Chia Family Foundation Scholarship Program
The Chia Family Foundation Scholarship supports Chinese-American students in their pursuit of higher education, providing awards from $5,000 to $15,000 per year.
Chia Family Foundation Scholarship
The Chia Family Foundation supports organizations and individuals to improve outcomes through education and healthcare. The Foundation founded and continues to support the Chia Family Fellowship Program for public health nursing professionals from China in partnership with Yale-China and Yale University. It is a long-standing supporter of APEX for Youth, a successful mentoring and college readiness program for low-income and immigrant Asian students in New York City. Chia Family Foundation scholarships are also endowed at several leading American colleges and universities.
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
Eligibility
Applicants to the Chia Family Foundation Scholarship Program must:
- Be at least 17 years of age.
- Be Chinese-American by direct lineal descent based on self-identification and indication of student’s or family’s origins (place of birth in China: city, province). If unknown, applicants will be asked to provide a reason.
- Be U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents (holders of a Permanent Resident Card), or individuals granted deferred action status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA).
- Have received a high school diploma or the equivalent from a U.S. school by September 2025.
- Have completed or expect to successfully complete a minimum of one full year of full-time college education (24 credits or equivalent) by June 2026.
- Plan to enroll for the entire 2026-27 academic year in full-time undergraduate study at the sophomore year level or higher at an accredited private non-profit four year college in the United States that is currently ranked among the top fifty (50) National Liberal Arts Colleges by US News and World Report (NOTE: the ranking in the fall of 2025) – see below.
- Be studying to obtain a first bachelor’s degree.
- Demonstrate financial need based on the application information and copy of family’s IRS 1040 (or equivalent).
Previous recipients are not eligible to reapply.
Top fifty National Liberal Arts Colleges ranked by US News and World Report:
Amherst College
Barnard College
Bates College
Berea College
Bowdoin College
Bryn Mawr College
Bucknell University
Carleton College
Claremont McKenna College
Colby College
Colgate University
Colorado College
College of the Holy Cross
Davidson College
DePauw University
Denison University
Dickinson College
Franklin & Marshall College
Furman University
Grinnell College
Hamilton College
Harvey Mudd College
Haverford College
Hillsdale College
Kenyon College
Lafayette College
Macalester College
Middlebury College
Mount Holyoke College
Occidental College
Pitzer College
Pomona College
Scripps College
Skidmore College
Smith College
Soka University of America
Spelman College
St. Olaf College
Swarthmore College
The University of the South
Trinity College
Trinity University
Union College
University of Richmond
Vassar College
Washington and Lee University
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
Wheaton College
Whitman College
Williams College
Amherst, MA
New York, NY
Lewiston, ME
Berea, KY
Brunswick, ME
Bryn Mawr, PA
Lewisburg, PA
Northfield, MN
Claremont, CA
Waterville, ME
Hamilton, NY
Colorado Springs, CO
Worcester, MA
Davidson, NC
Greencastle, IN
Granville, OH
Carlisle, PA
Lancaster, PA
Greenville, SC
Grinnell, IA
Clinton, NY
Claremont, CA
Haverford, PA
Hillsdale, MI
Gambier, OH
Easton, PA
St. Paul, MN
Middlebury, VT
South Hadley, MA
Los Angeles, CA
Claremont, CA
Claremont, CA
Claremont, CA
Saratoga Springs, NY
Northampton, MA
Aliso Viejo, CA
Atlanta, GA
Northfield, MN
Swarthmore, PA
Sewanee, TN
Hartford, CT
San Antonio, TX
Schenectady, NY
Richmond, VA
Poughkeepsie, NY
Lexington, VA
Wellesley, MA
Middletown, CT
Wheaton, IL
Walla Walla, WA
Williamstown, MA
Awards
If selected as a recipient, the student will receive an award ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. Awards may be renewed for up to three additional years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first. Renewal is contingent upon satisfactory academic performance in a full-time course of study at the same college.
Each year of eligible renewal, the award will increase by $1,000. Recipients who plan to transfer schools must attend another eligible private non-profit college ranked in the top 50 National Liberal Arts Colleges at the time of transfer.
Renewal students will be contacted by Scholarship America in January of each year. Renewal students will be asked to send the sponsor a brief update each year on their academic and other activities and a final update on their post-graduation plans.
A deferral of up to one academic year may be granted for any reason.
Awards are for undergraduate study only.
Notification
All applicants will be notified of their status in late April.
Notifications are sent via email. When setting up your account, avoid using a school or work email. Instead, use an active, personal email address that you will continue to have access to.
Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address as safe senders in your email contact list.
Payment of Scholarships
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of the Chia Family Foundation. Payment is made in August. Awards are payable to the college.
Selection of Recipients
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
- Academic performance
- Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
- Work experience
- A statement of educational and career goals and objectives
- Ability to overcome challenging personal or family circumstances
- An online recommendation
Financial need, as calculated by Scholarship America, must be demonstrated for the student to receive an award.
Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of the Chia Family Foundation play a part in the selection. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
Requirements
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
- A current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
- Student name
- School name
- Grades
- Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken.
- Copy of the first two pages of the most recently filed IRS Form 1040 used for the Financial Information section of the application. Please black out all social security numbers and bank account information.
NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload a copy of your test score report(s) separately. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.
One online recommendation form must be submitted on your behalf no later than March 6, 2026 3:00 PM Central Time.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
