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Application Guide & Tips

Scholarship Application Guide & Tips

Review this guide for tips on preparing the best possible scholarship application! 

APIA Scholars offers a range of scholarships to support all students who are underserved, with a focus on those who are living at or below poverty level and are first-generation college students. Awards range from one-time $2,500 awards to multi-year $20,000 awards. Our vision is to provide scholarships to students so they can cultivate their academic, personal, and professional success regardless of their ethnicity, national origin, or financial means.  

At APIA Scholars, we offer a variety of scholarships designed to meet the diverse needs of students with support from different partners and organizations. Some scholarships may be tied to a specific major, field of study, or intended career path.  

The great news for applicants is that they don’t need to worry about applying for these scholarships separately — one application covers all APIA scholarships. APIA Scholars is focused on making the process as streamlined as possible for students. The 2026-2027 APIA Scholarship application includes only one essay question and does not require any supporting documents such as recommendation letters. 

Application Process and Timeline

Saturday, November 15, 2025:

Application opens

Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 5pm ET:

Application closes

April 2026 (may be subject to change):

Scholarship applicants notified of decisions

Requirements: 

  • Complete the online APIA Scholarship application by Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 5pm Eastern Time.
  • Applicants moving on to the next stages of selection will be asked to provide additional information.

Eligibility Criteria

All applicants must:

• Be a citizen, national, or legal permanent resident (green card holder) of the United States; citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau are also eligible to apply 

• Be enrolling or continuing as a degree-seeking undergraduate student in a U.S. accredited college or university in fall 2026 

Note: students pursuing an associate or bachelor’s degree are eligible to apply. Full-time and part-time degree-seeking students are eligible, as well as students who plan to enroll in online courses at accredited institutions. Students who are pursuing a second bachelor’s degree or a graduate level program are not eligible to apply. 

Scholarship Application Guide

Check out this brief overview of what to expect from the APIA Scholarship application. We welcome you to review the 2026-2027 Scholarship Application FAQs for more details. 

TIP: Don’t start your application at the last minute! Take advantage of upcoming school or holiday breaks to work on it. If you have any technical problems with the online application form, you can reach out to help@mykaleidoscope.com. Email applicant@apiascholars.org if you need help with application or eligibility questions. As the deadline approaches, however, there may not be capacity to assist given the high volume of inquiries. 

Tell Us More About You

This section asks for general information such as name, address, birthdate, race/ethnicity, and gender. 

TIP: For contact information please use a personal email address that you check regularly and will have access to until fall 2026. We will use this email to send you reminders and important updates! High school seniors: avoid using your high school email address since it likely will be deactivated after you graduate. To receive updates regarding your application status, please do not unsubscribe from email communications. If you are selected for a scholarship but cannot be reached after unsubscribing, you may risk forfeiting your award. 

Academic Information

The application will request information about your current and future school enrollment plans, as well as the educational background of household members. 

Financial Information

You will be asked to provide information about dependency status for the FAFSA, adjusted gross income, household size, and financial status. We do not request financial documents for this part of the application process.

Activities, Interests, and Community Involvement

You will have the opportunity to share information for up to five of your extracurricular activities, work experiences and/or family responsibilities during your academic journey in order of importance to you — along with a short description of the impact that each one has had on you. We want to hear about what makes you unique. We understand life circumstances like illness, income restraints or childcare responsibilities etc., may restrict opportunities such as extracurricular activities. We welcome you to share whatever experiences and insights you are comfortable with! 

TIP: Draft your responses into a separate document and then copy and paste your responses into this form to prevent loss of information if technical issues arise. If you have completed the Common Application, it may be helpful to refer to those activity descriptions as a starting point for completing this section. If this section is left blank and does not include an explanation for why you do not have any activities to list, your application may be removed from consideration

Essay (maximum of 500 words)

The essay is an important part of the application that helps APIA Scholars learn more about your experiences, perspectives, and goals. 

Prompt for the required essay: How have your experiences, identity, or community shaped the way you interact with the world? How would the APIA Scholarship support your continued growth as you pursue your future goals? This is a two-part question. Please ensure that you answer every part of the question. Be specific and provide examples. (Limit of 500 words) 

TIPS FOR ESSAY:

Brainstorm! Map it out, draw, create bullet points, free write — do whatever works for you to get your initial thoughts on paper. Ask family, friends, teachers and others you trust to read over your essay. Do they see your unique attributes shine through in your writing?

Spend time on your essay. You may not need all 500 words to answer, but you will need more than a few sentences (a minimum of 250 words is required). Work on your essay in a separate document outside of the application to prevent loss of information if technical issues arise with the online application form. You can copy and paste the final text into the application when you are ready. If the essay section is left blank or does not include a full response, your application may be removed from consideration. 

Make sure to proofread carefully. Read it out loud, sleep on it, and come back to revise and refine it.

Reminder: at the beginning of the application, you will be asked to certify that all responses and materials submitted as part of this application, including written essays, are your original work. Plagiarism or any form of academic dishonesty, including the improper use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to generate content, may result in disqualification from the scholarship application process or the revocation of any awarded scholarship. While AI tools may be used for brainstorming or grammar checks, the final submission must reflect your own original thoughts and ideas. 

Be sure to answer every part of the essay question. We look forward to learning more about you! 

Tip Before Final Submission of your Application: 

Be sure to review and proofread your entire application carefully before officially submitting your application. Please check your spelling, accuracy of contact information, and use proper capitalization for your name, address, etc. After submission, you will not be able to make any corrections. Applicants who are selected for scholarships will have an opportunity after they are notified to provide important updates on changes such as college enrollment plans and academic majors.  

Thank you for your interest in the APIA Scholarship!