Gates Millennium Scholarships
By ArmannI Manuel Varela
12th grade student
The Gates Millennium Scholarship (GMS) is an opportunity for low-income students to have their education fully paid for, in hopes that they will be future world leaders. Bill and Melinda Gates give out a $1.6 billion grant that provides post-secondary education to 1,000 chosen students each year. GMS was established in 1999 as a twenty-year commitment, to provide greater access to higher education for outstanding students from underrepresented backgrounds. The scholarship supports its selected students in all many ways, including but not limited to personal, leadership and professional development, networking and mentorships opportunities, as well as financial and academic supports. GMS has a small amount of requirements, such as a minimum of 3.3 on a 4.0 GPA scale and meeting the Pell Grant requirement for financial aid.
The GMS process starts with choosing a nominator or recommender and completing nine essays for your application. Personally, I am doing the GMS and it is not as bad as it sounds. The program also offers classes where you can come and have your essay reviewed by officials from GMS. Usually, there are three classes every set number of weeks, which are at schools spread across the city to give every student an opportunity to attend the workshop. These workshops are extremely helpful since the volunteers are from GMS and know what a good essay looks like.
Understanding the question can be the hardest part for some. I have read essays where people did not read the prompt properly which can make your essay invalid. Another hard part about GMS is more of a personal issue, and that is trying to find time to actually write a good essay while also doing your school work. Even if it means some late nights and coffee, this opportunity is worth it. Winning the GMS would be a blessing upon any family because it takes away the anxiety of any student and the worry off any family. The Gates Millennium Scholarship is an amazing process to be a part of and would be a blessing to win.
For more information, visit: https://www.gmsp.org/