The Community We Serve

One in five tribal college students must travel more than 50 miles to attend classes.

The American Indian College Fund provides scholarships to Native students with financial need.

The Financial Need is Great:

• The average per capita income of American Indian students was $8,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Our students come from the poorest regions of the country. The poverty rate amongst American Indians averages 47% on reservations, and is as high as 97% on one reservation.

• The average cost of attendance at a tribal college (including tuition, room, board, books and supplies) is $13,285 for 2010-11. College is simply out of reach for our students.

• Only 5% of American Indian College Fund scholarship applicants can afford to go to college without financial assistance.

• Fifty-eight percent of American Indian College Fund scholarship recipients have dependents. Seventy-three percent of these students work while attending college, yet even with a job, 43% struggle, earning less than $10,000 annually.

Our Students' Motivation for an Education is Even Greater:

• The number of Natives enrolled in colleges and universities more than doubled in the past 30 years and the number of degrees they earned also doubled in 25 years. Yet they were less likely than their non-Native peers to earn a degree, primarily due to financial issues.

• Tribal college students want to use their education to help others. Seventy-three percent of graduates say they attended college to make a better life for their families; 64% percent want to use their education to help their people.

Only 5% of American Indian students who apply to the American Indian College Fund for a scholarship can afford to go to college without financial assistance.