The weekend is nearly upon us, all you scholarship seekers! How has the summer been treating you in your neck of the woods?

I’m off on vacation, writing up this post lakeside and feeling rather lucky indeed!

As I have been saying for the past couple of weeks, August is slow season for scholarship committees, but never fear: As the weather starts to cool in September, the scholarship deadlines will heat up. In fact, I three awesome leads for you this week, all with September deadlines — plenty of time for you to perfect your scholarship essay and make sure to get your scholarship applications in on time.

1. Student Web Mapping Competition: $500

Recognizing the importance of the Web in the future of cartography, the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) is sponsoring the 12th Annual Student Web Mapping Competition. The competition aims to encourage cartographic excellence in new media in two categories: animated maps and interactive maps. The first prize winner will earn a $500 scholarship. To enter the competition, you must be currently enrolled in a certificate, undergraduate, or graduate program in North America. Entries must be submitted by Friday September 18, 2009.

2. The Xerox Technical Minority Scholarship Program: $1,000 – $10,000

Xeros established the Technical Minority Scholarship program to alleviate the financial challenges for low-income students interested in pursuing a career in technology. $1,000 to $10,000 scholarships are available, depending on one’s tuition balance, academic excellence and classification. Applicants must be academic high-achievers with a 3.0 or better GPA, enrolled in a full time undergraduate or graduate program for science, math, computers or engineering. The application deadline is September 15, 2009.

3. The QuestBridge National College Match: Full Ride to Elite Private Schools

Now here is a truly incredibly opportunity. I did some digging to make sure that QuestBridge is legitimate, and it sure seems to be! QuestBridge helps academically outstanding, low-income high school seniors to gain admission and receive “full ride” four-year scholarships to some of America’s most selective private colleges.  Low income is generally defined as a family income of less than $60,000 per year, although QuestBridge is open to considering students from family’s with higher adjusted gross incomes if you can provide a compelling explanation of your financial need.

Scholarships cover the full cost of tuition, from $30,000 to $40,000 per year, depending on the college; plus the full cost of room and board, from $9,000 to $15,000 per year, depending on the college. Most partner colleges provide completing scholarships to cover books and supplies, health insurance, and a work-study package for living expenses. In other words… winners of the QuestBridge truly enjoy a completely paid-for, elite college experience, without having to take out any college loans. QuestBridge scholars also enjoy leadership retreats, academic mentoring, access to graduate and professional opportunities, and other development programs throughout their college degree and beyond. Participating colleges are:

Amherst College
Bowdoin College
Caltech
University of Chicago
Columbia University
Emory University
Haverford College
MIT
Northwestern University
University of Notre Dame
Oberlin College
Parsons The New School for Design
University of Pennsylvania
Pomona College
Princeton University
Rice University
Stanford University
Scripps College
Swarthmore College
Trinity College
Vassar College
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
Williams College
Yale University

The National College Match application is due September 30, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

Good luck with your scholarship applications!