Scholarships assist the GLBT community: GLBT students are taking advantage of The Point Foundation's scholarships.

For many students who are not heterosexual, funding their education can be a rocky road. One student said his parents refused to pay for his college education at Boston University (Mass.) when they first discovered he was gay.

That's where The Point Foundation steps in. The Foundation, which "provides a point in the right direction," offers scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students ranging from $5,000 to $30,000. In exchange, all Point Scholars must maintain at least a 3.5 GPA and act as ambassadors for the Foundation.

Started by a group of people who had been disowned by their own families 30 years ago, according to Vance Lancaster, executive director of the foundation, the Foundation also provides scholarship recipients with mentors who can offer emotional support and career guidance. "A large number of families disown gay children, and a tot of students have been abandoned," he says.

Though not all scholarship recipients have been abandoned, many have been marginalized in some way, he says. But what recipients do have in common are high test scores and stellar GPAs. Many have also proven to be leaders in their communities, despite the many obstacles they have had to overcome.

This year, more than $500,000 has been invested in scholarship and mentoring programs for 25 students. But for the next academic year, the Foundation expects to expand the number of recipients to 40. Scholarship programs are being developed at IHEs across the country, including Georgetown University (D.C.) and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management (Ill).

The student at Boston University says that prior to receiving a Point Foundation scholarship, he had written numerous letters to IHEs, explaining that his parents would not support him because they are opposed to his sexual orientation. Now, his parents do help him financially, but "minimally," he says. He believes he would not be able to get through college without the help of the Foundation and its mentoring program.

Lancaster believes the Foundation is "helping to create a new generation of leaders." For more information, visit: www.thepointfoundation.org.