Multiple applicants will be selected for the scholarship, which is non-renewable and does not welcome applications form previous recipients.
24. David A. Copestakes Memorial Scholarship
Another scholarship program offered exclusively by the Community Colleges of New Hampshire Foundation, this program is open to any student enrolled at one of the state’s community colleges who has an active interest in electronics and computer science. Typically, the award is given to students in two-year computer science, computer programming, and engineering-related fields. Each year, two applicants for this scholarship are chosen to receive the non-renewable, $750 award.
25. Agnes M. Lindsay Trust Scholarship
Funded through the Agnes M. Lindsay Trust, which serves rural communities throughout northern and western New England, this scholarship is based on a combination of student need, academic merit, and geographic location. As a primarily rural program, the Lindsay Trust Scholarship requires that its applicants live in rural communities throughout Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Applicants must also plan to stay in the region during college. Award amounts vary each year, based primarily on funding levels, but typically average about $1,000 annually.
26. Horatio Alger New Hampshire Scholarship
Offered by the prestigious Horatio Alger Foundation, which bills itself as a society focused on distinguished service and perseverance, this scholarship renews for up to four years. Students who are selected for the program must be a resident of their state, enrolled at a college in their home state, and present a strong record of academic and community achievement. Each award totals up to $7,000, which is split across four or five years of undergraduate study.
27. Career Aid for Technical Students (CATS) Program
This need-based program is funded and administered by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. Students eligible for this program include those enrolled at a technical school, a vocational school, or within a technical program offered by a New Hampshire community college. Because this is a need-based program, rather than a merit-based one, a Student Aid Report is required. Scholarships range from $100 to $3,500 each year. The value of the awarded scholarship is based solely on a student’s demonstrated financial need.
28. New Hampshire Leveraged Incentive Grant Program
The Leveraged Incentive Grant Program is given to New Hampshire residents based on demonstrated financial need and overall academic merit. Both the FAFSA and a separate application are required in order to be considered for the program. Eligible students can be enrolled in any four-year undergraduate program as long as it’s based in New Hampshire. Award amounts vary each year, primarily due to student need and the availability of funding from the annual state budget.
29. The New Hampshire Food Industries Education Foundation Scholarships
This scholarship program is administered by both the New Hampshire Food Industries Education Foundation and the New Hampshire Grocers Association. As many as 55 awards are given each year in the amount of $1,000 to students whose parents are employees of an NHGA member company. Most New Hampshire supermarkets qualify under this definition. Parents must have been employed by an NHGA member for at least one full year prior to the student’s submission of their application. The award does not renew.
30. Workforce Incentive Program
This unique scholarship program offers students financial assistance in the form of a “forgivable loan.” To qualify for the program initially, students must be New Hampshire residents with a FAFSA EFC of $0. In order for the loan to be forgivable, recipients must be studying a profession that currently has a shortage of skilled workers in the state of New Hampshire including nursing, physics, special education, foreign language, chemistry education, or physical science. The loan converts to a grant when students graduate with a degree in these in-demand areas. If they do not, the loan must be repaid in installments.
31. The Marion J. Bagley Scholarship for New Hampshire Residents
Open to all graduating high school seniors and current undergraduate students in the state of New Hampshire; the Bagley program is based on both academic merit and financial need. A single award of $1,000 is offered to an undergraduate student each year. To be considered, students must be New Hampshire residents, studying at a New Hampshire college, and intent on beginning a career in the state after graduation.
32. American Legion New Hampshire Scholarships
The American Legion Department of New Hampshire maintains eight separate scholarship and grant programs for students in the Granite State. Each scholarship enforces different criteria, ranging from American Legion membership to an interest in electronics and enrollment at specific New Hampshire high schools. Awards range from $500 to $5,000 and are primarily non-renewable.
33. Christa McAuliffe Field of Education Scholarship
Recipients of the Christa McAuliffe Field of Education Scholarship must be current undergraduate students pursuing an education major. Early childhood, primary, and secondary education concentrations are acceptable. Applying for the scholarship requires submission of the formal application along with an essay, resume, transcript, and two letters of recommendation. Applicants must be New Hampshire residents studying education at a New Hampshire college or university.
34. New Hampshire Scholarships for Orphans of Veterans
Maintained by the New Hampshire Department of Education, all students in the state are considered for this program upon submission of the FAFSA and a state financial aid application. Scholarships are given out annually, on a renewable basis, to children who have lost one or both parents to military combat. Because the program hinges on continued state education, funding, award amounts vary each year.
35. NEWWA Elson T. Killam Memorial Scholarship
Another scholarship option administered by the New England Water Works Association, the Killam Memorial Scholarship is open to New England students enrolled in civil or environmental engineering programs at the undergraduate level. Students must be pursuing these majors at a 4-year university in northern or western New England. A single scholarship worth $1,500 is awarded by NEWWA each year.
We’ve worked hard to include a variety of scholarship opportunities within our list. If you have any suggestions on additional scholarships, please feel free to leave them in the comments section.
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