Featured Scholarships: March 2025

As the spring term begins, scholarship season continues to heat up! For March 2025, featured scholarship programs from Scholarship America sponsors include a generous opportunity for U.S. armed forces veterans pursuing higher education or training, along with programs for students in Pittsburgh and Western PA and those in rural Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Don’t see anything that fits you in this post? Visit our Browse Scholarships listing for much more!

Wells Fargo Veteran Scholarships

While military service comes with education benefits, many veterans returning to school still face gaps in funding—especially when it comes to rising tuition costs and family and living expenses. The Wells Fargo Veterans Scholarship is designed to help veterans complete the postsecondary education or training they need to return to—and succeed in—civilian life and careers.

The Wells Fargo Veterans Scholarship provides scholarships up to $5,000 per year, helping veterans (as well as the spouses and widows of service-disabled veterans) cover costs that remain after they’ve used their military benefits and other grants. Scholarships are renewable each year, to help recipients focus on completing their degrees rather than worrying about paying for future bills.

Thanks to the Wells Fargo Veterans Scholarship, students like Carmelos Brown have been able to pursue their post-service career goals. Carmelos is a U.S. Army veteran and served as the 2023 president of the Student Veterans of America (SVA) chapter at Florida’s Santa Fe College.

“Receiving a scholarship has been a game-changer for me,” he said. “I can’t express enough gratitude for the support that’s eased the financial burden. It’s not just about the funds; it’s about the doors of opportunity that have opened up.”

If you or a family member are a veteran, you may be able to benefit. If not, please take a moment to share the link with veterans and military families you know. The more we can spread the word, the more veterans we can help get through college!

Applications are open through April 10. Apply Now >

The Pittsburgh Foundation Scholarships

This spring, the Pittsburgh Foundation is partnering with Scholarship America to award more than a million dollars in scholarships to a wide range of students in Pittsburgh and beyond.

In February, we highlighted programs open to high school seniors. The Pittsburgh Foundation also makes funds available to students at different points in their educational journey through programs that include:

• The Pittsburgh Foundation Employer/Membership Programs, for certain current and former employees or members (and/or dependents) of:
  • U.S. Department of Energy
  • National Contract Management Association
  • BNY Mellon
  • Longwood at Oakmont (Verona, PA)
  • Iron Age (Childs) Corporation
  • Green Oaks Country Club
  • Conrail
• Or members and dependents of:
  • Kenmawr United Presbyterian Church (McKees Rocks, PA)
  • Any parish within the Dioceses of Pittsburgh

All applicants must plan to be enrolled in fulltime graduate or undergraduate study in the fall of 2025. Review the eligibility here.

• The Pittsburgh Foundation Community Programs, for students who will be studying engineering, health sciences, nursing, the arts, theology, music or art history and more as a fulltime graduate or undergraduate in the fall of 2025. Review the eligibility here.
• The Pittsburgh Foundation College/County Renewable Awards for students who are Pittsburgh-area residents or who will be enrolling in selected Pittsburgh-area colleges or universities and who will be pursing fulltime graduate or undergraduate study in the fall of 2025. Review the eligibility here.
• The Pittsburgh Foundation College/County Single Year Awards for students who are residents of or college students in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, as well as residents of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland who are enrolled in or plan to enroll in a college or university in the United States. Review the eligibility here.

Awards from the Pittsburgh Foundation have helped students like Colton Dietz pursue their passions. The Pennsylvania native began playing trombone as a fifth grader in the Norwin School District and studied music education at Penn State. He won several awards from the Pittsburgh Foundation, including one from the Paul J. Baum fund, administered as a part of Community Programs. “These scholarships alleviated those financial concerns down the road and eliminated a lot of that student debt that I would otherwise be presented with,” he said.

Applications are open through April 1.

O’Brien-Vrba Scholarship Trust  

Dorothy G. O’Brien and Genevieve A. O’Brien grew up on a farm south of DeKalb, Illinois, and the two sisters left a legacy of support for rural Midwestern students’ educational opportunities. Along with Genevieve’s husband, Ed Vrba, their estates created the O’Brien-Vrba Scholarship Trust, which has been benefiting students for more than 30 years. (Learn more about the history of the trust from NIU Today.)

In 2025, the O’Brien-Vrba Scholarship Trust is once again providing scholarships to college upperclassmen and graduate students who attended high school or currently live in rural Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin communities.

If you are a collegiate junior, senior or graduate student from an eligible rural county or attended high school in DeKalb, Illinois, you could earn a scholarship renewable for up to two total years. Applicants must be actively involved in school activities and community service and have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent).

In addition, you must be planning to enroll in full-time postsecondary or postgraduate study for the entire upcoming academic year, and your family’s annual Adjusted Gross Income must be less than $150,000. Finally, applicants of the Catholic faith are encouraged.

Applications are open through April 8. Apply Now >