Scholarships

The HCC Foundation offers a wide range of scholarships to help Houston Community College students achieve their academic goals. To be eligible for most scholarships, you will need to be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours per semester. Some scholarships require enrollment in 9 or 12 credit hours and a minimum GPA of 2.0 to 2.5 or higher. Please review the application timeline below. 

• 24-25 Foundation Scholarships: If you plan to attend HCC during Fall 2024, Spring 2025 and/or Summer 2025, you need to fill out the 2024–25 HCC Foundation Scholarship application. Please note our scholarship application for the 2024-2025 academic year has closed.
  
• 25-26 Foundation Scholarships: If you plan to attend HCC during Fall 2025, Spring 2026 and/or Summer 2026, you need to fill out the 2025–26 HCC Foundation Scholarship application. The 2025-2026 scholarship will open in January 2025.
  
  

Learn more about the HCC Foundation Scholarships.

 

The Chancellor Scholarship encourages very high performing students to finish out their degree at HCC. The $500 per semester scholarship is automatically awarded to students who meet the following criteria.

1. Complete the FAFSA
2. Have a 4.0 cumulative GPA.
3. Have more than 30 semester credit hours recorded at HCC.
4. Must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 valid credit hours. 
5. Meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements for financial aid.

As long as cumulative GPA remains at 4.0, students can maintain the scholarship.

 

Spring high school graduates who live in the Houston Community College’s taxing district may qualify to earn an eligible degree or certificate free through the Eagle Promise Program.

If qualifying students' federal and state grants and scholarships don’t cover the cost of an eligible degree or certificate at HCC, Eagle Promise scholarship dollars will. Through the HCC Eagle Promise Program, qualifying students' tuition, fees and a book allowance of up to $500 are covered each semester. Eagle Promise students will also receive:

• Support from financial coaches to help them complete their degree or certificate program debt-free.
• Priority registration beginning the second semester of attendance.
• Academic, career and transfer counseling to help them reach their career and educational goals.
• Access to activities, support services and events to help them finish strong.
  
  

For more details and the online application, please click here. Submitting an online application is not a guarantee of funds.

 

Honors College participants qualify for the scholarship if they do not have enough federal or state grants and/or scholarships to cover tuition and fees. Eligibility and award amounts are determined by the Honors College. 

 

This scholarship is automatically awarded to students who meet all five of the criteria below. 

1. Complete a FAFSA and are determined to have an expected family contribution ranging from $2,000 to $6,500.
2. Have total household income less than $50,000.
3. Enroll in 9 semester credit hours or more.
4. Are new students or have a cumulative GPA of greater than 2.74.
5. Meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements for financial aid.

Students will retain the Impact Scholarship as long as they meet all criteria elements. New students have a clean slate, but will lose the scholarship upon posting a GPA lower than 2.74.

With a maximum award of $1000 per semester, the Impact scholarship will cover any remaining tuition, fee and book costs for qualifying students. For example, if you have other aid covering tuition, fees and books, the scholarship amount will be adjusted according to any remaining balance after that aid is applied. 

 

Visit https://www.hccsfoundation.org/PrivateScholarship to submit payments and supporting information to the HCC Foundation for private outside scholarships for specific HCC students, and for information on where to send payments. We have recently changed the process for submitting payments and they are to only go to the HCC Foundation. Sending checks to HCC’s Financial Aid office, to HCC’s Head Cashier, or to your local HCC campus will result in significant delays which will negatively impact the students you are so generously supporting.

 

Looking for a scholarship can be a bit overwhelming, but you have lots of resources at your fingertips. Try these free sources of information about scholarships.

• Online Resources for Scholarship Search
  
  • U.S. Department of Labor’s FREE scholarship search tool
  • Fastweb
  • Minnie Stephens Piper Foundation
  • Adventures in Education
  • College Board 
  • College Toolkit
  • ScholarshipHunter.com
  • Service-based organizations, religious or community organizations, local businesses or civic groups
  • Organizations (including professional associations) related to your field of interest
  • Ethnicity-based organizations
  • Your employer or your parents’ employers
  • University’s transfer scholarships for community college students
  • Dreamers Scholarships

 

Start the scholarship search process sooner than later.
If you’re debating on when to start applying, the time is now. You can apply for scholarships you qualify for as early as you would like and the rule of thumb is always the earlier, the better. The process can often be very slow, so be patient and continue applying while waiting to hear back from others.

Apply for scholarships in different categories.
Don’t limit yourself to one type of scholarship. Balance it out, by applying for any merit, athletic and artistic scholarships

Include letters of recommendation.
A good letter of recommendation can make all the difference in your scholarship application. Make sure that the letters you include are relevant and that you are confident in the person writing the letter for you. Also, give the person writing the letter significant time and a copy of your student resume so that they can easily reference your student activities.

Don’t count out scholarships with lower award amounts.
Some students only apply for scholarships with significantly large award amounts. The problem with that methodology is that you are going to have a lot more competition than with lower scholarship amounts. Whatever you can do to decrease your competition will be in your favor, so applying for all award amounts is a good way to ensure that you have a better chance of winning. Remember, there is no limit to how many scholarships you can apply for or win, so winning several smaller awards can really add up and serve the same purpose – paying for school.

Don’t become discouraged if you don’t win right away.
It’s important to keep in mind that applying for scholarships is a numbers game. The more you apply to, the better your chances of winning. There are millions of scholarships and they are refreshed daily, so don’t give up if your efforts aren’t rewarded immediately.

Don’t avoid scholarships that require essays.
Many students avoid scholarships that require essays. Yes, they do take more effort, but once you have several essay applications under your belt, the process gets easier. Why discard an essay after putting in hard work, time and effort? Many essays can be re-purposed (once edited) and applied to future applications.

Stay organized, keeping deadlines in mind!
Keep a calendar that outlines your deadlines. Financial aid checklists can help prepare you for college and keep you on track, as well. Always aim to complete your applications before the deadline so that you have enough time to review and submit your application. Remember, application deadlines aren’t suggestions – they are final.

Make a scholarship application schedule and stick to it.
Set aside a specific time that you’re going to focus on applying for scholarships. It can be one night a week, an hour each day or whatever works with your schedule. When the designated time rolls around, focus your efforts solely on your scholarship applications to ensure that you follow through with the process.

 

*Based on Fast Web’s Application Tips – August 2016, www.fastweb.com

 

Be aware of potential scholarship scams. The following sites are excellent resources to identify potential scholarship scams.

• FinAid.org
• Federal Trade Commission