Scholarships for Twin Students

Are Your College Bills Doubling?

Twins present unique challenges for parents from day one, so college considerations are also outside-the-box for families with twin students.  Tuition, room and board, fees, transportation and a host of other college costs tax higher education budgets for most students, but twin families are stretched twice as far when it comes to financing post-secondary education.

Though the financial burden of educating twins may seem insurmountable, there are financial aid advantages to matriculating at the same time as your twin.  Since financial aid awards are determined by need, and FAFSA results, families with multiple students in college qualify for more aid than families supporting only one college student.

 

Financial aid comes from myriad sources, and rewards specific individual traits – including being twins.  Use student-specific resources to improve your financial outlook for college.  There are a number of associations and colleges that recognize the special relationship between twins, and award them exclusive scholarships.

Clubs, Associations and Groups Fund Twins’ Education

Twinsburg, Ohio holds an annual Twins Day Festival for families of these special multiples. This festival awards a $1,000 scholarship to a pair of twins each year, to help with college expenses. The winning pair of twins must be seniors in high school and have attended and registered at least three of the last five festivals.

The Illinois Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs awards four scholarships each year, not to actual twins but to the mothers or fathers of twin siblings who want to continue their own education. At the time of application, parents must be currently enrolled in accredited two or four year colleges and provide proof of passing grades. In addition, candidates must provide Illinois residency confirmation, as well as proof of twin birth certificates. Community service or memberships in a twin’s club are additional requirements. Scholarships are typically valued at $300 (one) and $100 (three).

Northwest Association Mother of Twins Clubs awards several scholarships each year, to candidates who qualify based on multiple births. Once known as the Twin Scholarship Fund, one initiative is now called the Shan Pynes Scholarship. These awards are disbursed to twins that are members of the NWAMOTC. Funding varies from year to year. The Gwen Larson MOMS Scholarship (Making Opportunities for More Schooling) helps qualified mothers of multiples return to higher education.  The Association also offers unique “Camperships”, which disburse funding designed to help twins attend summer camp.

Massachusetts Mothers of Twins Association distributes scholarships to members of the organization who qualify. Members must be active for two years before applying, current in club dues, and regular participants in association activities. Twins, or mothers of twins, are eligible to compete for the supplemental awards. Funding can be used for tuition, camp, daycare and other schooling expenses. Annual scholarships are issued based on need and individual merit, and typically consist of one $500 award and two $250 awards.  Application deadline is April 15th.

Colleges Offer Scholarships for Twins

Lake Erie College in Ohio offers a full tuition scholarship, with a limit of eighteen credit hours per semester, to full-time students at the college, who are twins. The full-ride is split fifty-fifty between the twins, so in the end, qualified twins are receiving a two-for-one deal on tuition. Both twins must remain in the program to continue receiving the scholarship.  As many as ten sets of twins benefit from the educational funding at any given time.

Kelley School of Business at Indiana University – Bloomington provides the Layton Frazier McKinley Scholarship to twins enrolled there, with preference given to identical twins. In addition, twin applicants must maintain 3.33 grade point averages (B+) or higher, and first preference for receiving the scholarship is given to twins who are also accounting majors.

Wilson College in Pennsylvania offers scholarships to one set of twins, and one set of triplets each year. Each twin receives a scholarship worth 45% of tuition costs, with the caveat that they must each be enrolled as a full-time student every semester. There are some restrictions about being able to combine the Twin Scholarship with other school-issued monetary awards, but the idea is to meet college expenses completely. Twin scholarship recipients can renew this award each year, provided satisfactory academic progress (defined in student catalog) is maintained.

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College extends a useful benefit that reduces the cost of higher education for eligible twins.  Twin Value Room Waivers provide two-for-one housing allowances for twins that attend the university together.  Scholarship recipients are not required to live together, in order to receive the benefit.

Eastern Michigan University supports education for twins, with the Furlotte Twins Endowed Scholarship.  Upper class students maintaining minimum GPA standards of 3.0, are invited to apply for the funding.  The scholarship is reserved for education majors exhibiting promise and passion for elementary education.  Scholarships are renewable for four years, when eligibility qualifications are met.