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Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship

ABOUT THE AWARD
The Asian Pacific Islander Scholarship (APIA) program is sponsored by the Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF).  The APIASF is the largest non-profit organization in the US that supports and sponsors various scholarship programs for the Asian and Pacific Islander Americans based on the financial need for education. The fund has been established to make a difference in the lives of APIA by providing them access to higher education and nurture them for academic, professional & personal success.

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
The organization was founded in 2003 in Washington D.C. and since its inception APIASF scholarship has distributed more than $2.4 million in Asian Pacific Islander Scholarship funds for various students to support their higher education. The scholars that have received the awards so far represent the diverse group including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Cambodian, Filipino and many more.

The APIASF also manages the Gates Millennium Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship (GMS/APIA) program, which is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

For the APIA Scholarship Program, the funds are sponsored by various corporations including AT&T, the Coca-Cola Company, and McDonald’s amongst various others.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
There are some specific requirements for the applicants to be eligible for this Asian American Scholarship and they are below.
• Should be from Asian and/or Pacific Islander ethnicity (as defined by US census)
• Should have enrolled at US accredited college or university as full time, degree seeking, first year student
• Be legal permanent citizen of the US & some specific countries
• Excellence in academics
• Must have applied for Federal Financial Aid using FAFSA – Free Application for financial student aid
• Should have one letter of recommendation

The Asian Pacific Islander scholarship amounts range $2,500 – $5,000 and are awarded to nearly 200 students. For the academic year 2009-10 the organization awarded more than $625,000 to 225 students in the various field of study including accounting, business, chemistry, music, sociology & others.

The APIASF scholarship amount depends on “cost of attendance” & it varies in each institution applied for. The award is directly paid to the educational institution by the organization.

The applicant needs to apply online at the Asian Pacific Islander scholarship application program. Paper application can also be made in some instances. The application process begins during October every year and is closed by Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The organization’s website has information about various other Asian Pacific Islander scholarships provided by other institutes & organizations for the Asian and Pacific Islander community, and serves as a very good source for the students. You can email your queries to them at outreach@apiasf.org, or call 1-866-274-4677 x104.

CLOSURE NOTE
For the year 2009-10 more than 50% of the scholarship recipients were the first in their family to attend college. This data clearly gives an idea for the need and the benefits of APIA Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Program. The motto for the APIASF scholarship is “Today’s Mind, Tomorrow’s Future”. These programs help identify the brilliant scholars of today regardless of their ethnicity, national origin or financial needs & provide them the necessary support to ensure that future is safe & strong.

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