Over at his blog, Patrick Madrid is highlighting a great scholarship opportunity for Catholic students.

There’s some serious “money on the table” right now for college-bound Catholic kids who apply early for the Belmont Abbey College “Hintemeyer Catholic Leadership Program.” The scholarship amount is normally $17,000, but if you apply before October 20, 2010, under the college’s “early decision” program, you may be eligible to receive an additional $3000 in scholarship money if selected for the program.

(Here’s the link to the scholarship information.)

Pardon me Mr. Madrid, but you had me at just $17,000.

When I clicked to the Belmont Abbey site, I found that there was even more than one scholarship being offered to qualifying students who apply for early admission. The looming deadline is October 20, so if you know any interested high school seniors, they should act fast.

All the information about the scholarships and downloadable application forms are available at the Belmont Abbey website.

Catholic students who aspire to attend Belmont Abbey or any other college in the next two years are also eligible to win tuition money through the National Catholic Register’s own scholarship contest.

To win one of three tuition-deferring prizes, all you have to do is think hard and write well on a basic but challenging theme: How I Expect My Catholic Faith to Impact My College Career. We’ll award $1,000 to the winner, $750 to the first runner-up and $500 to the second runner-up. The prize money is generously donated by a magnanimous Catholic family whose members appreciate authentically Catholic education as much as they love the Register.

All the details are here. Good luck, Catholic kids!