All of the data used in this analysis were collected from publicly available sources including press releases and published statistics. The raw data are available at https://github.com/TShimko126/ScholarshipAnalysis .

Undergraduate Scholarships

The Udall Scholarship

This scholarship provides a one-time $5,000 scholarship for undergraduate study to students interested in environmental studies (including policy and sciences), tribal health care, or tribal policy. The Udall Foundation now awards 50 of the scholarships each year, with an additional 50 applicants receiving honorable mentions.

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The odds of winning this scholarship have decreased in recent years to around 11% due the number of awarded scholarships being cut from 80 in 2012 (and earlier), to 50 in 2013 and 2014. However, the decrease in winning probability is slightly offset by a corresponding decrease in the number of applicants over the past two years. This is shown in the table below:

Year TotalApplicants TotalWinners
2014 489 50
2013 488 50
2012 585 80
2011 510 80
2010 537 80
2009 515 80
2008 510 80
2007 434 80

This scholarship is unique in that it is the only one in this analysis that consistently awards more scholarships to females than to males.

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The foundation awards scholarships in three areas of interest: environmental studies, tribal health care, and tribal policy. The odds of winning the scholarship in any of these categories is shown in the graph below. Despite fewer overall scholarships being awarded in the categories of tribal health care and tribal policy, applicants in these disciplines are more likely to win, due to the lower numbers of applicants.

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The Goldwater Scholarship

This scholarship provides $7,500 for either one or two years of financial support, depending on whether the scholarship is won as a sophomore or a junior, respectively. This scholarship has a heavy focus on individuals in the sciences, specifically those looking to pursue a career in research.

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Year TotalApplicants TotalWinners
2014 1166 283
2013 1107 272
2012 1123 282
2011 1095 275
2010 1111 278
2009 1097 278
2008 1035 321
2007 1110 317
2006 1081 323
2005 1091 320

Unlike the Udall scholarship, the Goldwater consistently awards more scholarships to males than to females.

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The overwhelming majority of the scholarships are awarded to students in the physical and life sciences, though in recent years engineering students have come to represent a growing proportion.

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Graduate Scholarships

The Marshall Scholarship

Note: The Marshall scholarships provides a rich data set in PDF format at http://www.marshallscholarship.org/about/statistics

The Marshall Scholarship funds 1-2 years of study at many UK universities. The Marshall Scholarship is far more competitive than either of the undergraduate scholarships. The odds of winning a Marshall Scholarship consistently hover around 4%.