A record 2,780 students applied to receive a total of $5,000 in scholarships
More than 2,700 high school seniors from across the United States have applied for the 2017 Richie's Spirit Foundation Significant Challenge College Scholarship. Applications were received from all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico. This is an increase from the nearly 2,500 applications received for the 2016 grant cycle.
A team of volunteer judges will carefully review each application to narrow down the pool to a group of ten finalists. From the finalists, the judges will determine the top three recipients to be awarded a total of $5,000 in scholarships to support their future education.
Thanks to our generous donors, Richie's Spirit Foundation has increased scholarship giving from $3,000 per year to $5,000 per year for this program. We are confident that this increase will make a greater impact in the lives of our recipients.
The application, which was open to high school seniors from November 15, 2016 through February 1, 2017 asked students to describe their greatest life challenge and to explain how they were able to overcome it. Challenges ranging from health issues to homelessness to sports injuries are commonly described. The application question helps our review committee to learn more about the applicant, his or her character, and the adversities he or she has been able to overcome. Like Richie, the scholarship recipient will also have strong leadership skills, achieve academic merit, and be engaged and active within the community.
To learn more about the Richie's Spirit Foundation College Scholarship Program, please visit our scholarship page. Scholarship recipients will be announced in May of 2017.