Happy New Years Eve everyone.  I hope 2011 is as good (if not better) than 2010 and that we at Scholarships360 and Admissions360 can continue to help you!

The scholarship opportunity that we have here today is the National Italian American Foundation Scholarship.  The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated towards supporting the rich cultural heritage of Italian American.  Located in Washington, DC, the NIAF has been around since 1975.

As an Italian Amerian and a former Italian language student, I think the resources and mission of the NIAF are great.  They have some very useful information for students who are interested in taking the Advanced Placement Examination in Italian.

Additionally, the NIAF has some online resources for people interested in learning Italian as well as an internship resource guide. This might be a great thing for students who are planning on studying abroad in Italy to get involved with.

The National Italian American Foundation Scholarship consists of two separate scholarship opportunities for students.

The first opportunity is for students who are Italian Americans and the second opportunity is for students who are interested in studying Italian language or culture in college.

These opportunities are for students who are enrolled in college for Fall 2011.  For the first scholarship, interested students will need to prove that one ancestor immigrated from Italy to the United States.

The deadline for the scholarships is March 18, 2011, but transcripts need to be in by March 4, 2011.  The application also includes a teacher recommendation to be filled out online by a teacher.

These scholarships are primarily based on academics, but they do have some financial considerations.  The NIAF says it is optional to send in your FAFSA financial aid form, but I would imagine it would be very helpful to send it in if you can demonstrate need. Additionally, it would not hurt to familiarize yourself with the mission and activities of the National Italian American Foundation.

Interested students can access the online application and details on the NIAF website.

One of the best parts of the scholarship is that students are encouraged to reapply subsequent years.

Here are some other helpful links to get you started: