College scholarship program

The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF) is proud to fund 100 college scholarships for the 2013-14 academic year, supported by our Tim & Tom Gullikson Family Support Fund and Cycle World Joseph C. Parkhurst Education Fund. To date, we have awarded more than 1,000 scholarships.

Our goal is to award 1,000 more scholarships to 1,000 more childhood brain tumor survivors. If you are interested in giving the gift of education, please click here for more details!

2013-14 scholarships

The PBTF sends scholarship awards directly to academic institutions. The funds may be used to cover tuition, fees and/or books at any accredited post-secondary institution, including technical schools, vocational schools, junior colleges and four-year colleges in the United States. (At this time, our scholarship awards are not available to graduate students.)

Eligibility criteria

Students must meet the following criteria to be awarded a PBTF scholarship:

• Diagnosed at or before age 19 with a primary malignant or non-malignant central nervous system brain and/or spinal cord tumor, as identified by the World Health Organization.
• At least a senior in high school
• Not in graduate school
• Attending school in the United States
• Has received fewer than four scholarships from the PBTF

The deadline to apply for a 2013-14 scholarship applications has passed. Applications must have been postmarked and sent by March 1, 2013. Check back later this year for the 2014 application.

The College Experience

Caitlyn B. writes: “In my first class, psychology, there were 50 or 60 students in there; however, this number did not intimidate me. In fact, it did the opposite. Seeing all those faces encouraged me to make a new start for myself and meet a few of these people. Ever since my first day of college, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect back on who I was and how I acted in high school. I was not exactly one of the loudest or outgoing people; instead I was always quiet and kept to myself. However, being in college has definitely taught me a new light of confidence and independence inside and outside the classroom.”

Seth F. writes: “College has been an enlightening experience for me in many ways. I’ve been able to see how adults are expected to act and behave while being immersed in an atmosphere of learning and knowledge. Since my freshman year, I can tell that I have grown much in self-confidence and general social skills. Freshman and sophomore year, I was a little shy and did not openly converse with others. Now I’m becoming more comfortable opening up and conversing with more people.”