Columbia Distributing Scholarship Program
Columbia Distributing has established a scholarship program to assist employees’ children and grandchildren who plan to continue their education in college or vocational school programs.
Columbia Distributing Scholarship Program
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 Columbia Distributing Scholarship Program must:
- Be dependent* children, or grandchildren, age 26 and under, of full-time Columbia Distributing employees who have a minimum of one year of employment as of the application deadline.
*Dependent children are defined as biological, step- or legally adopted children living in the employee’s household or primarily supported by the employee. Dependency does not apply to grandchildren. - Be high school seniors or graduates who plan to enroll or students who are already enrolled in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two-year or four-year college, university, or vocational-technical school for the entire upcoming academic year.
- Have a minimum cumulative grade point average of a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent).
Children, grandchildren and dependents of Columbia Distributing’s Senior Leadership Team members are ineligible to apply.
Awards
If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $10,000 award. Up to two (2) awards will be granted. Past recipients may not reapply.
Awards are for undergraduate study only.
Notification
Applicants will be notified in May. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. Students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements. Past recipients may not reapply.
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 Columbia Distribution. Payments are made in one installment in early August.
Selection of Recipients
- Academic record
- Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
- Work experience
- A statement of educational and career goals and objectives
- Unusual personal or family circumstances
- An online recommendation
Scholarship America selects a group of finalists and provides them to Columbia Distributing. Columbia Distributing reviews select essays and letter of recommendation of the selected finalists and selects the recipients. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
Requirements
As part of your application, you must upload the following document(s):
- 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.
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 January 8, 2026 at 3:00 PM CT (5:00 pm PT).
Your application is not considered complete unless all required documents are submitted electronically.
