Bipolar Scholarships

Bipolar scholarships can give you the chance you deserve.

Scholarships you need to know about include the following:

To be eligible, scholarship applicants must:

1. Be diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, or schizoaffective disorder.

2. Be currently receiving medical treatment for the disease, including medications and psychiatric follow-up.

3. Be actively involved in rehabilitative or reintegration efforts, such as clubhouse membership, part-time work, volunteer efforts, or school enrollment.

4. Be a U.S. citizen and plan to attend a school in the United States.

5. Be of the age of 18 years or older.

The Lilly Reintegration Scholarship was established to help bipolar and other eligible people cover the cost of tuition, books and lab fees. Selection criteria and an application are available at the scholarship link provided.

The Linda Lael Miller Scholarships are awarded to women who are 25 years or older. Usually the recipients of these scholarships are non-traditional students who have a difficult time finding scholarships for which they qualify. The scholarship funds may be used not only for tuition and books, but also for childcare, transportation and other expenses not covered by traditional scholarships. In the past bipolar women have been sucessful applicants. Linda Lael Miller is a writer and philanthropist who funds the scholarships through her own personal earnings.

The Charles A. Olayinka Scholarship was established to help those diagnosed with bipolar disorder achieve their ultimate academic goals. Applicants must be individuals with bipolar disorder enrolled or entering a United States college (community, undergraduate or postgraduate) and be under the care of a licensed mental health professional. the award is for $1,000.

The Bipolar Lives Scholarship: Our very own! Entry for the first Bipolar Lives Scholarship closed at midnight on 6/1/2009. This was for an award of a $500 cash prize to a student enrolled in a United States college (undergraduate or postgrad, for example law school, MBAs, etc), community college, technical college, or trade school.

The 2009 winner is N.H., a social work student from WI. See 2009's winning entry and other judging panel faves.

See 2010's winning entries and other judging panel faves.

The 2011 Bipolar Lives Scholarship for $1,000 has opened:

Apply for the 2011 Bipolar Lives Scholarship!

NAMI mainly recommend using the major scholarship information sites to search for your bipolar scholarship. For example, NAMI suggest FastWeb.

NAMI do list a couple of scholarships not included above, but none for bipolar people in particular.

NAMI also advise that as the majority of scholarships related to mental illness can be found at the state and local levels, it is wise to concentrate your research on local scholarship opportunities. The best place to start is through your your high school.

Also, it can be helpful to work backwards. Make a shortlist of 5 colleges you WANT to attend, and find out what scholarships are available at from your preferred, targeted colleges. Wondering why I am no longer talking about bipolar scholarships in particular?

After doing a lot of research to come up with very little, my main suggestion is look for college scholarships based around your interests and strengths - and make the bipolar just an interesting part of your story that shows you have worked extra hard and know what it is to triumph over adversity!

“The only thing more expensive than a good education is a bad one.”

“Experience is a good school, but the fees are high.”

Return from Bipolar Scholarships to Bipolar Resources

Return from Bipolar Scholarships to Bipolar Lives home