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Microsoft disAbility Scholarship
The disAbility Scholarship at Microsoft delivers on the mission of Microsoft’s cross disability employee resource group to empower and enable people with disabilities. This scholarship enables high school students with disabilities to go to college and target a career in the technology industry. In addition, we hope to contribute to increasing the pool of persons living with a disability enrolling in higher education and, in the long term, decrease the unemployment bias for this demographic.
This scholarship will be awarded to promising high school seniors who plan to attend a vocational or academic college and have a financial need. The amount of this renewable scholarship to be awarded is $5,000 per year, up to $20,000 total, which is paid through the Seattle Foundation on behalf of the disAbility Employee Resource Group (ERG) at Microsoft to the recipient’s school’s Financial Aid Office.
All completed applications must be submitted by March 1, 2020.
Requirements
To be considered for the Microsoft disAbility Scholarship, you must:
- Be a current high school senior living with a disability (as defined by WHO), whether that be visual, hearing, mobility, cognitive, speech or other disability.
- Plan to attend an undergraduate program in a 2 or 4-year University/College or Technical College in the fall of the academic year following high-school graduation. Schools must be in the USA or have a USA-Affiliate for financial transactions (contact Seattle Foundation to verify non-USA school’s eligibility).
- Declare an approved major in engineering, computer science, computer information systems, law, business, or a related field (e.g. paralegal, pre-law, finance, business administration, or marketing).
- Demonstrate a passion for technology.
- Demonstrate leadership at school and/or in the community.
- Have a high school cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- Require financial assistance to attend college.
- Enrollment status must be full-time or half-time.
How to Apply
To apply for a Microsoft disAbility Scholarship, email the following items to scholarships@seattlefoundation.org
Résumé. Your résumé should include the following information:
Transcript. Include an unofficial copy of your current academic transcript. (If selected as a finalist, applicant will need to provide the Seattle Foundation with official versions)
Three essays.
Two letters of recommendation. At least one letter must be from a faculty or staff member at your school. Letters of recommendation should be original and should not be duplicates of college recommendation letters. Do not include relatives as references.
Complete Application Form. Fill out the entire Application Form at the end of this page. You can type the information or print clearly. Download the Microsoft disAbility Scholarship application (Microsoft Word document, 144 KB)
Email all of the above to scholarships@seattlefoundation.org by March 1, 2020.
Please ensure that your application packet includes all of the required information and documents before sending.
We will not accept additional documents sent separate from the original application packet, and only complete application packets will be reviewed.
Final selection will be complete, and those selected to receive the Microsoft disAbility Scholarship will be notified at the end of April.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, all high school students living with a disability with a financial need are encouraged to apply.
A. Not necessarily. You must attend a school either in the USA or the school you attend must have a US-affiliate for financial transactions (contact scholarships@seattlefoundation.org to verify non-USA schools’ eligibility.)
A. Yes, as long as your undergraduate program meets the eligibility requirements.
A. Yes, you can. However, it must be postmarked by March 1, 2020.
A. Yes, award recipients will receive $5,000 per school year, up to $20,000 total award.
A. Not at this time. As the Fund grows, Microsoft reserves the right to make to develop such programs.