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Mary Free Bed Guild Scholarship Program
Deadline to apply: April 30, 2025 3:00 pm CT

Mary Free Bed Guild has established a scholarship program to assist high school seniors or graduates, or current college undergraduate or graduate level students, who plan to continue their education in college or vocational school programs.

The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarship, and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor, and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team and Mary Free Bed Guild’s selection committee.

Applicants to the Mary Free Bed Guild Scholarship Program must:

  • Be a permanent resident of Michigan.
  • Meet one or both of the following criteria:
    • Have a diagnosed disability.*
    • Have overcome societal and/or personal challenges through determination and hard work.
  • Be a high school senior or graduate, current college undergraduate or current graduate level student who plans to enroll in part-time or full-time undergraduate or graduate study at an accredited two- or four-year college, university, graduate school, or vocational-technical school for the entire upcoming academic year.
  • Be interested in pursuing a career in health care and be committed to serving diverse populations.

*Applicants with a diagnosed physical disability must submit a Diagnosis Verification Form, signed by a physician, as part of the application.

Awards

Awards ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 will be granted. Awards are not renewable; however, students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements. A student may receive an award a maximum of four times.

Awards are for undergraduate and graduate study.

Notification

All applicants will be notified in early June.

Payment of Scholarships

Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of Mary Free Bed Guild. Payment is made in August.

Selection Criteria

Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:

  • Academic performance
  • Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
  • Work experience
  • Personal Statement
  • Unusual personal or family circumstances
  • Video submission (YouTube URL)
  • An online recommendation
  • Short essay question on one of the following:
    • Demonstrating a commitment to improving health fairness to underserved or underrepresented communities
    • Demonstrating how the candidate’s future goals are impacting the candidate as a person with a disability

Assuming there are qualified applicants, preference will be given to individuals who have overcome challenging societal and community conditions and are candidates in the following majors/fields of study:

  • Nursing
  • Therapeutic Recreation
  • Orthotics or Prosthetics
  • Physical Therapy
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Neuropsychology
  • Speech Language Pathology

Scholarship America will select finalists and send to Mary Free Bed Guild for selection of recipients and determination of award amounts. All award determinations and/or finalist selections shall comply with Federal anti-discrimination and civil rights laws and regulations.

As part of your application, you must upload the following:

  • A current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
    • Student name
    • School name
    • Grades
    • Credit hours for each course, and term in which each course was taken.
  • Diagnosis Verification Form, signed by a physician, if you have a diagnosed physical disability.

NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload a copy of your test score report(s) separately. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.

One online recommendation form must be submitted on your behalf no later than May 5, 2025 3:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.

Mary Free Bed Guild has partnered with Scholarship America. Selecting the button below will redirect you to the Scholarship America Student Hub!

Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address provided below in the footer as safe senders in your email contact list.