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Equitable Excellence® Scholarship

Equitable Foundation has established the Equitable Excellence Scholarship® Program program to assist high school seniors and current undergraduates who are planning to continue their education at a two- or four-year college in the United States by Fall 2025.

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Applications Currently Closed

The application program will be available again in October 2025. Please return then to view the updated Eligibility and Awards for the 2026 academic year, or click Remind Me to be notified when applications open.

Remind Me

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 22 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. And 100 $2,500 one-time scholarships will be awarded.

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 be a force for good in school, community, or work activities.

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 to the Equitable Excellence Scholarship® Program Scholarship Program must:

  • Be current high school seniors and current undergraduates 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 be a force for good in your community by encouraging others to pursue higher education.
  • Be willing to provide a release to publicize their identities and information about their 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 four 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.

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. Enrollment at an accredited postsecondary institution outside of the United States may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Notification

All applicants will be notified in early spring.

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:

  • Demonstrate ambition and self-drive to be a force for good in your community by encouraging others to pursue higher education
  • Work experience
  • Unusual personal or family circumstances
  • A custom essay*

Financial need will be required. Applicants must have financial need.

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.

*Essay Topic®
“Earning a college degree can enhance economic mobility and positively impact both you and those around you. As a college graduate, how do you plan to pay it forward and inspire others in your community to pursue their own college education?”

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.

Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.

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