Losing a sibling can have an unfavorable effect on your emotional, social, and financial well-being. Especially if that sibling took full responsibility for your financial well-being while alive, their death may spell doom for your life with regard to the funding of academic endeavors.

To prevent your academic life from dying after losing your sibling and sole benefactor, odds are that you want to know if you’re qualified for any scholarship as a result of the loss.

Interestingly, there are various scholarship schemes specifically targeted at the surviving siblings of people who died from long-term illness or violent crimes. For instance, there is a specialized category of funding schemes –known as 9/11 Scholarship Programs –targeted at the relatives of people who died as a result of the ever-memorable terrorist attack that occurred on the 11th of September, 2001. In this regard, these relatives could be siblings, spouses, dependents, children or domestic partners of the 9/11 terrorist attack victims.

With the help of this post, you can easily find out the various scholarships that you may qualify for through losing your sibling. This is because the post provides detailed information and eligibility requirements about the top 10 scholarships for students who have lost their siblings.

The Northwestern Mutual Foundation Childhood Cancer Sibling Scholarship Program

This is a notable funding scheme dedicated toward assisting relatives –particularly siblings –of people afflicted with cancer or who died from childhood cancer. Notably, this scholarship is offered by the Northwestern Mutual Foundation while Scholarship America takes charge of the scholarship’s administration, including the evaluation of eligible applications.

Eligibility requirements for this Northwest Mutual Foundation’s scholarship are as follows:

The applicant must be a brother/sister to a childhood cancer patient, survivor or somebody who died from childhood cancer;
The applicant’s GPA on a 4.0 scale must not be less than 2.5;
The applicant must be any of high school graduate, high school senior, and somebody intending to apply to an accredited university, college or vocational school for a four-year or two-year undergrad program;
The applicant must be able to tender valid evidence of relationship to the cancer survivor, patient or somebody who died from cancer –the evidence should be in form of an affidavit duly endorsed by parent(s) or guardian(s);
The applicant for this Northwest Mutual Foundation’s cancer scholarship must not be above age 25

Even if you’re a sibling of a childhood cancer patient/survivor, you’ll not be considered eligible for this scholarship if you’re an employee or child of an employee at the Northwest Mutual Foundation.

Jacqueline Harrison Memorial Scholarship Program

This is one of the notable scholarships targeted at victims of violent crimes and/or families of such victims. While this scholarship program aims to help beneficiaries fund their college education, its application requirements (esp. for those enrolling in BSc programs) are as follows:

Three letters of recommendation
A resume
Evidence of active and continuous engagement in community service and volunteering
A financial statement
An official transcript
A personal essay (should be 500 words in length)

David B Wright Memorial Foundation Scholarship

In honor of a Marine Corps veteran that died from a violent gunshot in 2009, this scholarship is offered as a yearly funding scheme aimed at assisting violent crime victims/survivors and/or their relatives.

It’s noteworthy that the David B Wright Memorial Foundation Scholarship highly favors applicants considered college students in any of the following areas of study: engineering, carpentry, human service, counseling, science, and mathematics.

The foundation sponsoring the scholarship is highly committed to financing the higher education degrees of its awardees.

Children Impacted by Crime Scholarship Fund

This scholarship is a funding scheme looking to sponsor the full-time degree education of children affected by crime. Immediate relatives of such children are also considered eligible for the scholarship.

Eligibility requirements for this scholarship are as follows: (i) the applicant must possess a GPA of at least 2.5; (ii) the applicant must be in a recognized four-year or two-year U.S. institution; (iii) the applicant must be enrolled in a full-time degree; (iv) the applicant should be 18 years old or above

Each awardee of this scholarship gets as much as $1,000.

South Carolina Victim Assistance Network Scholarship

In collaboration with the Alpha Chi Omega Foundation, the South Carolina Victim Assistance Network targets females who survived violent crimes. This female-targeted scholarship is available every semester with each awardee receiving up to $3,500.

While this scholarship is available to female (violent) crime survivors at both undergrad and graduate academic levels, the stated scholarship value is expected to cover each awardee’s tuition as well as other school expenses.

Parts of the selection criteria considered for awarding this scholarship are as follows: financial need, the Alpha Chi Omega chapter leadership, and regular engagement in community services or campus activities.

OVC Crime Victim/Survivor Scholarship

This scholarship is a yearly funding scheme under the aegis of OVC (the Office for Victims of Crime) in the United States. The scholarship awards as much as $5,000 to each awardee who is considered an American survivor of a violent crime.

Some of the core eligibility requirements for this scholarship include evidence of financial need (for educational purpose) and proof of experience in volunteering with other victims. In the latter case, applicants must be able to prove that they have committed a minimum of one year to the volunteer service.

While applying for the OVC Crime Victim/Survivor Scholarship, the applicant should attach a detailed narration of their (violent) crime experience as well as the impact the crime has inflicted on them. That said, violent crime survivors eligible for this scholarship are expected to be applying for academic degrees at the graduate or undergraduate level. On the one hand, the scholarship is interested in applicants willing to begin a career that involves assisting other crime victims. The scholarship, on the other hand, favors crime survivors applying for degrees that pertain to human service.

The Needham September 11 Scholarship Fund

This funding scheme belongs to a specialized category of scholarships targeted at the relatives –such as the children –of those who lost their lives on 11th of September, 2001 at the World Trade Center.

Eligible recipients of this scholarship must be currently enrolled in a recognized academic institution –college, university or high school. While each family recipient of this scholarship receives $125,000, there are several application criteria for the scholarship.

Proof of involvement in community service and evidence of financial need seem to be the chief application criteria for the Needham September 11 Scholarship Fund. While putting together the application for this scholarship, the applicant should attach a personal essay spelling out his/her academic goals and the essence of the scholarship in helping to accomplish the goals.

The CFA Institute 11 September Memorial Scholarship Program

This scholarship awards up to $25,000 to its recipient who is considered a part-time or full-time student and relative –child, spouse or domestic partner –of a victim of the September 11, 2001 disastrous event. Notably, the event’s victim could be a permanently disabled individual or somebody who died from the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Remarkably, this scholarship runs yearly and beneficiaries of the scheme can be on annual payment for up to five years. One of the indispensable considerations for this program is that applicants should be currently enrolled in courses pertaining to any of economics, business ethics, finance and accounting.

Twin Tower Orphan Fund Scholarship Program

Targeted at children whose parents died in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, the Twin Tower Orphan Fund Scholarship is one of the funding programs that belong to a specialized category of scholarships, 9/11 Scholarship Programs.

In simple words, eligible individuals for this scholarship are specifically students whose father/mother or both parents died during the September 11, 2001 attack. With that said, one of the scholarship’s core application requirements is being a student in the 18—22 year-old age bracket.

Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund

This is another 9/11 scholarship program specifically targeted at the sibling or relative of somebody who lost their life due to the September 11, 2001 attack. Under the aegis of the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund, this 9/11 scholarship program has awarded a mouthwatering sum in excess of $100 million to relatives –spouses, dependents, siblings or domestic partners –of September 11, 2001 victims.

Parts of the application –or eligibility –requirements for this scholarship are as follows: (i) evidence of financial dependence on a relative who lost their life in the 9/11 attack; (ii) enrolment in any accredited institution, college, training school or trade school for a two-year or four-year program.

Conclusion

Especially if you were heavily dependent on your sibling when they were alive, losing that sibling might want to spell an abrupt end for your academic journey. Luckily, however, you can take advantage of a relevant scholarship to prevent your academic journey from ending abruptly. We urge you to apply for whatever scholarship you qualify for on our list of top 10 scholarships for students who have lost their siblings.