Oleta Lawanda Crain Scholarship

 APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 31, 2026 (11:59pm)

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

It is important to have all documents and answers to questions ready to upload before beginning the application. The application may not automatically save and could potentially require you to start over.

• Any incomplete submissions will be disqualified.
  
  
• You will not be able to submit your application until all requested application items have been uploaded.
  
  
• Before beginning, please review all questions on the scholarship application.
  
  
• You will need to:
  
  • Upload your essay/personal statement in Word or PDF format
  • Upload your official academic transcript in PDF format
  • Upload two letters of recommendations
  • Upload a recent photo/headshot
    
    

• It is the applicant’s sole responsibility to make sure all supplemental materials (i.e. reference letters) are submitted prior to the deadline for consideration. Any portion missing from an application denotes an incomplete submission and will not be reviewed.
  
  
• Only winners will be notified
   

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Successful applicants must meet the following criteria to qualify:

• Currently a female student enrolled as a Senior in High School
• A resident of Colorado, Missouri or Oklahoma (one student from each state will be selected)
• Minimum Grade Point Average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
• Accepted and planning to attend a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) immediately following high school graduation.
• Demonstrated community service and leadership in high school, and within their communities and should be clearly reflected in the recommendation letters.

Please accurately complete all of the required information in this section. A red asterisk (*) indicates that a question is required.

Upload an essay/personal statement which addresses the following:

Why it is important for you to attend an HBCU and how will your attendance at your chosen institution allow you, in your future career, to affect social change in one of the following areas: Civic Engagement, Financial Literacy, Education, Healthcare or International Involvement?

Personal statement should be 1,000 words or less.

You are required to submit two letters of recommendation.

Letter of recommendation types: professional and character references (CANNOT be from a family member).

• Letter #1 must come from an academic officer (dean, teacher/professor counselor/advisor)
• Letter #2 must be from from a leader of a civic, community, or fraternal organization in your community
• Both letters must be written on official letterhead

Your official academic transcript must also be uploaded in PDF format.

Enter information about the HBCU you plan to attend.

By submitting this application, you attest that:

• You have accurately and honestly completed this scholarship application.
• You understand that if fraud or dishonesty is determined / discovered by DREF in its sole-discretion, any award moneys must be immediately returned.
• The essay submitted with this application contains only your own thoughts and writing.
• The letters of recommendation submited with this application are genuine, were provided by the recommenders, and have not been modified by you or any third party.
• The transcript(s) submitted with this application are your own, are complete, and are unaltered.
• You agree to the terms and conditions of this scholarship application and any subequent award.

After fully completing the above sections, please review your answers and then click the Submit button below to apply for this scholarship.  Once your click submit, you will no longer have access to your application, so please carefully review your answers before submitting.