Scholarships

Scholarships are financial aid funds that do not need to be repaid (as with loans) or earned (as with employment opportunities. Scholarships and grants are both great ways to help offset the costs of attending Scripps.

The difference between scholarships and grants is that scholarship awards are generally based not only on financial need—as with grants—but on your previous and current academic performance, your community involvement, extracurricular activities and interests, and other factors.

Scholarships Offered at Scripps

Scripps Admission Scholarships

Scripps College Office of Admission offers several scholarships to entering students. These scholarships range in amount from $15,000 to $30,000, and are awarded based on demonstrated academic performance and school and/or community involvement.

All applicants to the College—with the exception of transfer applicants—are automatically considered for scholarships. No separate application is required. As an applicant, you would be notified of any scholarship award if and when you are given an offer of admission; scholarships are renewable for each of your four years at the College. To be eligible for Admissions scholarship recipients must enroll full-time and maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) toward their degree objective.

Admissions scholarships must be coordinated into need-based aid awards for any eligible need-based aid recipient. Admissions scholarship amounts are made in fixed amounts and do not change in future years. Admissions scholarships decisions are final and cannot be appealed or negotiated. Approximately 23% of the students at Scripps College were awarded admission scholarships.

QuestBridge Scholarships

QuestBridge National College Match is a non-profit organization that links high achieving, highly motivated low-income and under-served youth with educational and scholarship opportunities at some of the nation’s best colleges. The  program offers students the opportunity to participate in an alternative early admission program with 32 elite colleges and universities. The key benefits of the National College Match program include:

  • Four-year scholarship with no loans*
  • Scholarship covers tuition and fees, room and board and books and supplies.
  • A minimum student contribution of $1,700 is expected from summer employment or savings.
  • Students will be awarded $2,200 in Work-Study annually as a means to meet part of their educational expenses.
  • Students are generally expected to cover their transportation and personal expenses from summer/academic year employment and/or savings.
  • Transportation allowances vary based on geographic location of the student’s permanent address.

*Although loans are not included in a student’s initial award letter, QuestBridge Match students may request a student loan to cover their minimum student contribution or to replace their Federal Work-Study if they choose not to work. In addition, QuestBridge Match students who participate in SAGE Study Abroad programs may also borrow a loan because work-study is not available while students are abroad.

Renewal

To renew your QuestBridge Scholarship, you must submit a complete continuing student financial aid application each year, you must enroll full-time, and you must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress for financial aid.

Continuing Student Scholarships

In addition to the named scholarships listed on the Grant Recipient Form, there are also three Scripps College-sponsored scholarships that are meant specifically for continuing students; if you are entering your sophomore year or above, you are eligible to apply for these.

  • The Ellen Clark Revelle Scholarship (“The Nellie”) is awarded each year to a continuing student who demonstrates financial need and fully engages in leadership activities in the Scripps community and beyond. The Nellie honors alumna and former trustee Ellen Clark Revelle ’31, a champion for political causes locally and nationally who carried on the philanthropic spirit of her great aunt, Ellen Browning Scripps. The Nellie Scholar will receive an $800 book stipend. If the Nellie Scholar already has a book-stipend as part of their need-based financial aid award, a second book stipend will not be awarded. The Nellie Scholar will also receive one-time $5,000 summer internship stipend to pursue further leadership experience. At graduation, the The Nellie Scholarship will repay any packaged amount of need-based loan that the student borrows, up to a maximum of $14,000. Payments will be made directly to the student loan servicing agency on the student’s behalf.  The Nellie Scholar may also request additional funds for other expenses related to their Scripps College education. The Nellie is automatically renewable for a maximum of six semesters, assuming the recipient maintains high academic standards and continues to be engaged with the Scripps College community and the community at large. You can find an online application for The Nellie here.
  • The Bekki Lee Memorial Endowed Scholarship was established in 2013 through the generosity of her friends and family to celebrate her lifelong commitment to education, access and inclusivity. Bekki Lee was Scripps’ Dean of Students and Vice President of Student Affairs from 2010-2013. The Bekki Lee Memorial Endowed Scholarship is given annually to a deserving student who has made significant efforts to enhance the Scripps community. The recipient of this award will receive up to $6,000 in loan and/or grant replacement. You can find an online application for the Bekki Lee Memorial Endowed Scholarship here.

Scripps Named Scholarships

Named Scholarships are awarded to undergraduates from funds given to the College every year by individuals or organizations, and are “named” by or for the donor.

NOTE: If you are awarded a Scripps College Grant or are receiving a QuestBridge, New Generation, or Margo Leonetti O’Connell ’64 Scholarship, you must fill out the Scripps Grant Recipient Form. Please also note that awarded named scholarships will be used to replace some or all of your Scripps Grant; they will not replace loan or work awards and cannot be used to reduce estimated family contributions.

Since many donors are lifelong friends of Scripps and enjoy hearing directly from students about life at Scripps today, you will be asked to write a thank-you letter to one or more of these benefactors if you are awarded a named scholarship. Additionally, you may be asked to attend a function at which you will meet your scholarship donor or their family members.

Outside Scholarship Resources

Applying for scholarships is a lot like applying to colleges. You start with a large number of possibilities and cut that down to a short list of choices. Then you have to complete and submit applications that include essays, recommendations and lists of achievements that highlight your best qualities. Check out these scholarship search engines as well as organizations in your community.

Accepting an Outside Scholarship Award

Federal regulations require that Scripps consider any private/outside scholarships and other awards as part of your financial resources. You must inform the Scripps Office of Financial Aid of your award by filling out the Private Scholarship Information Form if or when you are notified of any scholarship award from National Merit, local or civic organizations, tuition grants from employers, or other sources. All outside scholarships will be coordinated into financial aid packages by dividing them equally over both semesters in the academic year. If you have uneven costs per semester, you may request and adjustment.

Coordinating an Outside Scholarship with Your Financial Aid Award

Scripps College policy states that outside scholarships will first be used to reduce or replace your self-help awards—i.e., loans and/or work study—where applicable. Next, we will allow outside scholarships to help cover your minimum student contribution from summer earnings. If the total of your outside scholarship(s) exceeds your self-help awards and the minimum student income contribution, we may be required to reduce other forms of aid, including Scripps Grant, to ensure that the total of your awards does not exceed your demonstrated financial need. If a student who is not need-based aid recipients who receive scholarships from the College and from outside sources, the combination of awards cannot exceed the documented cost of attendance.

Outside scholarships are coordinated into financial packages by dividing them equally across both semesters of the academic year. If you have uneven costs, you may request and adjustment.

Generally, outside scholarships may not be used to replace the estimated parent contribution or the student contribution from assets.

Processing Outside Scholarship Awards

Outside scholarship checks should be made payable to Scripps College and sent directly to the Financial Aid Office. Please ensure that your full name and Scripps College Student ID is written on the check or included in a memo when possible.

Mail or deliver the check to:

Scripps College Financial Aid Office
1030 Columbia Avenue #2027
Claremont, California 91711

Once received, your scholarship check will be displayed as part of your financial aid award on your My Financial Aid portal. Disbursements will be credited to your student account along with any other financial aid you may receive. Normally, scholarships are credited to student accounts within 3-5 business days after the financial aid office has confirmed your eligibility, but not earlier than 10 days before the beginning of each semester. Scholarship disbursements received for students who are not enrolled, or for those who are otherwise ineligible, will be returned to the issuing scholarship agency.

Occasionally, outside agencies, college administrative or academic units may disburse a scholarship or grant award directly to a student for their use.  If this happens, the Office of Financial Aid will adjust your financial aid award with an corresponding amount of non-disbursed aid, to ensure your total award does not exceed your demonstrated financial need or cost of attendance as indicated above.

State grant programs, such as the Cal Grant A or B, the Vermont State Grant or Pennsylvania State Grant will reduce your eligibility for Scripps College Grants and may not reduce your self-help (loans or work) awards or your estimated family contribution.

Dean of Faculty Fellowship & Scholarship Resources

Scholarship Search Engines

Fastweb!
Big Future – The College Board
Scholarships.com