Scholarship details
This scholarship will be given to deserving high school seniors with disabilities who plan to attend a vocational or academic college and pursue a career in technology. The scholarships are renewable – each winner who continues to fulfill the criteria is entitled to earn an annual award of $5,000 for up to four (4) consecutive years, for a total scholarship of $20,000 if they continue to meet the criteria.
About the Scholarship:
Microsoft is an American multinational computer technology firm founded on April 4, 1975. Microsoft, founded by Harvard College dropout Bill Gates and his childhood friend Paul Allen, has grown to become the world’s largest software firm. It is also one among the world’s most valuable corporations.
Microsoft is involved in the development, licensing, and maintenance of a wide range of software products and services to meet a variety of needs. Steve Ballmer was selected as Microsoft’s new CEO in 2000. Before leaving, Bill Gates had met Steve Ballmer at Harvard University. Prior to 1990, Microsoft was primarily a provider to hardware makers. That was their intended audience. As technology evolved and personal computers became more popular, the majority of Microsoft’s revenue came from consumer sales. It was the first software corporation to make a $1 billion profit. As new versions of Microsoft Windows were released, Microsoft gained a larger proportion of the global PC market (around 90 percent ).
Many of Microsoft’s prior operating systems were replaced as part of Project Longhorn in 2001, beginning with Vista. Vista, the latest operating system, was offered to the general public in 2007. There were numerous Vista variations available to suit to various users, including Home (Basic or Premium), Ultimate, Business, and many more.
Microsoft also entered the gaming and mobile phone markets, where it was able to capture a considerable market share. Many manufacturers, including HTC, LG, Samsung, and LG, employ the Windows Mobile OS. Microsoft debuted the Xbox in 2001, followed by Xbox Live in 2002. Both products were huge successes, propelling Microsoft to second place in the video game market. The Xbox 360, which was released in 2005, was an extremely powerful gaming device that faced stiff competition. Due to competition, Microsoft had to lower the pricing of their game consoles in order to win a larger market share. This was a successful tactic, as the Xbox 360 was the most popular game system in American households. Microsoft paid $8.5 billion for Skype in 2011, making it the largest acquisition in Microsoft history. Microsoft purchased Skype in order to compete with Apple’s Facetime and Google Voice. Microsoft intended to integrate Skype into its products, including Outlook, Xbox, and Windows cellphones.
Microsoft collaborated extensively with Apple during the creation of the Macintosh computer, which debuted in 1984. The Mac’s revolutionary design included a graphical user interface based on icons rather than the typed commands used by the IBM PC, making its programs simple to use and easy to understand, even for computer novices. Microsoft released Mac versions of BASIC, Word, and the spreadsheet tool Multiplan, fast becoming the major supplier of Mac apps. The company’s revenue increased from $50 million in 1983 to almost $100 million in 1984. Convinced that the Mac’s graphical user interface represented the future of end-user applications, Gates sought to create an interface manager that would work on top of MS-DOS, converting the operating system to a graphical model that would be user-friendly and provide a single method for interacting with the many non-standardized programs designed to run on the system.
In 2002, Microsoft’s net revenue climbed to $28.37 billion, while net income increased by 6% over the previous year. Microsoft’s net profits increased by 28 percent in 2003, reaching slightly about $10 billion. The release of Windows Server 2003, the company’s greatest software development project to date, led to the expansion. Windows Server 2003, according to Microsoft, will be a more dependable, manageable, and collaborative piece of software. Security would be tighter as well, thanks to the newly designed IIS (Internet Information Server) Web Server. Microsoft maintained a significant lead in the computer software market by 2004, with over 56,000 employees and projected year-end revenues of up to $38 billion. With a concentration on continual innovation, including business solutions such as the BizTalk Server 2004, future success appeared to be assured. Nonetheless, animosity toward Microsoft was pervasive. The European Union penalized the business in April 2004 for misusing its monopoly on computer operating systems. Microsoft’s fine of EUR 497 million ($596 million) was not expected to be its last.
Scholarship Sponsor(s): Microsoft
Scholarship Country: United States of America
Scholarship Worth: $20,000
Study Level: Undergraduate
Nationality: International Students
Scholarship Offer:
The scholarship is worth $20,000. Successful applicants will be granted the amount of $20,000 to cover for tuition fees and other expenses to be incurred by the applicants
Eligibility for Scholarship
- Candidates for the Microsoft Handicap Scholarship 2022 must be a senior in high school with a disability as defined by WHO.
- Applicants must intend to enroll in an undergraduate program at a two- or four-year university/college or technical college in the fall after high school graduation.
- Students must declare a major in computer information systems, engineering, law, business, computer science, or a related discipline.
- Candidates must have demonstrated leadership in school and/or in the community, as well as a passion for technology.
- Applicants for the Microsoft Disability Scholarship 2022 must have a cumulative high school GPA of at least 3.0.
- Enrollment status must be either full-time or half-time.
- Applicants should be in need of financial assistance.
Nationality
The Fully Funded Microsoft Disability Scholarship 2022 is open to all international students
Application Procedure
Are you interested and qualified? To apply, visit Microsoft at seattlefoundation.wufoo.com.
To apply for a Microsoft Disability Scholarship, please submit your application online via the link below by March 15th, 2022, 11:59pm Pacific Time, and include the following items:
- Résumé. The following information should be included on your résumé:
- —Coursework and extracurricular activities (school and community related)
- —Awards and honors you have received (if possible, include awards that are technology related)
- —Professional experience
- Include a copy of your most recent academic transcript, both official and unofficial. (If chosen as a finalist, the applicant must give the Seattle Foundation with official versions.)
- There are three essays.
- —In no more than 500 words, describe how you want to pursue a career in the technology industry, technology law, or technology policy.
- —In no more than 500 words, please describe how Microsoft can design future products and services solutions to creatively and successfully enable persons living with disabilities in the workplace and in daily life to attain their full potential.
- —Describe your financial need for this scholarship in no more than 250 words, including the personal financial burden of any disability adjustments.
- Two recommendation letters. At least one letter must be from a member of your school’s professors or staff. Letters of recommendation must be unique and not duplicates of college recommendation letters. Referees should not be family members.
- All items MUST be submitted via the online application link provided below. Documents that are emailed or mailed will not be accepted. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].
- Send in your application
Application Deadline
The application deadline for Fully Funded Microsoft Disability Scholarship 2022 is March 15, 2022
