Application Tips
Strengthen Your Scholarship Application
Explore these tips to learn how to strengthen your scholarship application.
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Complete the Application in 3 Steps
Once you set-up your profile in our application system, you will have to complete 5 steps BEFORE you can submit your scholarship application for consideration by the College Fund:
· Scholarship Application
· Extracurricular Activities
· Honors and Distinctions
In the first step, Scholarship Application, you will provide academic information such as your grade point average (GPA), school, major, and more. This is the section where you will answer the reflection questions, which are important for your overall application score.
While you work on the Scholarship Application step, you can save your work as a “draft.” When you have completed the Scholarship Application step and proof-read all your responses, you will click “mark as complete,” and then return to the application dashboard to complete the remaining steps.
In the remaining steps, you will add information about yourself, such as activities you participate in and any awards or distinctions you have received.
In the Extracurricular Activities and Honors & Distinctions steps, you will click on the green “+New Item” button to add a new entry. Under these sections, add as many new items as you like. You must add at least one item in each step. You can save individual entries as “draft.” Please note that the application will not let you submit if you have any entries saved as “drafts” when you go to submit. If you make a mistake, entries can be deleted using the “delete” button. When you are done with all your entries in either step, click the white “close” button at the top right, and that will take you back to your application dashboard.
The last section, Resume, is optional – but we encourage you to complete it if you are interested in internships or career development opportunities.
Once you complete each of these steps and have reviewed all of your responses, you can return to the application dashboard and click the green “Submit Application” button. The green submit button will only be highlighted and clickable if you have completed all the application steps. You must click on the green “Submit Application” button to have your application reviewed by the College Fund and to be considered for scholarships.
*** Warning – you will not be able to change your application once it has been submitted! ***
We are here to support your success. Please email us at scholarships@collegefund.org, or give us a call at 1-800-987-3863 from 8am to 4:30pm (MST), Monday through Friday, if you need assistance with your application.
Reflection Questions
The Scholarship application has three reflection questions that resemble mini essays.
These questions give you a chance to share your story. The reflection questions prompt you to discuss three subjects: an obstacle that you have overcome to get to where you are now; your educational goals and how this scholarship will help you achieve them; and how your education will help the Native community.
We recommend that you type out your responses to the reflection questions in a Word document or similar text editor. This way you can edit freely and utilize spellcheck or grammar check functions.
To enhance your responses, start by creating an outline of your thoughts and initial answers to each question. The outline does not need to be exhaustive, but it will allow you to start organizing your thoughts about the questions. You will need to choose your words carefully, as there is a limit of 300 words per question. It is very important that you think deeply about the questions and provide a thorough responses. As always, don’t forget to check your grammar and spelling!
For scoring, the reflection questions count heavily compared to other sections of the application. A high scoring essay will be clear, complete, and compelling. Thoroughly answer each question with the details of your unique story in a way that will engage reviewers. Pay attention to the help text below each question text box for additional guidance.
Formatting & Editing
These tips for formatting, editing, and proofreading make sure your application is PREPPED for excellence. You can apply these tips throughout your application.
Start with the basics:
- Creating descriptive and appropriate responses
- Writing in complete sentences
- Ensuring that answers flow cohesively
- Using correct grammar
In your Reflection Questions, Extracurricular Activity entries, and Honors & Distinction entries, use full sentences that allow your personality and passions to come forward. For example, if your educational goal is to complete a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and teach on your reservation, it is recommended that you respond with a full sentence like the one below:
It is my dream to complete my bachelor’s degree in early childhood education in order to teach the next generation of leaders on my reservation. I believe that foundational life skills can be taught at a young age, and I want to be a part of empowering these learners through my degree.
Do not answer the reflection questions with bullet points or fragments. It is not recommended to format your answer like this:
- Educational Goals: B.A. in early childhood education, plan to teach on the reservation.
If you need help editing, just remember PREPPED.
PREPPED stands for Prepare, Readability, Every Question, Punctuation and Grammar, Passion, Examples, and Double Take. Here’s how to be PREPPED on your application:
- Prepare: Gather necessary information prior to starting the application. Prepare your response by thinking critically about the questions and creating outlines when appropriate.
- Readability: Do your answers flow? Are the sentences and thoughts laid out in a cohesive way that leads the reader through your answer from start to finish? Are there any parts that sound awkward or out-of-place?
- Every Question: Did your answer completely address a every part of the question?
- Punctuation and Grammar: Is your grammar correct? Did you place commas in the correct spots? Do your possessive nouns include the apostrophe properly? Have you used the correct form of commonly misused words, such as they, they’re, their, and affect or effect?
- Passion: Read over your words and ask yourself if your passions are evident in your writing. Are you writing something because you think it is what the readers want to hear or are you genuinely passionate about your goals and dreams?
- Examples: Did you provide specific examples to better explain your statements? Are these examples relevant to the question and the point you are trying to make?
- Double Take: Once you have gone through the finer details of editing and proofreading, ask a friend, instructor, tutor, or family member to read through your responses. Ask them to use the PREPPED checklist. After they have read them over and provided feedback, edit your answers once more to reflect any changes. Then go through this checklist one last time.
Congratulations! You are now PREPPED and your application responses are ready for submission!
Application Photos
The American Indian College Fund may use your application photo in donor reports, direct mail appeals, and marketing opportunities. Students will need to upload a photograph in their application each year.
Try to focus on the following things when selecting a photo for your application:
- Your photo or headshot should feature you above all else
- Your face should be clearly visible (avoid ball caps, sunglasses, or heavily pixilated or dark images)
- Headshots are preferred but full-length photographs are acceptable
- Traditional regalia is encouraged but not required
- Please have someone else take the photo and avoid selfies
- Consider the lighting. It is better to have light in front of you than behind you
- Don’t forget to SMILE!
Proving Descent
For students who are not enrolled tribal members themselves but are able to prove that their parents or grandparents have tribal enrollment, the following is very important.
The graphic below illustrates an excellent example of how to prove descent through a paper trail:
Examples of tribal documents may include:
– Official letter from the tribe stating the enrollment status of the parent and/or grandparent;
– A copy of the Tribal ID card;
– CIB (Certificate of Indian Blood)
Enrolling in Your Tribe
Each tribe has their own unique requirements and process for becoming an enrolled member. The best first step is to reach out to your tribal government to learn more. If you need help contacting your tribe, visit the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) website at https://www.doi.gov/tribes/enrollment to learn more.
As each process is unique, and tribes of differing sizes and administration have varying capacities to handle enrollment requests, you shouldn’t assume that your request will be processed quickly. Many smaller tribes with limited staff are completely unavailable to complete this work due to seasonal subsistence activities and other cultural practices.
Extracurricular Activities
Extracurriculars are any activities that you do outside of your required schoolwork. This includes, but is not limited to, traditional and cultural activities, clubs, sports, volunteering, work/employment, faith-based activities, community-based activities, and hobbies.
Extracurricular activities set you apart from other applicants and increase your chances of receiving a scholarship. For these reasons, we encourage you to add a complete history of your extracurricular involvement.
Don’t be discouraged if you do not have time for sports or a dozen bake sales. The American Indian College Fund encourages you to think outside the box when it comes to your time spent away from school work. Many of our students are nontraditional students, returning to school later in life when they have full-time jobs and families. For this reason, employment and family duties can be Extracurricular Activity entries on your scholarship application. More entry types are:
- Volunteer and/or service-related activities
- Athletics
- Student Government
- Academic and Professional Organizations
- Multicultural Activities
- Employment
- Work Study
- Family-related activities
Updating Your Profile & Application
Applicants can view their profile and scholarship application whenever they wish. Students will be able to update their profile as needed. However, the scholarship application cannot be edited once it is submitted.
Profile – It’s important to keep your profile information up to date in our system. If your contact information changes, it is your responsibility to update your email and phone number with us. This is important, as we will notify students of awards, opportunities, and next steps via email.
Full Circle Scoring Insights
What happens to my application when I submit it? How will my application be scored?
When you click “submit,” your application is stored securely in the online application system until scoring begins. Students who submit their application between February 1 and May 31 will have their application scored by the end of July.
Applications are scored by independent reviewers who have experience in Native higher education. Each application submitted between February 1 and May 31 will receive three scores by three separate reviewers. We then take the average of those three scores to assign the application its final score. American Indian College Fund staff members do not score the applications.
For scoring consistency across the applications, all readers use a rubric system to determine how many points to allocate for various portions of the scholarship application. Higher scores are more likely to receive a scholarship. As a merit-based scholarship program, the rubric scores applications based on thoughtful responses and a student’s ability to demonstrate merit. The reflection questions are the highest scoring portion of the application. There is also a preference for students attending tribal colleges and alumni of tribal colleges.
Typically, scholarship awards are determined by the end of July. You can log in to your online application profile at any time to see if you have received an award. If the word “pending” appears beside the application, that means your application is still under review, so keep checking back!
We hope this has been helpful in outlining how scholarship applications are scored. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us by email or at 800-987-3863.
If you have additional questions about applying for scholarships, be sure to read through our Frequently Asked Questions.
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Teach Them Where They Are: Bay Mills Community College Brings Opportunity for Higher Education to Communities Across the Country
Over 93% of American Indian College Fund scholars receiving scholarships and other support from the College Fund use their degrees to give back to their communities. This isn’t surprising when one considers that maintaining good relationships and service to others are core values for many Indigenous peoples.
But for many aspiring Native students, getting a higher education can seem like a far-off dream, since many institutions, including tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are physically far from their communities.
While TCUs often serve as the only opportunity to gain a trade, certificate, or degree for tribal communities on remote, rural reservations, there are only 34 accredited TCUs today. And even if a TCU does exist on a student’s reservation, the vast majority lack student housing. When you consider that reservations in the United States can range from less than a mile to more than 27,000 miles, this barrier of accessibility is a significant challenge for students living far from their community’s TCU.
Fortunately for students, TCUs are innovative institutions led by people who share the same values of connection and community as their students. Bay Mills Community College (BMCC), headquartered in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, is one example. With a student population that is 80% remote, BMCC has been offering online courses since the early 2000s, when their student population was roughly 70% in-person and 30% online prior to COVID-19. The switch only further highlighted what faculty and staff at BMCC already knew: it is important to teach students where they are.
Duane Bedell, President of Bay Mills Community College, said, “The important thing about that is that, again, we get to meet the students where they’re at, because we have to take into consideration their personal and their professional schedules, along with whatever their academic endeavors are. So over the years, as we started to build out our network with the tribal nations and so on and offering online programs. This has allowed us to grow and have representation in pretty much every state, I think, but two.”
The college is committed to learning about each student as a whole, which includes understanding students’ communities. The outcome has been a cultural exchange with Native students from across the country sharing both the differences and commonalities between their Tribes. This complements BMCC’s priority of including a culture and language component in every course.
Online students are provided a quality education and held to rigorous academic standards while working and studying remotely. The college’s transition to a predominantly online system means electronic textbooks can be made available to students to save them the cost of buying print copies, tutors are available 24/7, and of course, students never have to leave the communities they plan to serve once they graduate. All of these benefits of remote learning address several key challenges Native students face when wanting to attend college. And, for the first time this summer, the college was able to bring not only classes but commencement to the tribal community of some of its remote students.
BMCC partnered with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) to hold an in-person commencement for 11 graduating online students studying early childhood education on June 3. The event was held in Philadelphia, Miss. on tribal lands–the first college commencement on the tribe’s reservation. The majority of BMCC senior leadership attended, taking up nearly half a plane to travel to celebrate the accomplishments of their graduates. More than 100 members of the Choctaw community attended, with their tribal council and offices represented in the crowd to congratulate their relatives.
BMCC Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indian graduate, Tina Hickman, said, “Walking across the stage at the Bay Mills Community College commencement on the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians reservation was one of the proudest and most meaningful moments of my life. It represented years of hard work, perseverance, and the unwavering support of my family, friends, mentors, and community. Celebrating this milestone on my tribal homelands made the experience even more special, reminding me that education is not only a personal achievement but also a way to honor where I come from and invest in the future of my people.”
While it may have been the first traveling commencement for BMCC, it is safe to bet that it won’t be the last. President Bedell is planning to host another ceremony in New York in 2027. Between now and then the college will keep working to help build better futures for Native students, families, and communities across the nation by not requiring individuals to choose between an education and everyone they’re learning for.
Brookings Report: Decrease in Federal and Philanthropy Funding in Indian Country Drives Critical Need Gap
Brookings Report: Decrease in Federal and Philanthropy Funding in Indian Country Drives Critical Need Gap
Initial analysis published by Brookings and the American Indian College Fund shows sustained, predictable investment needed to build long-term economic sustainability for Native and surrounding communities.
Denver, Colo., August 11, 2026 — Tribal communities have been historically underfunded in areas such as infrastructure, health, education, clean energy, and economic development, even despite the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations to Indian Country. When the pandemic shined a spotlight on the critical needs Native communities still faced, historic investments from the federal government and philanthropy followed. But today the funding picture in Indian Country is quite different due to federal funding cuts and the inability of philanthropy dollars to fill the gap, according to Underinvestment in Indian Country: How federal and philanthropic funding to Native Americans falls short, and how to fix it, an initial analysis published as a partnership between Brookings and the American Indian College Fund.
The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) in 2025 and the executive branch’s cancellation of grants and contracts to Tribes and Native-serving organizations as part of its federal spending cuts and agency closures significantly reduced investments in clean energy, food assistance, and health care in Indian Country. Meanwhile, today less than 1% of the nation’s philanthropic investments serve Indian Country. Indian Country receives 88 cents of every $100 in U.S. philanthropic investment. Of this, only 51 cents goes directly to organizations and causes that exclusively service Native people and communities.
In the case of the federal government, these cuts are a violation of its trust and treaty responsibilities. But this is also irresponsible and short-sighted. Investment in Indian Country benefits Native and non-Native Americans alike; for example, in Native higher education, every dollar invested in Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) returns $1.60 in tax revenue and public sector savings. The report Underinvestment in Indian Country: How federal and philanthropic funding to Native Americans falls short, and how to fix it aims to increase federal and philanthropic investment in Native communities and improve its efficacy through several recommendations, including:
Making greater use of mandatory federal funding. Most Native-serving federal programs currently depend upon annual discretionary appropriations, which make funding vulnerable to political shifts, government shutdowns, inflation erosion, and year-to-year stagnation. By moving more Native funding into mandatory funding, eligible Tribes, citizens, and communities would be more likely to receive the full amount of funding they are entitled to through creating more stable, predictable, and need-responsive investments.
Making federal investment data more accessible. The report maintains that current data on federal spending for Native Americans remains inconsistent, incomplete, and difficult to use. The Native American Funding Crosscut, an annual government-wide report published by the Office of Management and Budget detailing federal funding allocations and proposed federal budget requests for Tribal and other Native programs has improved, but data is still reported differently by agency, with the Crosscut typically published as a PDF. If Congress required OMB to publish the Crosscut annually with program-level detail, standardized agency reporting, and downloadable data in formats such as Excel or CSV, this would help Tribes, Native organizations, policymakers, and funders more easily identify gaps and make better informed investment decisions.
Reform philanthropic approaches to Native funding. The report urges philanthropy to move beyond incidental or one-time grants to make a greater impact with sustained funding by providing long-term, patient capital to make Native communities more sustainable; to support Native-led organizations and Native intermediaries; to offer capacity-building assistance and flexible application processes; to incorporate grassroots Native community perspectives into the grantmaking process; to hire more Native staff to build internal cultural knowledge; to improve and protect data on Native-focused grantmaking; and to leverage peer networks by committing to funding Native causes while advocating for other philanthropies to do the same.
Underinvestment in Indian Country: How federal and philanthropic funding to Native Americans falls short, and how to fix it is the first of a series that will share improved data about federal and philanthropic investment in Native communities. It is intended to serve as a guidebook for federal, state, regional, and philanthropic investors; policymakers, and others to help them build stronger regional economies, improve public services, revitalize Native cultures, and improve Native communities.
The Underinvestment in Indian Country: How federal and philanthropic funding to Native Americans falls short, and how to fix it report was written by Robert Maxim, Glencora Haskins, and Danika Grieser. To read or download a free copy of the report, please visit https://www.brookings.edu/articles/investing-in-indian-country/.
Robert Maxim (Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe)
Robert Maxim (Mashpee Wampanoag), leads Brookings Metro’s work on Tribal economies. Maxim’s research has focused on an array of different research and policy issues in Indian Country. On Tribal economies, Maxim has written about the impact of federal investments and federal funding cuts on Tribal communities; the need to reform federal funding for Tribal nations; Native workers’ ability to access to remote work; the role of Native American community development financial institutions in Tribal economic development; the exclusion of Native Americans from economic data; and how state and regional policy can improve data about Tribal nations, citizens, and communities. Maxim has also researched and written on Native American education, including policy responses to remedy the lingering impacts of federal Indian boarding schools on Tribal communities, ideas for improving federal higher education data about Native American students, and policy proposals to support Native students and Native American-serving higher educational institutions. His work on identity in Indian Country has explored how federal data misrepresents Native American identity. Within Brookings, he has led efforts to resurface the Institution’s historic engagement in Tribal communities, including the Meriam Report, and to engage with Native-led organizations on enabling future research centering Native American people. Maxim’s research and commentary on Native communities have appeared in numerous national, regional, and Native-led media outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, National Public Radio, Marketplace, Time, Federal News Network, Indian Country Today, Native News Online, Native America Calling, and others.
Glencora Haskins
Glencora Haskins — Glencora Haskins is the Senior Research Associate & Applied Research Manager at Brookings Metro, where she researches place-based strategies for inclusive economic development. As part of the Applied Research team, Haskins works with local leaders, regional implementers, and federal officials to translate and codify new insights on regional policy and programmatic solutions that can be scaled nationally. Haskins’s recent work follows the federal government’s new modern industrial strategy, and how targeted regional investments in innovation, talent, and infrastructure can create economic opportunity for more people in more places. She also leads the production of Brookings Metro’s Local Government ARPA Investment Tracker and annual Metro Monitor, which support local and regional leaders in making data-driven decisions based on current and actionable insights about their communities. Haskins earned her Master of Science in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to her work at Brookings, Haskins used her background in economics to develop and manage analytical models focused on the impact of tourism and arts and cultural institutions in state and local economies across the eastern U.S.
Danika Grieser — Danika Grieser is an incoming J.D. candidate at Stanford Law School and a former intern at the Brookings Institution.
About the American Indian College Fund — The American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 37 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer” and provided more than $23 million in scholarships and other student support for higher education in 2024-25. Since its founding in 1989 the College Fund has provided more than $391 million in scholarships, programs, community, and tribal college support. The College Fund also supports a variety of programs at the nation’s 34 accredited tribal colleges and universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators. It earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, a Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid (Guidestar), and the “Best in America Seal of Excellence” from the Independent Charities of America. The College Fund was also named as one of the nation’s top 100 charities to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit collegefund.org.
About Brookings — Brookings equips decisionmakers with nonpartisan research and policy strategies to create a more prosperous and secure country and world.
Photo 1 – Robert Maxim (Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe).
Photo 2 – Glencora Haskins.
Journalists — The American Indian College Fund does not use the acronym AICF. On second reference, please use the College Fund.
