Local Private Funds

• If "all politics is local," as House Speaker Tip O'Neill used to say, maybe high school scholarships are, too. While college scholarships tend to be offered on a national scale, with national competition, many high school scholarships are offered locally. Local private and nonprofit organizations make substantial amounts of money available for pre-college educational needs. In Washington, D.C., for example, the Latino Student Fund makes scholarships available not just to Latino freshman but to Latino students from pre-K through grade 12. (Reference 1)
  
  

General High School Scholarships

• Latino students are able to compete with other minorities and others of all races for a number of competitive scholarships available nationally from businesses and nonprofit and private organizations. The Freedom First Student Competition awards between $750 and $3,000 to high school students with the best essays on religious freedom. There are at least three dozen similar competitions involving essays, videos and public speaking. (Reference 2)
  
  

Boarding Schools

• Some of the most prestigious private boarding schools in the country award generous scholarships to incoming freshman. Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, which promotes socioeconomic diversity, according to its website, offers full scholarships to students whose families earn less than $75,000 a year. Georgetown Preparatory School in Maryland offers scholarships through its Latino Student Fund. (References 3 and 4)
  
  

Financial Aid

• Many private high schools offer financial aid based on need. Some of the best private high schools boast endowments as large as many colleges. The endowment for the Westminster Schools in Atlanta is over $250 million. This compares favorably to some of the top 50 colleges in the country. Some schools reach out to minority applicants to diversify their enrollment. (Reference 5)