Beyond college-sourced aid and scholarships, we encourage you to apply for outside scholarships—privately sourced awards that will stack on top of any Grove City College-funded aid we offer you (not exceeding total cost of attendance). We strongly encourage you to pursue these opportunities because Grove City College students are very successful in obtaining outside scholarships (and most bring in more than one). In fact, this past year 171 freshmen brought in an average of $3,600 each in outside scholarships, and many students have brought in far more than that. Over four years, money like that really adds up! Check with your guidance office, parents’ employers, church, community foundation, and local service organizations for scholarship opportunities.
There are countless privately funded scholarships available, and we’ve identified some ways to simplify and target your search based on your talents, traits, and connections. View our admissions blog post for recommended strategies and resources, and see below for popular search tools and a sampling of scholarship opportunities.
outside scholarship strategies
One of the most overlooked yet best resources is your community foundation. Community foundations are grantmaking public charities that house and manage donor-directed funds to improve the lives of local residents through a variety of means including scholarships. Almost every county has a community foundation, and most offer several, if not hundreds, of scholarships (like the Community Foundation of Western PA & Eastern OH, which offers over 200 scholarships every year).
To access the community foundation nearest you, explore the community foundation locator, or simply Google “[insert your county] community foundation,” find the scholarships tab, and follow instructions to apply.
Other scholarship search tools are available on sites such as:
Read the Grove City College Outside Scholarship and Loan Policy for student requirements and guidelines on how outside scholarships are administered by the College.
Lola G. Duff and William H. Duff, II Scholarship Fund This $80 million fund has college scholarships for Allegheny County, Pa. residents. Students must be Protestant, have two years of schooling in Allegheny County (either public, private, or home), and must be planning to attend college full time. Applications available online in January.
The Pittsburgh Promise This scholarship is available to graduates of Pittsburgh Public Schools and charters, regardless of financial need or income, who have been students in the district and a resident of Pittsburgh continuously since at least the 9th grade. Students must also graduate with a minimum 2.5 GPA, have a 90% attendance record, and earn admission into Grove City College.
Thomas M. Colella & Florence M. Colella Scholarship Fund The Thomas M. Colella & Florence M. Colella Scholarship Fund was created at The Pittsburgh Foundation to provide a full tuition, renewable scholarship for a student from Western Pennsylvania, specifically for a student entering Grove City College for undergraduate studies.
Michael T. Abel Scholarship Fund The Michael T. Abel Scholarship Fund was created at The Pittsburgh Foundation to assist Free Church students who are entering an undergraduate program at either Grove City or Geneva College. Students must have employment experience, demonstrate financial need and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8 for incoming freshmen and rising sophomores or 3.0 for rising undergraduate juniors and senior. Students must also attend and be active in their local church. Preference will be given to those who are affiliated with an Allegheny District Free Church.
Hagan Scholarships The Hagan Scholarships are intended for high achieving students in need of financial assistance in order to attend college. Recipients must graduate from a public high school located in an eligible state and in a county having fewer than 50,000 residents.
Community Foundation of Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio Scholarships This foundation offers a number of competitive scholarships that are available to residents of the Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio region.
Daniels Fund The Daniels Scholarship Program provides the opportunity to obtain a college education at any accredited nonprofit college or university in the United States, complete with financial and personal support throughout their journey. Selected scholars are offered resources, encouragement, and inspiration far beyond the financial assistance needed to earn a college degree. The goal is to help each Daniels Scholar succeed in college and ultimately become independent, successful in a rewarding career, and actively engaged in their community. This four-year, annually-renewable college scholarship is a "last dollar" scholarship that covers the unmet need of the student after all other financial aid resources and their expected family contribution have been applied. However, students who choose to attend one of 24 partner schools in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, or Wyoming will have their expected family contribution covered as well. (View a complete list of partner schools.) To be eligible to apply for a scholarship, students must be a current high school senior graduating from a high school in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, or Wyoming; be a current resident of one of these four states and a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S.; and earn an SAT Math score of at least 470 and an Evidence-Based Reading & Writing score of at least 450, or ACT scores of at least 17 in each category (Math, English, Reading, and Science). Super-scoring is not accepted. The fund will begin accepting applications for the highly competitive program on October 1.
Shirley Stuttler Scholarship – ASHE Franklin Section The Shirley Stuttler Scholarship, ASHE Franklin Section offers as a way to thank and appreciate all that Shirley has done and continues to do for ASHE. The number and amount of scholarships will be determined by ASHE Franklin Board and the Scholarship Evaluation Committee annually. The scholarship(s) is(are) awarded annually to an applicant of good personal character who demonstrates satisfactory academic achievement and are looking to pursue a career in civil engineering, transportation/highway, trade school or related fields. The applicant must be a resident of OR attending a college/university/trade school located in Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango or Warren Counties, Pennsylvania.
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship This scholarship rewards excellence by supporting high-achieving high school seniors who seek to attend the nation's best four-year colleges and universities and have financial need.
Bill Knecht Tourism Scholarship Application This memorial scholarship fund provides one $1,000 scholarship each year to a sophomore, junior or senior of Grove City College, Penn State – Shenango, or Thiel College who is pursuing a tourism-related major such as marketing, recreation, hotel management, etc. This would also include students in business management and business administration. The student must be a resident of Mercer County and a U.S. citizen.
PA Institute of Certified Public Accountants The Institute offers a variety of scholarships for students who are majoring in Accounting and wish to pursue a career in that field. Please contact the Institute for more information.
II-VI Foundation Scholarships The II-VI scholarships are competitive scholarships available to students entering the fields of engineering, math, and science. Scholarship opportunities are directed toward students pursuing degrees in electrical, industrial, chemical, nuclear, mechanical, material science engineering, and related engineering and science disciplines. Mathematics majors are welcome to apply, however pre-med candidates, civil engineers, architectural engineers, or petroleum engineers are not eligible for consideration. The scholarship is available only to rising freshmen, sophomores, and juniors and is renewable.
A unique aspect of the II-VI Foundation Scholarship is the requirement of nine weeks or 360 hours of manufacturing-, engineering- or science-related experience in an industrial setting from October 1 to August 31 of the year in which the candidate applies for the scholarship. This requirement forces candidates to get hands-on, real-world experience outside of an academic setting, therefore creating a different perspective from which to view their career decisions.