For students with long-term medical conditions or chronic illnesses, scholarships can have a strong impact on their education path. Such conditions can limit a person’s ability to work, making it more difficult to fund higher education without outside assistance.
This page introduces specialized scholarships offered by compassionate organizations to learners with medical conditions and chronic illnesses. Use it to connect with supplementary funding sources as you pursue your educational goals.
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Where to Find Chronic Illness Scholarships
Some private donors and philanthropic organizations offer specialized chronic illness scholarship programs to students with long-term medical conditions. These programs can help eligible applicants overcome funding shortfalls and financial obstacles to higher education.
You can also find unique funding opportunities through these four sources:
Colleges and Universities: Community colleges and universities in your area may offer scholarships and other funding support to students with financial need.
Nonprofit and Professional Organizations: Nonprofit organizations, private foundations, and other community organizations across the country provide scholarships and grants to support college students with chronic illnesses and other medical conditions.
Local, State, and Federal Government: Government grants and scholarships can help lower your higher education costs. Funding availability, eligibility requirements, and amounts vary.
Employers: Your current employer may offer tuition reimbursement or other financial aid to help support your education.
Available Scholarships for Students with Medical Conditions
Below, you will find a list of active scholarships for students with chronic illnesses and long-term medical conditions. While the list contains 16 opportunities, it is not exhaustive, and other programs not profiled here may be available.
Supplement this list with your own research, and be sure to investigate opportunities that may be unique to your state, county, school district, or locality. The programs here primarily highlight scholarships operating at the national level.
The AAHD Scholarship Program funds students with any impairment that meets the Americans with Disabilities Act definition of a disability. Applicants must submit verifiable documentation of their medical condition. The program favors applicants who volunteer or engage in community service, and those majoring in fields related to public health or disability studies.
Sponsor: American Association on Health and Disability
Amount: $1,000
Deadline: March
The AbbVie Cystic Fibrosis Scholarship is open to applicants living with cystic fibrosis (CF) while pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree. Candidates are evaluated on their academic achievement, extracurricular and community involvement, and an essay. The program uses a points-based system to select 40 scholars, each of whom receives the full financial award.
Sponsor: AbbVie CF Commitment
Amount: $3,000
Deadline: March 7-April 18
The Baer Reintegration Scholarship honors students succeeding in education while living with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder. To qualify, applicants must be diagnosed with one of these conditions and be actively receiving treatment. Winners can use the renewable funds to finance high school equivalency, vocational school, degree programs, or post-baccalaureate coursework.
Sponsor: The Center for Reintegration
Amount: Varies
Deadline: January 31
The Cancer for College Scholarship rewards courageous students continuing their education despite a cancer diagnosis. To qualify, applicants must also be attending or planning to attend a certificate or degree program at an accredited U.S. postsecondary institution. Applicants must also meet income criteria and submit academic transcripts and proof of their cancer diagnosis.
Sponsor: Cancer for College
Amount: $5,000
Deadline: November 1-January 31
The InfuCare Rx Neuromuscular Scholarship offers financial awards to high-achieving students with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), multiple sclerosis (MS), or myasthenia gravis (MG). Candidates must confirm their diagnosis and be enrolled or have an offer of admission from a U.S. vocational school, college, or university.
Sponsor: InfuCare Rx
Amount: Varies
Deadline: Varies; consult the scholarship website for updates
Applicants for the InfuCare Rx Primary Immunodeficiency Disease Scholarship must have an active, verifiable diagnosis for common variable immune deficiency (CVID), selective IgA deficiency, or familial agammaglobulinemia. The award is available to students actively engaged with academic programs at a U.S. vocational school, university, or college.
Sponsor: InfuCare Rx
Amount: Varies
Deadline: Varies; consult the scholarship website for updates
The InfuCare Rx Bleeding Disorders Scholarship provides education assistance to postsecondary students with hemophilia A/B, Von Willebrand disease (vWD), or rare factor deficiencies. Symptomatic carriers of the X-linked recessive genetic pattern associated with hemophilia also qualify. All InfuCare scholarships favor candidates who achieved a GPA of at least 3.5 during the preceding academic year.
Sponsor: InfuCare Rx
Amount: Varies
Deadline: Varies; consult the scholarship website for updates
The Beyond Scholars program offers education funding to students diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It is uniquely available to U.S. high school seniors who plan to continue their education at the college level. Award winners can apply their funding toward any eligible expense, including tuition, books, supplies, and room and board.
Sponsor: Beyond Type 1
Amount: Up to $5,000
Deadline: April
The Jack & Julie Narcolepsy Scholarship serves the dual purpose of providing education funding and raising awareness for narcolepsy. To qualify, candidates must be a graduating high school senior, or a high school graduate planning to become a first-time, first-year college student in a four-year program for the upcoming academic year. Applicants must also be diagnosed with narcolepsy or idiopathic hypersomnia.
Sponsor: Project Sleep
Amount: $1,000
Deadline: April 1
Founded in 1990, the Kevin Child Scholarship is open to postsecondary students living with hemophilia (A or B). Candidates must be planning to attend a vocational school or degree-granting institution, actively enrolled in such a school, or otherwise engaged pursuing a postsecondary degree.
Sponsor: National Bleeding Disorders Foundation
Amount: $1,000
Deadline: June
The Patient Advocate Foundation National Undergraduate Scholarship provides financial assistance to postsecondary students under age 25 who have been diagnosed with cancer or another serious chronic disease. Candidates must have received a diagnosis within the past five years and be pursuing an undergraduate degree at the associate or bachelor’s level.
Sponsor: Patient Advocate Foundation
Amount: Average award of around $6,000
Deadline: March
The Patient Advocate Foundation National Graduate Scholarship is open to candidates pursuing a master’s degree, post-baccalaureate professional degree, or doctoral degree. No age limits apply, but candidates must have been diagnosed with and/or treated for cancer or another qualifying chronic medical condition within the past 10 years.
Sponsor: Patient Advocate Foundation
Amount: Average award of around $6,000
Deadline: March
Open to postsecondary students living with HIV/AIDS, the HIV League Scholarship offers one-year and two-year awards. Two eligibility criteria apply. First, candidates must be HIV positive or living with AIDS. Second, they must also be actively enrolled on a part-time or full-time basis at a qualifying U.S. institution with at least one full academic year remaining in their program.
Sponsor: HIV League
Amount: $1,500-$7,000
Deadline: Varies; consult the scholarship website for updates
The Arthritis Champions Scholarship funds postsecondary students in undergraduate, graduate, or medical programs at accredited U.S. postsecondary institutions. Applicants must maintain full-time enrollment and a GPA of at least 2.5. They must also have arthritis or another chronic rheumatic condition that has been diagnosed by a physician.
Sponsor: Arthritis Foundation
Amount: $5,000
Deadline: January 1-March 1
The INCIGHT Scholarship is open to postsecondary students in degree-granting programs and who are residents of Washington State, Oregon, or California. Candidates must have a disability recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act. INCIGHT favors highly motivated applicants with strong records of community involvement. Financial need is not a consideration.
Sponsor: INCIGHT
Amount: $500 and up
Deadline: April
Students who have or consider themselves to have a visible or invisible disability may qualify for the Lime Connect Pathways Scholarship program. To apply, candidates must be graduating high school seniors in the U.S. or Canada and have (or are awaiting) an offer of acceptance to an accredited postsecondary institution in either country.
Sponsor: Lime Connect
Amount: $1,000
Deadline: Varies; consult the scholarship website for updates
How to Apply for Chronic Illness Scholarships
Providers of chronic illness scholarships and similar funding programs maintain their own eligibility criteria. Application processes vary, but many of these specialized scholarships have similar requirements.
First, personal essay components are commonly required. Essay prompts typically guide candidates to explain the challenges they have faced and/or overcome as a result of their medical status.
Second, most scholarship providers require winners to submit proof of their medical condition or diagnosis as a precondition for receiving an award. You may be asked to provide proof with your initial application, or during later stages of the evaluation process.
Also, providers often ask for at least one reference or letter of recommendation from an individual who is not related to you. This could be a current or former teacher, employer, medical professional, or community member who is qualified to verify your abilities and merits.