May 29, 2018 LOS ANGELES, CA - The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) announced today that it has selected 300 Scholars to receive college scholarships for the inaugural year of The Gates Scholarship program for outstanding minority students in the US (see attached list of recipients). The Scholars were selected for their outstanding academic records, leadership, character, and other personal criteria, as well as essays, recommendations, and interviews.

The Gates Scholarship is a highly selective, full scholarship for exceptional, Pell-eligible, minority, high school seniors. The scholarship will be awarded to 300 top student leaders each year. Eligible students must be members of one or more of the following ethnic minorities: African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian and Pacific Islander American, and Hispanic American, and be enrolled in a four-year, accredited, US college or university undergraduate degree program in the fall of their award year—among other requirements.

In addition to funding, the Gates Scholarship will provide a number of online support services that will help Scholars excel in their degree programs, graduate, and make a successful transition to their chosen careers. These technology-enabled services include mentoring; leadership development; and, career guidance. There is a networking component, as well. Gates Scholars will be connected to a network of accomplished peers that they can tap into for support and advice.

The Gates Scholarship covers all college costs for its recipients, through graduation, including tuition, room, board, books, travel to and from campus, and other related educational expenses. The goal is to remove all financial barriers for exceptional students, to give them the opportunity to focus their energies on their studies, participate fully in campus life, and prepare for a career.

To select Gates Scholars, HSF reviewed more than 28,000 applications from across the nation, narrowing the pool to 2,000 semifinalists, then to 600 finalists from which the 300 Gates Scholars were chosen.

“Congratulations Gates Scholars! We are thrilled to recognize the first class of The Gates Scholarship program,” said Fidel A. Vargas, President & CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. “Each Gates Scholar is an exemplary student who will be a credit to the college they attend and to their communities back home. They are destined to be leaders in a broad range of fields and industries, so investing in them is an investment in the future of our nation!” he added.

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund is the administrator of The Gates Scholarship program, which is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Starting in 2018, the program will award full scholarships to 300 qualifying, minority students, each year, for 10 consecutive years. For more information, please visit

About the Hispanic Scholarship Fund
Founded in 1975, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) empowers Latino families with the knowledge and resources to successfully complete a higher education, while providing scholarships and support services to as many exceptional Hispanic American students as possible. As the nation’s largest nonprofit organization supporting Hispanic American higher education, HSF has awarded over $550 million in scholarships and provides a range of programs for students and parents, HSF Scholars, and Alumni. For more information about the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, please visit: HSF.net.

About The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Susan Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett