If you’re a high school student in America, you’ve no doubt heard of the scouts. Both the Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts of America are renowned institutions for young people, and while their popularity has waxed and waned with the times, there scouting community is thriving.
With the founding principles or “building character” and “responsible citizenship,” the Boy Scouts of America and the National Eagle Scout Association offer a relatively large number of scholarships to scouts who achieve the highest level scout badge (Eagle). Most scouts will have to remain active through the application process in order to qualify, but there are also a small number of scholarships available to alumni.
Similarly, the Girl Scouts of America have a number of scholarship opportunities for girl scouts. Girl Scouts of America works with corporations, community organizations and even colleges and universities themselves to help girl scouts obtain financial aid.
Women’s colleges like Douglass College (Rutgers University) and Lesley College (Lesley University) offer awards to girls scouts that are renewable for up to four years, and do not require that the student declares any specific major.
It is important to note that most of the scholarships available to girl scouts are reserved for recipients of the Girl Scout Gold Award, which is the highest honor that a girl scout can receive, and recognizes outstanding leadership and service in the name of the Girl Scouts.
Organizations that are not officially associated with scouting also offer scholarships to outstanding scouts. The American Legion, Elks Foundation and other private and non-profit entities reward top students with scholarships for boy and girl scouts. Many of these are provided regionally, and you can ask your current troop for more information about local scouting scholarships for college.
To learn more about how to find scholarships for scouts, please see our scholarship profiles in this section.
Girl Scout Scholarships (and American Legion) >>>