Horatio Alger National Scholarship Opening Soon
Offered by Horatio Alger Association
About This Scholarship
The Horatio Alger Association built its scholarship program around one idea: rewarding students who have faced significant adversity and kept going. Since the program's founding in 1984, the Association has awarded $275 million to some 38,000 students, and it now administers more than 70 scholarship programs nationwide. The National Scholarship is the flagship: the most recent class named 105 recipients, each receiving up to $25,000 — about $2.6 million in a single cycle.
Eligibility centers on need and perseverance rather than top-tier grades. Applicants must demonstrate critical financial need — $65,000 or lower adjusted gross family income — be involved in co-curricular and community service activities, show integrity and perseverance in overcoming adversity, and hold at least a 2.0 GPA. You must be a U.S. citizen in high school committed to completing a bachelor's degree at an accredited nonprofit institution.
That 2.0 GPA floor makes this rare among large-dollar awards: if your transcript took a hit while you were dealing with real hardship, this is one of the few major scholarships built for exactly that story.
Eligibility
- High school senior planning to enter college the fall after graduation
- Critical financial need
- Involvement in co-curricular and community activities
- U.S. citizenship
How To Apply
- Complete the online application, including short essays on adversity overcome
- Provide financial details and a certification from a school official
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as critical financial need?
The program generally looks for adjusted gross family income of $65,000 or lower, considered in context.