These 8 scholarships offered by Georgia CUs have deadlines in March

Who wants help paying for college?

According to CollegeCalc, the average cost of tuition in Georgia was $10,055 a year during the 2016 – 2017 academic school year. Most undergraduate degrees take about four or five years to complete. Try doing that math without developing a nervous twitch.

Fortunately, some Georgia credit unions offer a degree of help to their members who see college in their future. About 25 credit unions statewide offer some form of scholarship money. Their combined membership covers most geographical regions and employee groups in the state so — in theory — there’s a credit-union backed scholarship for every future student to apply for in Georgia.

But hurry — these eight scholarships have application deadlines in March.

1. North Georgia Credit Union’s $1,000 scholarship. Due: March 5. North Georgia Credit Union awards a $1,000 scholarship to a member or child of a member who is a senior from each of these local schools: Stephens County High School, Franklin County High School and Hart County High School. The credit union’s scholarship committee reviews the applications and awards the money based on need, grades, SAT/ACT scores, community and school projects and written recommendations. Click here for an application. Not a member? Anybody living in Stephens, Franklin and Hart counties are eligible to join, and would then become eligible for the scholarship. Membership is also extended to anybody working in most companies based out of Stephens, Franklin and Hart. For more information, click here. 
2. Family First Credit Union’s 2018 Len Szumiloski Scholarship. Due: March 16. Family First will award two $1,000 scholarships to two high school seniors who are members (or become members) of the credit union. The applicants must be planning to attend an accredited college or university in the 2018 – 2019 school year. FFCU will award the scholarships based on academic performance, community involvement, extracurricular activities and essay responses. To download an application, click here. Not a member? Anybody who works for the Fulton County Board of Education, Atlanta Public Schools, the City of Johns Creek and Customary Advisory may join the credit union. Membership is also extended to several contracted employees, private school and charter school employees. Immediate family of existing members are also welcome to join. Click here for more information. 
3. Peach State’s 13 student scholarships. Due: March 16. Peach State awards more than $158,000 in scholarships spread across 13 student scholarships and two career advancement scholarships (geared toward working adults enrolled in classes to further their education for career advancement). Peach State will award money to nine students through its largest scholarship, the Legacy Student Scholarship. It will be awarded to students attending public schools (and some private schools) in Peach State’s service area of Barrow, Clarke, DeKalb, Gwinnett Jackson, Oconee, Richmond and Walton Counties. The credit union also offers 12 additional scholarships aimed toward students throughout its service area — seven of those scholarships award money only to students interested in pursuing educational degrees. Another five are more general. Students do not need to be credit union members to apply. Click here for more information. 
4. Platinum Federal Credit Union’s Academic Scholarship Program. Due: March 21. PFCU will award more than $60,000 in several $2,500 scholarships to credit union members. Applicants must be accepted to enroll in an accredited college, university or technical institution and must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 at the last school they attended. Applications will be judged on excellence in academics, leadership, community service, athletics, extracurricular activities and/or work experience. Click here for more information.  Not a member? Platinum FCU offers membership to members of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim Community. For more information, click here. 
5. Robins Financial Credit Union’s 2018 Robins Financial Scholarship. Due: March 23. Robins Financial CU will offer a 1-year, $2,000 scholarship to a member who is a high school senior planning to attend a university or college in Georgia. Applicants will be judged based on cumulative GPA, extracurricular activities, achievements, letters of recommendation and a one-page essay. For more information, click here. Not a member? Robins Financial Credit Union offers membership to anybody living or working in Baldwin, Barrow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Clarke, Crawford, Crisp, Dodge, Dooly, Emanuel, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jeff Davis, Jones, Lamar, Laurens, Macon, Madison, Monroe, Oconee, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam, Taylor, Telfair, Twiggs, Wilcox or Wilkinson counties. Immediate family of members may also join. Click here for more information. 
6. DOCO Credit Union’s $1,000 scholarship. Due: March 30. DOCO Credit Union will award twenty, $1,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors who are members or the dependents of a member. Applicants will be judged based on their academic achievement as well as their involvement in extra-curricular activities and service initiatives. They’ll also be assessed based on financial need and performance on an essay. Click here for more information. Not a member? DOCO CU offers membership to anybody who works for a company that’s part of the DOCO Member Group or to anybody living in Baker, Calhoun, Clay, Colquitt, Early, Mitchell, Quitman, Randolph, Stephens, Stewart, Terrell, Thomas, Webster and Worth counties. People living in specific areas of Dougherty County are also eligible to apply. For more information, click here. 
7. LGE Community Credit Union’s Achiever Scholarship. Due: March 30. LGE will award five $3,000 scholarships to credit union members who are graduating high school seniors or current college students pursuing an undergraduate degree at a college or technical school as a full-time student in the fall 2018 semester. Students mus submit an application as well as a 60-second video explaining how credit unions are different from big banks. The videos must be uploaded and shared to the LGE Facebook page with the hashtag #MyLGE. One scholarship will be awarded to the video with the most votes. Another will be awarded to the video judges choose to be the most creative. The final three scholarships will be awarded to applicants based on their videos’ subject, content and ingenuity. To apply, click here. Not a member? LGE Community Credit Union offers membership to anybody who lives and works in Cob, Paulding, Cherokee and Fulton counties as well as employees of various partner groups. For more information, click here. 
8. Delta Community Credit Union’s $5,000 and $2,500 scholarships. Due: March 31. Delta Community CU will award three $5,000 scholarships and two $2,500 scholarships to members who are enrolled to attend an accredited college or university as a full-time student. Applicants must have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA as of the end of the prior semester. For more information, click here. Not a member? Delta Community CU offers membership to anyone living or working in Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall and Henry counties. Membership is also extended to any current, former or retired employee of a variety of companies. Click here for more information.