The Gates Millennium Scholars Program Offers More than Just a Scholarship

Since 1999, the Alexandria-based Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program has funded over 15,000 scholars in more than 1,500 colleges and universities. And this year, GMS plans to add 1000 new names to the list of students receiving “good-through-graduation” scholarships at schools all over the country.

Funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the GMS program was established to reduce financial barriers for African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander, and Hispanic American students with high academic and leadership promise who wish to pursue a college degree.

“Continuing” Gates Millennium Scholars may also request funding for graduate degrees in one of the following disciplines: computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health, or science.

But this program is about more than just the money. Gates Millennium Scholars are provided with personal and professional development through leadership programs. The GMS program offers ACademic Empowerment (ACE) services to encourage academic excellence; mentoring services for academic and personal development; and an online resource center that provides internship, fellowship, and scholarship information.

To be eligible for consideration, students must submit three required application forms online by Wednesday, January 11, 2012 or by mail with a postmark on or before January 11. These include

• Student Application (Nominee Personal Information Form)
• Educator’s evaluation of the student’s academic record (Nominator Form)
• Evaluation of the student’s community service and leadership activities (Recommender form)

Minority students with demonstrated leadership abilities who have attained a cumulative high school GPA of 3.3 on an unweighted 4.0 scale and who meet the Federal Pell Grant eligibility criteria are encouraged to apply. To ensure eligibility, candidates should file a FAFSA at their earliest opportunity.

For more information and all application materials, GMS homepage.