2025 LAWA SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

Currently Enrolled Scholarship Application

PURPOSE

•LAWA Scholarships are financial awards that support FULL-TIME students seeking to attend and complete certificate programs, associate, or bachelor’s degrees.
•LAWA Scholarships are given annually to eligible Latino(a) students accepted by accredited vocational schools, colleges or universities of their choice.
•LAWA Scholarships are renewable for up to four consecutive academic years.
•LAWA Scholarships are competitive and the selection criteria is based on student’s financial need, academic merit, and community involvement.
•The scholarship money is intended ONLY for tuition and fees.

HOW TO APPLY

Complete the 2025 Currently Enrolled Scholarship Application below online. Letters of Recommendations must be sent via electronic mail to Scholarships@lawanc.org directly from the recommender.
*We suggest that you complete all of the pieces of the application prior to uploading as the application form must be completed in one session. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS CURRENTLY ENROLLED APPLICATION QUESTIONS.

WHO CAN APPLY & REQUIREMENTS

Students currently enrolled full-time in post-secondary education.  Any student of Hispanic origin, defined as the heritage nationality, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person’s parents or ancestors before arriving in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau  www.census.gov/topics/population/about.html .) The student’s permanent residence is in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell or Union Counties. The student is currently enrolled in an accredited vocational school, college or university as a full-time student and has not received a LAWA Scholarship before.

REQUIREMENTS:

1)  Must be of Hispanic origin as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau above.
2)  Must have a permanent address in one of the following counties: Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, or Union.
3)  Must have a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher (college/university transcript must be submitted).
4)  Must submit parent(s) proof of income.
5)  Proof of enrollment full-time at an accredited college or university (ex: course schedule for Fall 2025) .

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Total of 2 letters (more information below).

Must send one letter of recommendation from either a teacher, or an administrator.
The following must be included in the letter of recommendation from either a teacher or administrator.        

a) Relationship to the applicant          
b) How long has the recommender known the applicant
c)  Description of the student’s academic achievements and merit for a LAWA scholarship        
d) Teacher's, professor’s, counselor’s or advisor's name, title, email address, phone number, signature, and date          

A student’s community involvement after-school, in clubs, sports, working, or volunteering at church, as a tutor, babysitter, translator, etc. is very important. One letter not from a teacher or administrator for a total of two letters of recommendation. The following must be included in the letter of recommendation about student’s volunteer or community-related activities (not from a teacher or administrator).        

The following must be included in the letter of recommendation from an adult who knows the student’s after-school involvement (not from teacher or counselor)    
a) Relationship to the applicant          
b) Volunteer or community related activities and examples of applicant’s demonstration of leadership        
c) Reference’s name, title, email address, phone number, signature, and date          

PERSONAL ESSAY: 
Must send a personal essay (typed, Times New Roman, double spaced, must not exceed 2 pages) discussing the following:          

a) Career aspirations          
b) Community involvement and personal or academic interests          
c) Academic achievements          
d) Reasons for applying for the scholarship          
e) Any obstacles overcome during school years (if applicable)          

**Must be available for a personal interview, if requested.

TIPS BEFORE COMPLETING THE APPLICATION:

Start as early as possible. Download questions for your specific application type.
Gather all required documents before starting the application (Personal Essay, Official High School Transcript, Proof of Income, and Acceptance Letter)  
Please upload all required documents.
Documents should be scanned from original copies and saved as PDF files.
Please save all documents sent in a folder on your computer.

Recommenders must submit letters of recommendation electronically to scholarships@lawanc.org.  

PRIVACY STATEMENT

We use your personal information only for the grant selection process.  No information is shared with other parties outside of the LAWA organization.