Source of Money 30: Epilepsy Foundation Offers Several Funds

Tuesdays we review a source of financial aid to help you pay for college

Lucia, from Brazil, came to the United States to study. She enrolled in an on-the-job training program that not only paid her minimum wage for 28 hours of work every week, but also paid her tuition to become a certified medical assistant. Lucia still wanted more education, so she came to us for scholarship help. She struggled to grasp the concept of her master application. Instead, she wanted to go straight to the scholarships the search engines indicated she could achieve. As a result, she submitted applications with errors. She did not receive any scholarships.

Characteristics of the Behavioral Sciences Student Fellowship

The Epilepsy Foundation of America “supports a series of grants and fellowships to advance the understanding of epilepsy that will lead to better treatment, more effective prevention, and ultimately to a cure. Funding is available at all professional levels including students, junior investigators and established investigators.”

Some of the things we noticed on the site include:

• 15 different grants and fellowships listed on the website
• Many of the awards had closed for 2013, but encouraged you to apply in Spring 2014
• Financial awards range from $3,000-$60,000
• Most describe a “maximum for one year”
• Possible recipients may include undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, medical students, MDs, and post-doctoral researchers
• Descriptions of each offering included who may apply, tips for applying, and a description of the purpose of that particular award
• A link for each listing takes you to “Program Guidelines” for additional information

Disadvantages of the Behavioral Sciences Student Fellowship

Top researchers apply for the Epilepsy awards, requiring strong projects and competitive applications.

In addition, the foundation declares a

“PATENT AND COPYRIGHT POLICY: Please note that the Epilepsy Foundation Patent and Copyright Policy applies primarily to awards offered to academic institutions and is open to clarification as needed. Commercial companies that are offered funding to support their research will have the opportunity to negotiate a suitable agreement with the Foundation regarding intellectual property rights as needed.”

Thursday we answer questions about problems finding scholarships in today’s world

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