American Foundation for the Blind Scholarships

It is in your best interest to review the entire form before submitting your application. Please read the descriptions carefully, since AFB's scholarships are designated for specific fields of study. You will only be considered for the scholarships that you select on the application.

Applications and supporting documents must be received by AFB no later than April 1st, 2019 at 11:59 PM Eastern time.

The Scholarship Committee will review only those applications that are complete with supporting documents and meet all scholarship requirements.

The AFB Scholarship Committee will not send reminders or notices to students who are missing documentation. It is your responsibility to make sure that your documentation is in order. When you submit your application, a checklist will be sent to you via e-mail which will guide you in submitting your supplementary materials.

Supplementary materials must be submitted in electronic format from the organization or individual who is providing the document. For example, a letter of reference must be submitted by the individual who composed the letter. Specific instructions for each supplementary document are provided further on this page.

AFB awards funds directly to the school of the scholarship recipient. Once recipients have been selected, AFB will contact those selected to obtain the information needed so the funds may be dispersed.

General Requirements

You may use this application form to apply for more than one scholarship. It is not necessary to include multiple copies of supporting documents or any additional information or documents. All applicants must be U.S. citizens or naturalized citizens. All applications must include the following items, without exception:

A) Completed online application for 2019, including all sections of the essay

Essays will not be accepted separately from the application. You can either type your essay directly into the form, or cut and paste your essay from a word processing program to take advantage of its spellcheck features. The essay section of the application is comprised of three sections. Everyone must complete sections One, Two, and Three.

B) Official transcripts

AFB requires official transcripts from your current school and previous schools if applicable. Transcripts should be sent from the school you are presently attending and the one most recently attended. High school students need to send only the current transcript. Undergraduate students should send the high school transcript and the current transcript. Graduate students should send the undergraduate transcript and the current transcript. Transcripts must be sent in electronic format directly from the school providing the transcripts. Transcripts in formats accessible to screen readers are preferred. For example, A PDF document that contains only scanned images of text cannot be read by a screen reader. Transcripts should be sent by e-mail to the AFB scholarship Coordinator at the e-mail address apreece@afb.net. So that we can better identify transcripts, please request that the school use the subject line " Transcript Submission for the AFB Scholarship Program" when sending transcripts.

C) Two letters of recommendation

Only letters from academic advisors, teachers, rehabilitation counselors, or other professionals will be accepted. Letters should be sent by e-mail in an accessible electronic format (DOCX, DOC, RTF, TXT, HTML, Tagged PDF etc.) directly by the individual who composed the letter of recommendation. Letters should be sent to the AFB Scholarship Coordinator at the e-mail address apreece@afb.net. So that we can better identify letters, please request that the individual sending your letter of recommendation use the subject line " Letter of Recommendation for the AFB Scholarship Program".

D) Proof of legal blindness

AFB requires a statement from an optometrist, ophthalmologist, or state or private agency for the blind, certifying that you are legally blind. The statement must clearly state that you are legally blind (i.e., have best corrected visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye, and/or a visual field of less than 20 degrees in the better eye). Statements should be sent electronically by the provider who is certifying that you are legally blind. Certification statements should be sent to the AFB Scholarship Coordinator at the e-mail address apreece@afb.net. So that we can better identify statements of legal blindness, please request that your certifying organization uses the subject line "Statement certifying that is legally blind for the AFB Scholarship Program".

Available AFB Scholarships for 2019

1) The Rudolph Dillman Memorial Scholarship: Four scholarships of $2,500 each to undergraduates or graduates who are studying full-time in the field of rehabilitation or education of persons who are blind and/or visually impaired.

2) The Paul and Ellen Ruckes Scholarship: Two scholarships of $2,000 each to a full-time undergraduate or graduate student in the field of engineering or in computer, physical, or life sciences.

3) The R.L. Gillette, Gladys C. Anderson, and Karen D. Carsel Memorial Scholarship: One scholarship of $3,500 given to a female undergraduate student studying music.

4) The Delta Gamma Foundation Florence Margaret Harvey Memorial Scholarship: One scholarship of $1,000 to an undergraduate or graduate student in the field of rehabilitation or education of persons who are blind or visually impaired.