Explore Programs
A Scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students to help support their education. Scholarships do not have to be repaid and are granted based on a variety of criteria such as academic merit, program of study, financial need, academic progress, or a combination of these and other factors.
Students apply for all MCC Institutional and Foundation Scholarships by completing the application on AwardSpring. Filling out the application takes five minutes or less and applies students for the majority of the scholarships without any additional work.
Scholarship opportunities are open to all students attending or planning to attend Metropolitan Community College.
- Fall Quarter - August 1
- Winter Quarter - November 1
- Spring Quarter - February 1
- Summer Quarter - May 1
- Early Deadline – December 1
- Final Deadline – March 1
Students only need to fill out the application one time per academic year. Students are encouraged to check their Scholarship Dashboard on AwardSpring periodically throughout the academic year to see if there are scholarships that require more information such as essays.
IMPORTANT: Please note that deadline dates are subject to change. To ensure your application is considered, submit it by the deadline date, as the Scholarships Office cannot process late submissions. Additionally, some scholarships may close earlier than the deadlines shown in AwardSpring. Therefore, students are encouraged to apply and complete any follow-up tasks as soon as possible.
Most scholarships do not require an essay and students who do not submit an essay will still be considered for scholarships that do not require one. Scholarship essay topics vary based on the scholarship. The AwardSpring Dashboard will have a list of scholarships requiring follow-up work that may include writing an essay.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is not required to apply for scholarships, however it is highly encouraged. Some scholarships require MCC to determine your level of financial need, and the FAFSA form is the primary method used to determine that. Remember, “financial need” does not necessarily mean that you have no income—some scholarships are set up to assist those who are working full-time and going to school, too.
If you are a current or returning student, an email is sent to your MCC email address. Prospective and high school students without an MCC email will receive a notification to their personal email. To ensure our emails continue to reach your inbox, please add scholarships@mccneb.edu to your contact list.
Students are required to accept all scholarships provided by the MCC Foundation. This allows us to provide follow up information to the donor on how the funds are being used and on the success of students on scholarship. When accepting the scholarship, students will also write a thank you note that is shared with the donor to help them understand the impact of the scholarship and to encourage continued giving.
Scholarship awards can be used to cover the cost of tuition, books, fees or other supplemental expenses such as equipment or tools. If you are offered a scholarship, you will receive a scholarship offer letter that will provide details on what the scholarship can be used for. Scholarships may only be used as designated.
Scholarship awards are applied to the student account approximately three weeks after the start of each quarter. For textbook scholarships, students will have a bookstore allowance added to their account at the beginning of the Financial Aid Bookstore charge dates. (Key Financial Aid Dates)
Scholarships can reduce the amount of loans you need to meet your expenses. Since loans need to be repaid and scholarships do not, scholarships are definitely worth applying for! Scholarships do not decrease the amount of any Pell grant you receive.
Scholarships may reduce the maximum number of work-study hours available for some students. Scholarships can allow more time to devote to your studies without losing income due to decreased work-study hours. Check with the MCC Financial Aid Office (Financial Aid) to see how this might impact you.
Yes. Students can view local and national scholarships by visiting our External Scholarships web page. Scholarships on this page are not awarded by the MCC Scholarships office.