Scholarships for Kids with Deceased Parents
Sally Croft 
November 13th, 2009 
42 Comments When it comes to paying for an education, students who have lost at least one parent are often at a disadvantage. Some students find it extremely difficult to attend college due to the financial hardship that is left on a single parent.
Types of Scholarships
There are different types of scholarships available to kids with deceased parents. There are scholarships specific to the cause of the parent’s death, such as breast cancer or work-related death. Other scholarships are need-based or for dependents of service members or dependents of the 9/11 attacks, and much more. You can speak to the Financial Aid officer of the school you plan to attend to get help finding a scholarship that is right for your situation.
Top 5 Scholarships Available to Kids with Deceased Parents
1. LIFE Lessons Scholarships – LIFE Foundation is a non-profit foundation which sponsors the LIFE Lessons Scholarship Program that helps college students and college-bound high school seniors in paying their college expense. LIFE takes great pride in helping deserving young people to provide higher education and realize their full potential. Life Lessons Scholarship Program will award 59 scholarships available totaling $110,000 in scholarship funds. Applications will be solicited during the February to March timeframe. Scholarship winners will be notified in August 2012. For more information, visit www.lifehappens.org/lifelessons.
2. Forgotten Dependents Scholarships – Forgotten Dependents, Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization that has reached out to help students who have lost a parent finance their education. Scholarships are awarded to students to help pay for college expenses and to advance higher educational.
3. Kids’ Chance Scholarships – Helping children overcome obstacles, Kids’ Chance is committed to providing education assistance to the families of a parent who has passed away due to work-related injuries or killed in the workplace. Applicants for this scholarship must submit transcripts, family financial documents and a description of the death or accident.
4. Mary Ellen Locher Foundation Breast Cancer Survivor College Scholarship – If you lost a parent to breast cancer, you may be eligible for a scholarship from Mary Ellen Locher Foundation. This scholarship is awarded to students to honor the memory of a deceased parent by lifting the financial burden students are faced with after losing a parent to breast cancer.
5. Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund – The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund is designed to provide education to financially needy dependents and families suffering, due to the attacks on September 11, 2001. This scholarship is available for children, including those born after September 11, 2001, who have enrolled in a post secondary program by age 24. Scholarships will be awarded only to universities, two or four-year colleges, trade school or accredited vocational technical school, located in the United States.
In addition to the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund, there are many scholarships are all related to the September 11, 2001 attack. The following are just a few:
- Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Grant program
- Pentagon Assistance Fund
- World Trade Center Memorial Scholarship
- Citigroup Relief Fund
- Governor College Scholarship
- Sallie Mae 911 Education Fund Scholarship Program
Tags: Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund , Forgotten Dependents , Kids' Chance Scholarships , Life Foundation , Mary Ellen Locher Foundation , Scholarships for Kids 
Career Advice , Scholarship 
Student loan is way to solve financial problem student to continue to link and graduated.When it comes to paying for an education, students who have lost at least one parent are often at a disadvantage.
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@ Janis: Thanks a lot for dropping by and leaving your comment. I look forward to your comments & suggestions in future too.
*Happy Blogging & Keep Commenting*
My name is Janae Brown and both of my parents past away and Iam stuggling to find a way to college and I was wondering if you can send me some applications to some schools. Please and Thank you
@ Janae Brown: Thanks for stopping by sharing your thoughts with us, but frankly I wont be able to send you any college applications as Student Loan Blog doesn’t have affiliations with any schools & colleges. However I can search some college applications for you on internet. Can you be specific and help us with your area of interest?
Hi. Thank you so much for this information. I was wondering if anyone knew much about ROTC? My daughter is a Junior in H.S. Her daddy died when she was 6 years old. It has been extremely hard on us. I have never married. We have very few assets or money saved for her college career. Thus, was the reasoning behind the ROTC. She wants to be a nurse. I knew that college and rotc, would surely enable her to have an extremely bright future. I don’t want her to think however that she has to do the Rotc just because we are poor. Any other information would be greatly appreciated. It’s very scary, especially having to do all of the research, etc.. myself.
@ Amanda: Thanks for stopping by and sharing your query with us. Well ROTC by no mean is an option for poor, it’s can help develop your daughter’s leadership skills, gives her good career choices besides providing tuition assistance. You may check their website: http://www.rotc.com/ for further details.
On second thought how about your daughter applying for some kind of scholarships? There are plenty of them…both scholarly & otherwise, she can try some of them and there must be one just right for her!
Best of Luck and do visit us again for any further assistance.
I would not really encourage people to get loans charged at low interest rates as this means the repayment period is long and may turn out to be expensive. It is good to get loans with shorter repayment periods because it fastens up the process
Hi my name is breanna richadrson and i was wondering if you could help me find scholarships and/or grants for collage students in which both parents are deceased. thanks for your time please reply cause im starting school in summer and need help.
@ Harris Gingrich: I agree with you, it’s better to repay your student loan the faster the better.
@ breanna richardson: Thanks for stopping by, what have you studied so far & which country are you from? Considering your year of education and area of interests start looking for appropriate scholarships for yourself.
I was wandering if you knew of any scholarships specific to firefighters? my dad was a firefighter and passed away a few years ago, and im trying to pay for school, thankyou!
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I appreciate this article, as it has been hard to find scholarships that I am eligible for. I’m a senior in highschool who is planning to go into the culinary arts career, and I’ve been looking for scholarships in which the applicant has lost a parent to colon cancer. I’ve searched for about six months now, but I have not come up with much. I was wondering if you knew of any scholarships I would be applicable for?
@ Elaine: Thanks for dropping in the comment, we feel obliged to help you in any manner possible. Did you check: Forgotten Dependents Scholarships, this can be your possible solution.
I did some further research for you too & came across this link which I thought should also help you.
http://college.lovetoknow.com/Scholarships_for_Kid_with_a_Deceased_Parent
Do let us know if we can help you in any other way.
I was wondering if there were any scholarships relating to suicide? My father killed himself when I was 12. I want to further my education in engineering. Thank you so much for any info possible.
@ Laurel: Well I did a quick search for you but honestly couldn’t find a link related to suicidal death of a parent. However you can simply look for scholarships for children with deceased parents. Forgotten Dependents Scholarships can be your chance too, you must try your luck for it.
Sally, I am 21 year old African boy. My parents are alive but they live in the village and they can not afford a penny to get me educated. Relatives and friends have helped me through primary education. I desperately need to acquire college education. Please Sally, I need you to help me. I am an African, specifically a Liberian. I also have a secondary education.
Hey guys, the names josh and i was wondering if there is any type of relief for a person like me…..like grants or loans for my education? I am interested in going to a tech School and learning a trade to further progress myself in life, my father committed suicide when i was 14 and myself + my mom and sister are being forced out of our house because we took the risk and started a small business with a reverse mortgage. And now that our business has failed my family is moving to Alabama to live with my grandmother. I need info on any grants that apply to me because without any help my mom can’t put me through college. Any help is greatly appreciated….thank you.
Hello, I am Richard from Tanzania, I really liked your blog concerning about scholarships, by myself i would like to win some scholarship too, please show me the procedures to be followed in order to accomplish my goal. I will be grateful to you.
I don’t see how to apply for the scholarship.
Hello all, I am a senior at the University of Oklahoma and my father committed suicide in 2003. It has been a struggle for my mother, sister and I both mentally and financially; especially financially for my mother since my sister and I are both enrolled in accredited universities. I wish I would’ve found this website sooner. Receiving money for higher learning is difficult, especially for children of deceased parents/ single parent homes. I have struggled and am still struggling to pay for school but God has made a way for me all this time. I will be sure this pass this website on to other children that i know who have deceased parents.
@ Sheriee Parnell: It was heartening to read about your experience of life after your father. What can be enlightening for others is the courage your family showed towards the situation, life goes on & we need to show courage to bear the losses. I feel glad you shared all that you have gone through with your fellow readers of Student Loan Blog. I believe we can make a difference in someone’s life in our own small way.
Hi My father passed away from Pancreatic cancer, I am a stay at home mother looking to go back to school. Is there any scholarships available for me?
Hi, my wife passed away in 2005 as a reuslt of a long battle with depression. She committed suicide. She left behind a beautiful 11 yr old daughter. She is now an uopcoming senior in High school, and am wondering if there are any programs which can help us allow her to go to University. She has maintained a 4.37 GPA and is a well rounded, all around student…Any suggestions? Thank you….Ed
Our mother just passed away on May 26, 2001, the day before my little brother graduated high school. She passed from cancer she had been battling for years. Our dad is works full-time, but is struggling financially. Dead lines for scholarships/grants for students with deceased parents were in the Spring. Since she just passed, I’m wandering if there is any help we can get for his Fall semester. Any suggestions?? Thanks
HI IM IN SEARCH OF SCHOLARSHIPS FOR BOTH OF MY PARENTS BEING DECEASED. IVE BEEN LOOKIN AN CANT FIGURE OUT HOW TO APPLY OR EVEN CHECK UP ON THE STATUS.PLEASE HELP
Hi like some of the others here I lost my mom to a Oligodendroglioma (brain tumor/cancer) in 2003. My dad is 56 and struggles to help me and my sister knowing he will retire in 10 years or so. I am thinking of a Science or math career my older sister is thinking business. Thank you so much for any guidance you can give.
@Trina, @Hillary Higgins, @Ed Garneau, @Laurel, @Josh Barrington, @ Crystal M.: Thanks everyone for your messages, we have been researching for the best possible solutions to your concerns and are glad to find some real good ones. Check the links below for kids with one or both deceased parents scholarships & other financial resources.
http://college.lovetoknow.com/Scholarships_for_Kid_with_a_Deceased_Parent
http://financialaid.unt.edu/scholarships/david-j-ewing-scholarship
http://www.fastweb.com/education-grants/unique-situation-education-grants/deceased-parents-scholarship-education-grants/
Hi, well I was wondering if there are any specific scholarships for a senior who has lost their parent the summer of their senior year; because I lost my mom recently in June and I can use all the help
I can get.
Please and Thank you.
Hi, my name is Brittany Bernard i’m a senior in high school and my dad passed away almost a year ago and I know my mom can not afford to send me to college on her own. please send me any scholarships/or grants you know of that might help me out.. thank you.
@Brittany, @Erica: There are specific scholarships & education grants available for children with one or both deceased parents.I have shared couple of links in my earlier comment too. Here are few more for you.
http://college.lovetoknow.com/Scholarships_for_Kid_with_a_Deceased_Parent
http://scholarshipsorgrants.com/scholarships-for-kids-with-a-deceased-parent/1471/
Let us know if you need any further assistance in this regard, thanks!
I must also say thank you. I am in my 5th year of school and have maxed out my loans. I had always asked for help from financial counselors since both my parents had passed, but never got it. I’ve learned more from this site then I have all these years with countless advisers. Thank You
Hi Shaun, The advice your giving is really good. Thanks ever so much.
Hi, I am currently attending in an aeronautic school in Oklahoma. My father passed away when I was 19 years old and he was the sole provider for my whole family. Since his passing my family and myself have been struggling to say the least. I promised my father that I would go to college which I am. I was wondering if you knew of any scholarships to help me keep my promise.
@Mathew: Good to know about your study plans, we at Student Loan Blog wishes you success. I have shared below links earlier too, they are for kids with one or both deceased parents. Give a look they may help in assisting you with some scholarship as well.
http://college.lovetoknow.com/Scholarships_for_Kid_with_a_Deceased_Parent
http://scholarshipsorgrants.com/scholarships-for-kids-with-a-deceased-parent/1471/
I was 14 when my mother past away with cervitcal cancer and then i was passed family member to family member. My father abused me and i was put in police custied and now im trying to go to college and make something of myself and i have no idea how to with out help.Please help me
@Jessica: It’s good to know that you have decided to attend college. I was looking for scholarships that might help you, Forgotten Dependents & LIFE Lessons Scholarship Program are two such programs. Please check more details from: http://college.lovetoknow.com/Scholarships_for_Kid_with_a_Deceased_Parent
Hey, I’m trying to look into supporting myself for my next years in college. Im finishing up my freshmen year of college now and money is very tight. I am completely on my own supporting myself from my savings of work during high school. My mother had Leukemia and passed away when I was a junior in high school. My father left us when I was 1 year and was just never around in my life, not even child-support. Can you help me look for a more specific scholarship in which I can for sure get some kind of money. Anything will help. Please, and thank you!
Hi, I am a college student at Columbia College, a private institution. I have taken out a 9,500 dollar loan to attend the college which is stressing for me. My mother died when I was little, and I have been basically on my own since. I am in need of serious help with finding scholarships so I can decrease my loan and make my life easier. Anything will help. Please and thank you so much.
Hello,I am a junior,currently in high school in the state of Florida. This past November, my father was killed while working on the Interstate. This has been a tragic event and I am looking for anything that can help me pay for college and carry out the dream we both have wanted for me. If you could provide me with any information for my situation, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.