Exploration Scholarships
This drawing took place November 30, 2021. Stay tuned for more information about future scholarship opportunities!
Start early, stress less.
9th & 10th graders: use MyCoalition tools for a chance to win a $500 scholarship toward the cost of your college exploration and preparation activities – from campus visits, to summer programs, to tutoring.
Meet past winners
Bengina Amponsah, from Tarpon Springs, Florida, plans to use the scholarship for visiting campuses out of state and attending summer programs.
David Araiza, from Moses Lake, Washington, plans to use the scholarship to purchase school supplies.
Nathalie Vazquez, from Redwood City, California, plans to use the scholarship to help cover the costs of school supplies and technology.
How to enter
It’s as simple as creating or logging into your free MyCoalition account, our college-planning platform. Once there, follow the tool tips to complete My Story, a special section of MyCoalition for students in 9th and 10th grade.
In My Story, you’ll complete the following sections:
About Me
Here, you’ll enter some basic details about you, like your name, high school, academic interests, and whether you participate in any community-based organizations that provide college advising services.
The Locker
You’ll also have a chance to practice using this free, private storage space, a great tool to keep track of all you do through high school. Upload a file or record a video to be entered into the drawing.
Then, add three schools to your College List. Tip: check the box to receive communications from your top schools.
Get started.
Who is eligible?
Eligible students must:
be a current 9th or 10th grade high school student (graduating in 2024 or 2025)
be at least 13 years of age
have a U.S. address or be a U.S. citizen
complete the steps outlined above by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on November 30, 2021
How and when will winners be chosen?
A total of six $500 scholarships will be given to members of the Classes of 2024 and 2025.
Half of the scholarships will be reserved for students connected to a community-based organization, which students can indicate as they complete the About Me section of My Story in their MyCoalition account.
Winners will be notified by December 15, 2021.
FAQs
What are the benefits of entering into this scholarship drawing?
In addition to the chance to win $500 toward your college exploration and preparation activities, you’ll also be taking great steps to make the most of MyCoalition tools, provided by 150+ top colleges and universities.
Will colleges see the files I upload or videos I record in the Locker?
The Locker is your private, unlimited digital storage space. No one will see the information you store there unless you choose to share a file directly with a contact or eventually upload a file to a college application.
Will I be evaluated on the information I enter in My Story for this scholarship?
The Exploration Scholarship winners will be chosen via a drawing. We’re not judging the information you provide, beyond seeing that the required sections are complete. This scholarship program is designed to encourage you to take good first steps toward preparing for college, not to evaluate you.
What is a community-based organization and why are half of the scholarships reserved for students working with one?
A community-based organization, or CBO, is a group (for example, a neighborhood or church-based organization) that provides free assistance with your college application process, academic support or other education goals.
These organizations can be powerful support systems for students looking to reach their higher education goals. The Coalition maintains a vetted, national registry of these organizations so that CBOs and Coalition colleges can easily connect with each other in support of students.
What is the Coalition for College?
We’re more than 150+ colleges and universities working together to help students learn about, prepare for and apply to college. We provide free college-planning tools via our digital platform, MyCoalition.
How will you protect the information I provide?
The following outline the steps we take to protect your privacy:
The privacy policy for CollegeNET, the MyCoalition technology provider
What can I use the scholarship for?
We’ll ask the winners to verify that they’ll use the $500 scholarship toward college exploration and preparation activities, like helping pay for a trip to visit campuses, funding a summer program, or tutoring services.
Not sure what the right steps are for you to take as you explore and prepare? By creating your MyCoalition account, you’ll receive regular advice about the college process and opportunities to join us at virtual events for more insight on preparing to apply to college.
By creating a MyCoalition account and finishing the steps to be entered into this drawing, will I be committed to using the Coalition application?
No! How you apply to college will continue to be your choice. MyCoalition is much more than a college application, and we hope that all students will use the tools to help them prepare, regardless of how they apply.
But one nice benefit of completing My Story: the questions you answer in About Me will be carried forward to the Profile section of MyCoalition, giving you a jump start (and saving you time) on completing your Coalition applications.