Equitable Excellence Scholarship® Program
Equitable Foundation has established the Equitable Excellence Scholarship® Program to assist high school seniors who are planning to continue their education at a two- or four-year college in the United States by Fall 2026.
Equitable Excellence Scholarship®
Equitable is committed to students who show potential: those with the courage to pursue what’s possible; who display strength in managing challenges; who share wisdom with others. The Equitable Excellence Scholarship® is celebrating 23 years of providing funding to students who are dedicated to achieving their dreams.
To support students throughout their academic journeys, Equitable will provide 100 $5,000 annual scholarships that will be renewed each academic year for four years, for a total of $20,000 per recipient.
Applicants of the Equitable Excellence Scholarship® must be high school seniors with financial need who plan to enroll in a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited two- or four-year college or university. Applicants must also reside in one of the 50 U.S. states, District of Columbia or Puerto Rico, and will be asked to demonstrate ambition and self-drive to give back to their communities by encouraging other students to pursue post-secondary attainment.
This program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarship 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. In compliance with Federal law, this program will not discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges of participation on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, or sexual orientation.
Eligibility
Applicants of the Equitable Excellence Scholarship® Program:
- Be current high school seniors residing in one of the 50 U.S. states, District of Columbia or Puerto Rico who plan to enroll full-time in an accredited two- or four-year college or university in the United States for the entire upcoming academic year.
- Demonstrate ambition and self-drive to give back to their communities by encouraging other students to pursue post-secondary attainment.
- Be willing to provide a release to publicize their identities and information about their plans or achievements, along with photographs, for use in program promotion and information.
- Have a 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
Employees, associates, financial professionals, or immediate family members of employees, associates, or financial professionals of Equitable, Equitable Advisors and all Equitable affiliated companies or Scholarship America, or their affiliates, subsidiaries, or advertising and promotion agencies, are not eligible to apply to this program.
Awards
The authorized distribution for new awards is up to $500,000. Up to 100 renewable awards of $5,000 each will be granted.
- $5,000 awards are renewable up to three years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first, on the basis of satisfactory academic performance and continued enrollment, and
- $500 gift card will be provided to each recipients’ teacher of choice who has had an impact on their school journey to be used for professional development activities or classroom supplies.
Sponsor will require recipients to attend at least 4 professional development workshops during their 4 years in college/during their renewable scholarship timeline (1 session per year).
Awards are for undergraduate study only.
Notification
All applicants will be notified in early spring.
IMPORTANT: 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 Equitable Foundation. Payment is made in August.
Selection of Recipients
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
- Financial Need. Applicants must have financial need
- Leadership and participation in school and community activities, awards, and honors
- Work experience
- Unusual personal or family circumstances
- A personal statement* that demonstrates ambition and self-drive to give back to the community by encouraging other students to pursue post-secondary attainment
*Personal statement topic
“Working towards your college degree can lead to economic mobility and create a positive impact on you and those around you. How will you, as a college graduate, plan to pay it forward and inspire others in your community to work towards their own college degree?”
Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of Equitable 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.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
