At Operation Fly, we seek to support exceptional students in our community. For students living in Washington DC, Baltimore, Chicago, and New York seeking financial aid for college, Operation Fly offers the Diamond in the Rough Scholarship. The Diamond in the Rough scholarship is a hybrid of merit-based and need-based aid, awarded based upon the following criteria:

Financial Need: Student’s need for financial aid will be taken in consideration when deciding upon scholarship recipients.

Academics: Students with a cumulative grade point average of 85 percent, B, 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) or equivalent standard of excellence are eligible for consideration. Additionally, if an analysis of the student’s academic record shows continuing improvement, such patterns could qualify a student for consideration.

Service and Leadership: Leadership entails resourcefulness, effective problem solving, school spirit, dependability, and positive attitude. Service and leadership experiences can be drawn from school or community activities while working with or for others. Such leadership traits will be reflected in the positions the student occupies and letters of recommendation from his/her teachers.