Pepsi offers many scholarships with varying eligibility requirements and monetary awards that many youth across the nation benefit from. The popular soft drink company annually provides funds to students attending post-secondary schools as a way to give the next generation every opportunity available to succeed. It’s all about building hope and giving back in their philanthropic efforts to communities across America. So if you’re one of those youth and are in search of a Pepsi Scholarship , listed below are a few you might be interested in.
Urban Pepsi Scholarships
The well known PepsiCo has created a fund to help graduates from the Hospitality High School in D.C. to be able to afford attaining a hospitality management major at a four-year university. Urban public schools often get a bad rap in the media, and that’s not without reason. Low-income areas where public schools are located typically have a lot of illegal activity like drugs, theft, violence and weapons trafficking. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, in the 07-08 school year “75 percent of public schools recorded one or more violent incidents of crime”, and 23 percent of students believed there was gang activity in their school. Hollywood has perpetuated this stigma through popular movies like Dangerous Minds, Lean on Me, and Stand and Deliver which were all based on true stories, but is that the case today?
Statistics show that the graduation rate in public schools in the D.C. area have increased from 66.2 percent in 2006 to 72.3 percent in 2009. Washington D.C. has gone through school reform which includes building two more schools that offer internships and vocational education, a re-vamped evaluation system for teachers (413 were fired as a result), and the availability of more basic supplies and books for schools. Also, safety has increased as a result of the reform. The changes made are apparently working since graduation rates continue to increase every year. Still though, D.C. schools aren’t doing well enough according to the report card required by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 or Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Math and reading profiency goals aren’t being met by the majority of students in the D.C. area according to the 2009-2010 District of Columbia State Report Card, so there’s still room for improvement. As an effort to help those who are succeeding, Pepsi offers a scholarship that awards $500 to $3,000 to winners pursuing degrees in hospitality. But they also have a program they fund titled Diploma Now which aims to help students struggling academically and are prone to dropout.
Pepsi $10,000 Renewable Scholarship
This scholarship from the Eastern Division of QTG, a division of Pepsi, awards $10,000 who hold a 3.0 GPA and are in financial need. Getting involved with extracurricular activities and exhibiting leadership qualities gives you an upper hand in this scholarship. Also, you must be planning to enroll in one of these nine universities:
- City College of NY
- Howard University
- Penn State University
- Saint Joseph’s University
- SUNY Binghamton
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Temple University
- Virginia Tech
- Northeastern University
Pepsi Public Affairs Scholarship
If you attend Missouri Univesity, have a GPA of at least 3.25, have completed 45 semester hours and can provide information on various volunteer activities, then you’re eligible for the Pepsi Public Affairs Scholarship . Simply write an essay about the importence of public affairs and include one letter of recommendation as required on the application. Public affairs simply deals with general issues that affect the public. If interested in a career dealing with public matters, you’d have to be able to convey what the institution, business or organization you’re working for wants to make known to the public. In addition to applying for this scholarship, there are Public Relation Scholarships that you can apply for increasing your chances of winning free money.
Diamond Scholars Program
Another Pepsi scholarship is the Diamond Scholars Program which is awarded to inner-city youth in select cities:
- Dallas, TX
- Detroit, MI
- Hayward/San Jose, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- Miami, FL
It awards $2,500 for four years or until you earn a degree; eligibility for each year following the initial payment is contingent upon academic performance. Just maintain good grades and expect a check in the mail made payable to your college. If you’ve applied to a variety of other scholarships yet have not won, this program is specifically aimed at students in urban areas so that they can receive the financial assistance necessary to pursue a career, earning a higher quality of life. This scholarship is from a division of Scholarship AmericaВ® called Scholarship Management ServicesВ®.
More Pepsi Scholarships
You can find out if Pepsi has a scholarship available for your college by visiting the financial aid office in your school. Pepsi will often provide funds to institutions across the nation as part of their philanthropic efforts. Some of the colleges that have Pepsi scholarships not listed above include Wayne State University, Nebraska University and Mid-Del Technology Center. But again, check your financial aid office to see if there aren’t any for your college. Helping disadvantaged, inner-city youth is certainly an objective for PepsiCo. You can find more charitable information on the PepsiCo Foundation’s website .
