Short Answer Questions
Tips for The Full Circle and TCU Scholarship applications
These sections are your chance to share your story and give readers an opportunity to see how a scholarship would help you achieve your stated educational and professional goals and require you to discuss three elements: an obstacle that you have overcome in order to get to where you are now; your educational goals and how this scholarship will help you achieve those; and how your education will help your Native community.
We recommend that you type out your responses to the short-answer question in a Word document (like this template) to ensure safe keeping if you need to abandon the application before submission.
To enhance this section, start by creating an outline of your thoughts and initial answers to each question. The outline does not need to look perfect, but it will allow you to start thinking about and organizing these questions and how they relate to each other.
Here are two sample outlines to help get you started:
- A Visual Outline for those who prefer to see the outline as part of the big picture.
- A Textual Outline for those who prefer a more linear approach.
- Whichever outline you choose, remember that they are not meant to be exhaustive. They are designed to help you organize your thoughts and begin planning for writing your final responses.
- There is no right or wrong answer for these questions, but it is very important that you provide a thorough response to each short-answer question.
As always, don’t forget to check your grammar and spelling!
NOTE: The short-answer section is ONLY available in the application, not in the profile. This means you must have all of your application ready (INCLUDING YOUR TRANSCRIPT READY TO UPLOAD) when you answer these questions; otherwise your answers will not be saved.
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News & Events
American Indian College Fund Scholarship Season Opens February 1
American Indian College Fund Scholarship Season Opens February 1
Comprehensive Support and a Streamlined System Aid Prospective Applicants and Funded Scholars
Be sure to apply for American Indian College Fund scholarships. Application season opens February 1.
Denver, Colo., January 27, 2026 — Applications for an American Indian College Fund (College Fund) scholarship open on February 1 for the 2026-27 academic year. In a year predicted to hold economic uncertainty for Tribes and the nation, American Indian and Alaska Natives, especially those living in rural areas, can give themselves the best chance at success by earning a higher education to expand their career options. The College Fund, the nation’s largest Native scholarship provider, offers more than 300 scholarship opportunities for all fields of study. Last year, the College Fund supported over 7300 scholars with more than $21 million in funding. A single, on-line application matches potential scholars with appropriate funding programs, including those available only for tribal college and university students.
All American Indian College Fund scholarships are awarded based on merit. Any enrolled member or descendant of an enrolled member of a state or federally recognized American Indian or Alaska Native Tribe may apply. Applicants must also have a minimum 2.0 grade point average and plan to enroll as a full-time student at a non-profit, accredited college or university.
The College Fund’s support for Native students goes beyond financial aid, offering a holistic approach to serving scholars and helping them to succeed. Successful applicants have access to College Success Coaches throughout their academic journey. That support begins before potential scholars even apply with webinars hosted by the College Fund team to ease the application process. Registration links for each webinar and information regarding topic, date, and time can be found below:
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- 2026-2027 College Fund Scholarship Kick Off | Feb. 1 at 6:00 PM MST | Registration link
- Hear From Reviewers & Scholars: Tips to Strengthen Your Application | Mar. 18 at 6:00 PM MDT | Registration link
- Scholarship Opportunities for California Tribal Members | Apr. 7 at 6:00 PM MDT | Registration link
- Q & A with the College Fund Scholarships Team | Apr. 23 at 6:00 PM MDT | Registration link
- Last Minute Scholarship Questions Webinar | May 26 at 6:00 PM MDT | Registration link
Halle Azure (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), a Native student scholar at Turtle Mountain College, said, “Thank you so much, I truly appreciate all the guidance and support you’ve given me. The opportunities I’ve had through the bootcamps, along with the internship I was able to secure because of them, have played a huge role in helping me feel confident in my decisions moving forward. I’m really excited for this next chapter.”
College Fund College Success Coach, Erin Redshirt, said, “Each semester, the Coaching Team hosts several dedicated webinar sessions focused on mental health, all facilitated by a mental wellness professional. Over half of our scholars have recognized these Talking Circle webinars as the most valuable resource available through College Success. Scholars report that these sessions have made a meaningful difference in their daily lives. By regularly surveying scholars, the Coaching Team ensures these services are meeting their highest needs.”
Applications are open on February 1 with a priority deadline of May 31. Interested students can contact the College Fund Scholarship team for direct and one-on-one support at scholarships@collegefund.org or 800-987-3863. Online resources are also available at:
About the American Indian College Fund — The American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 35 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 (formerly 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.
Journalists — The American Indian College Fund does not use the acronym AICF. On second reference, please use the College Fund.
One Student’s Story
By Joseph (Tohono O’odham Nation)
As a Native person traveling on my own tribal nation and ancestral lands, I never thought I would be questioned about my citizenship. Our land and our Tribe existed long before borders, checkpoints, or immigration agencies. Yet these are the same concepts that are ravaging our nation and my community. Recently, I passed through a border checkpoint on my home, the Tohono O’odham Nation, where I was briefly searched and questioned about whether I am a United States citizen.
On the surface, it may seem like a routine check or interaction. But I have gone through these checkpoints countless times without being stopped, questioned, or searched. This time it felt much deeper. This stop was not about confirming my identification — it was about displaying power. It was about viewing Indigenous people as outsiders on their own homeland.
In that moment, as the agent stopped me, told me to roll down my window, leaned his head inside my vehicle an inch from my face, and asked me if I was a U.S. citizen, I experienced the worst fear I have ever felt. Everything seemed to slow down, and horrible outcomes filled my mind. All because of how I look and because my home resides close to the border, it gave him the authority to question me.
This encounter stayed vivid in my mind with me long after it ended. I reflected on how this happens to my people with Border Patrol daily — and now it was my turn.
This same behavior now extends nationwide. These experiences are no longer isolated; they have become a pattern, affecting many people of color, including students, elders, and families, placing them in vulnerable and unsettling situations.
We must embrace the National Day of Racial Healing. We must reflect honestly on the harm that is taking place today in our nation and the harm that still exists in our society to move forward.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us that progress has never come without sustained, nonviolent pressure. By sharing our experiences and stories, we can apply pressure — not through anger, but through using our voices to share the truth.
I share this experience not to instill fear or heartbreak, but to encourage understanding. Racial healing begins when our stories are heard and acknowledged. It grows when people across communities listen, learn, and hold systems accountable, working together.
National Day of Racial Healing
In the past year we have witnessed the erosion of freedom of speech, racial profiling of civilians, and further limitations on minority and low-income individuals’ ability to pursue their desired educations and careers.
The Indigenous peoples within the United States are not strangers to being treated differently from others, with their children forcibly removed from families and sent to boarding schools to be assimilated and entire Nations forcibly removed from their homes for their land. Even until recently, individuals were prohibited from engaging in their spiritual and cultural practices. Throughout history, Native people have continuously had to fight for their legal rights to be heard and for the federal government to uphold their treaties.
During the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s, American Indians and Alaska Natives demanded the sovereign rights and autonomy owed to them as sovereign nations, the chance to be self-actualized, and to not be forcefully assimilated or their tribal nations dismantled. That was the birth of the TCU movement.
The tribal college movement and founding of the tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) is not only a perfect example of Native nations reclaiming their sovereign rights, including the right to speech and protest, speak one’s language, and to enjoy freedom from the government imposing a religion, freedom of association, and more. TCUs are also at the forefront of healing individuals and communities.
TCUs often host or support tribal language reclamation programs, their grounds and academic calendars hold ceremonial events, and they welcome advocacy organizations to operate on their campuses. In addition, TCUs offer an affordable education to the entire community as open enrollment institutions, and host community-wide events for both Native and non-Native community members alike.
Our different languages, cultures, and traditions as Native peoples are to be celebrated as part of the beautiful tapestry that comprises our nation. Collaboration, healing, and peace can be found in these aspects of culture, all of which are taught at TCUs. We can also find healing by continuing to take care of ourselves and each other.
It is in our families and at TCUs that we learn about the knowledge and beliefs of our ancestors that came before us; in particular, the belief that we are all relatives. This is the key to our true healing: individually, in our communities, and in our wider nation.
