Excelsior Scholarship (UA)

The Excelsior Scholarship Fund was created to help bridge the financial gap for academically excelling college and vocational/technical school bound students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Eligibility

• Must be a resident of Colorado
• Cumulative unweighted GPA of 2.5+Must enroll at an accredited vocational/technical school, community college, or college/university in the upcoming academic year and earn a degree, certificate/certification or a professional license
• Students identified as emancipated and/or foster care youth are highly encouraged to apply!

Selection criteria

Applications will be reviewed based on:

• Scholastic Potential
• Financial need
• Academic performance
• Extracurricular activities and leadership

Award details

• Scholarship Range: $500 – $5,000
• Typical Number of Awards: Varies
• This scholarship is a one-time award. However, past recipients and applicants are encouraged to reapply each year in a competitive process. Previous recipients are not guaranteed an award upon re-application. An individual may only receive an award from this fund up to a total of five times
• All scholarships will be paid directly to a recipient’s post-secondary institution. Award disbursement is contingent upon the outside scholarship policies of a recipient’s post-secondary institution
• Award must be used for the upcoming academic year

How to apply

1. Read through the eligibility above to confirm you meet the requirements for this scholarship opportunity 
2. Log into the TDF Scholarship Manager and apply for Universal Application 2026
3. Prepare and submit the following items: 
   1. List of all extracurricular activities you have had
   2. Transcript  
   3. Email address for one recommendation(s)
      1. One community recommendation
   4. Response to the following prompt(s):
      1. Where and how do you show leadership in your day-to-day life/activities? (5,000 characters or approximately 800 words)
      2. What would you like to study after high school OR are currently studying at a college-level? What inspired your interest in this area? What do you hope to achieve with a degree in this field? Be sure to address each prompt in your response. (5,000 characters or approximately 800 words)