Meteorology students study and learn to predict weather patterns.
For high school students interested in pursuing a degree and career in meteorology, more than 80 colleges and universities across the United States offer meteorology as a major, according to American School Search. As of 2010, depending on the school and state, the average cost of tuition to earn a meteorology degree ranged from $4,200 a year at the low end to almost $37,000 a year at the high end. To help offset tuition costs, high school students can apply for meteorology scholarships that come from a number of sources.
Meteorology Schools
Before even starting college, high school students can apply for and earn scholarships directly from the school where they intend to earn their degree. Scholarships help to attract high-quality students, so many meteorology schools offer incoming freshmen scholarships to study at that school. The University of Oklahoma's School of Meteorology offers $1,000 to $2,000 yearly tuition waivers for new freshman students in the meteorology program. Penn State University's Department of Meteorology extends several different scholarship opportunities to high school seniors intending to study meteorology at the school.
Professional Organizations
Just like employees in other industries, meteorologists can join professional organizations and societies for networking and educational opportunities. Meteorology students can take advantage of meteorological professional organizations and the scholarships they offer. The American Meteorological Society sponsors the AMS Freshman Undergraduate Scholarship that gives $2,500 a year for two years to a high school student intending to major in meteorology. High school meteorology students can also apply for two undergraduate-specific scholarships from the National Weather Association.
Military
The United States military can also be a source of meteorology scholarships for high school students. The United States Air Force ROTC High School Scholarship program provides three types of tuition scholarships to students pursuing technical degrees the Air Force deems most usable for airmen, with meteorology included in that list. The scholarships go to high school seniors and award full tuition and fees for three or four years, plus $900 a year for books. Both the United States Army and the United States Navy offer similar scholarship programs for meteorology students.
Other Sources
High school students interested in meteorology can find scholarships from other sources as well, like from private foundations and nonprofit organizations. The Energy Solutions Foundation looks to encourage high school students to pursue careers in math, science and engineering. The Foundation sponsors scholarships for sophomore high school students who aspire to major in a number of math, science and engineering-related fields, including meteorology.
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