From figure skating to polo to any number of Olympic events, there are plenty of sports which you can devote your whole life to, but which don’t give the same recruiting benefits as being a star football or soccer player. That said, excelling in these sports can still help your applications, you just need to understand how to frame it properly. In this article, we’re going to look at how colleges evaluate your sports, and how you should navigate the college admissions process in light of them. 

College Teams, Clubs, and Recruitment

Only some sports are organized on teams at the college level, while others are simply clubs. The difference is in who oversees and governs them. The NCAA oversees and regulates certain sports, while others have their own governing bodies. Still others don’t have official college competitions, though athletes may attend a college and train in a club, they only compete in events under separate national or international governance. 

Club sports can recruit passively, but cannot impact admissions in the same way school-affiliated teams can. These clubs are also not governed by the NCAA, and so cannot offer scholarships, nor can they bind you to anything. Club sports may be overseen by the athletics department at a school, or by student life; usually they are also part of the athletics department, and have access to the same facilities. 

Since clubs cannot recruit, any applicants who have dedicated their lives to these sports, be you ever so good at it, will have those sports weighed like any other impressive activity, rather than like a recruited athlete. In most admissions offices, recruited athletes get a special note in their file. This doesn’t make them guaranteed to get in, but it does definitely make it easier for them to do so. Without recruitment, your sport is closer to something like debate. Impressive, possibly even enough to move the needle, but not the same kind of difference maker in admissions. 

Telling Colleges łÔąĎąŮÍř Your Sport

You aren’t getting recruited, but your athletic devotion can still have a positive effect on your chances of admission, you just need to find a good way to convey what you’ve done to admissions officers. This can be somewhat difficult, especially for sports that are more niche or less commonly encountered. 

Everyone knows what football is, even if you aren’t much of a fan of sports. You may not know what goes into it exactly, but admissions officers see enough applicants who have dedicated themselves to football to have a reasonable idea of what that looks like, even if the individual students may not be the best at explaining it. 

For more niche sports, there are several places to discuss what you do and how you do it; we’ll go through all of them.

The Activities List

The Common App activities list is somewhat limited; 150 characters is generally not enough to explain every detail of a sport. Instead, you can use this to give a general sense of how you spent your time, the level of commitment the sport required, and what that looked like. 

Use active verbs, and focus on what you did; training, conditioning, gear maintenance, teaching others; this is often harder for solo sports, since “practicing” often feels like the only thing you can say without getting lost in detail. This is often the case, but that’s why other venues exist.

The Honors List

The honors list should be used for any championships you have won in your sport, especially for individual sports. Even if a college itself doesn’t compete in figure skating or archery, they love to be able to brag about national champions or Olympians who attend their school. You should list your victories here, rather than in the activities section. If you have too many to fit within the five spots, or you also have other non-sport related awards you want to list, you can add other honors to the additional information section. 

Your Essays

Extracurriculars are always a fertile ground for college essays, but this is even more the case when you have few extracurriculars you devote all of your time to. Getting to the highest levels in individual sports takes a lot of time and a whole lot of effort, this rarely leaves time for other activities, and many dedicated figure skaters and gymnasts are homeschooled for this reason. If something is that important in your life, then writing your personal statement about it is an obvious choice. 

The goal of this essay is not to explain what exactly you’re doing in your sport (though that can certainly be part of it), but to elaborate on why it matters so much to you. You have chosen to dedicate most of your life to this pursuit: why? Why does it matter so much to you? What allure does it hold? This introduces admissions officers both to who you are, and to a world of athletics they are less familiar with. 

An Example Student

A past łÔąĎąŮÍř student, Jasmine, danced competitively. If you don’t know what exactly that means, then congrats, you’re operating at the same level as the admissions officers who read Jasmine’s application, and had to weigh whether or not she was a good fit for their school. (If you do know what that means, then merde for your next show).

Jasmine danced for fifteen to twenty hours a week, more if there was a competition coming up. Not homeschooled, but utterly devoted to her craft. We could not express this clearly in the activities list (though we did outline what she did and how she spent her time), so we turned instead to her personal statement, so that admissions officers could understand why she devoted all her time to this. We;re going to provide that as an example, and then analyze why it works well. 

Example Essay

There is a room in my house full of trophies that are supposed to highlight some of the best moments of my childhood. Instead, they represent my years spent as a full-time competition dancer pitted against girls my age for recognition.

When I joined my first competition team at age 9, dance quickly transformed from a creative, exploratory process to a race for perfection. I spent countless hours practicing my splits, firebird leaps, and fouette turns because that’s what the girls holding the first place trophies did. This competitive mentality gradually infiltrated every aspect of my life. My school’s gym’s dodgeball game seemed as important as the superbowl.

When I was 11, I “finally” won my first competition; “First place goes to entry #33, My Immortal.” I beamed as I walked to the edge of the stage, collected my award with a little curtsy, and posed for the cameras. Over the years, the shelves filled up with shiny plaques, medals, and trophies, but rather than making me happy as I once thought they would, they merely made me complacent as a dancer. By eighth grade, I was burnt out. My competitive success came at the sacrifice of passion, hunger for improvement, and my love of the art itself. 

After tearing my patellar tendon, I thought I was done for good. I was sick of doing the same tricks over and over again, and the pettiness of the studio’s social atmosphere had lost its hold over me. Even my mom noticed a change: “You aren’t happy anymore. You can quit.” As I sat at home with my knee brace on and crutches by my side, I tried to remember why I’d started dancing in the first place.

In the beginning, I saw dance as a creative outlet and welcome distraction. I danced to forget about school pressures, my parents’ breakup, and any other stressful situations that arose in my life, not to impress people or steal the spotlight. Through movement, I could let myself go and truly feel like myself. This nostalgic reflection gave me the courage to work through my injury in hopes of regaining a healthy relationship with dance again.

Luckily, my favorite choreographer had just started a performance-based company for high-level highschool dancers. With encouragement from my mom, I decided to give dance one more shot, and joined the company. In our very first rehearsal, I immediately noticed the stylistic differences between Martin’s choreography and the showy routines of my past. Rather than performing a series of disconnected, unmotivated tricks, we were encouraged to concentrate on the intentions and sentiments behind the movement, translating his gestures and phrases into our own bodies, and communicating them with the audience. We also did a lot of lifts and group work, which enabled me to connect more deeply with my fellow dancers. Through this process of learning and relearning, the artistry that had originally brought me to dance slowly resurfaced, and the passion returned to my step.

Dance is once again my escape from the stress and social pressures of everyday life. When I need a break from doing derivations or reading Arthur Miller, I cue my “Movin’ and Groovin’” playlist on Spotify, letting the music take me where it will, allowing my eyes to close and thoughts to vanish. Genuine creative expression has replaced the cold calculation competitions once brought out in me. As I dance in my room of trophies, my free movements mock their motionless metal forms.

Analysis

The essay has been edited slightly to remove identifying information, but still serves as a good example of what one of these looks like. The essay does a number of things well, which help admissions officers to understand what she did, and who she is as a person. 

First, the essay sets up what her competition is. It uses technical terminology, and establishes pace and tempo and meaning. It doesn’t delve deep into the nitty gritty of what she actually does in the day to day; that’s not important for the emotional journey of the essay. Instead, it helps us understand her mental and emotional state; both why this mattered to her, and how it shaped her. 

When you introduce your own sport, you should do enough to give readers context. You don’t need to describe the details of each day, but they should get a sense of the level of dedication required from you to excel. Most importantly, you need to establish why you do this. Your own emotional arc doesn’t need to be the same as in the example essay, but you do need to cover why doing this is important to you. 

The essay as a whole follows her emotional journey, as competition both brings her to great heights, and begins to leech the joy out of the art she loves. Your own essay does not need to follow this arc, but you should explore what your time spent means to you, and why you spend it as you do. 

This essay is something of a refutation of competition, even as it highlights the heights of achievement the student managed in her dance, her room of trophies and awards. Whatever your own essay focuses on, readers should end up understanding why you compete, and what you have learned and gained from your involvement with your sport. 

Jasmine was admitted to a number of colleges, including UT Austin and NYU, and decided to attend Fordham. 

Continuing Nontraditional Sports in College

It is quite common for athletes to want to continue their sports at some level in college, even if they aren’t aiming to be on a varsity team. If you dedicated a serious amount of your life to a thing in high school, then it’s likely (or at least hopefully), something you care a lot about. For many sports, this si easily done, finding club or recreational teams to mess around with something, still getting to enjoy the fun parts without having to take the whole so seriously. More niche sports, however, often struggle with this. 

This can, and in some cases should, be something you consider when making your college list. When I was applying, for example, I specifically chose to apply to schools which would allow me to keep dancing, either through minors, or through dedicated and serious recreational clubs. 

Not every school will be able to support every discipline, and not all will be represented at the same level. Communities can become self-sustaining, and attract new members by their presence. It is reasonable to look for one of these communities when you are making a decision on where you attend college. Even if you don’t want to work at the same level anymore, it is completely reasonable to want to continue pursuing your existing passions.

Final Thoughts

The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat; sports are a major part of life for many students, living and growing through the highs and lows of competition and victory. Not every sport is equally well represented however, and we hope you found this article helpful if your own athletic endeavors are something of a puzzle to explain to admissions officers. 

Of course, you don’t have to go through the admissions process alone. łÔąĎąŮÍř’ mentors are aspects of every phase of admissions, from refining your activities list to crafting the essay which best shows off your strengths. For advice on making your application stand out, or help finding the best college to support your growth, schedule a free consultation today. We’re always happy to hear from you.

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What then, should you do if your grades are less than perfect, a B slipping in here or there, or even a B+ average? Does this mean your odds of attending an elite college are totally shot? This is a complicated question, and as in so many aspects of college applications, has a complicated answer. Let’s explore it together!

How Colleges Evaluate Your Grades

When top colleges review your transcript, they do so holistically. This means that they don’t just look at the grades you got and your overall GPA, but that they examine you in context, putting your performance into the circumstances of your high school. This is very necessary; not every high school grades the same, offers the same classes, or has the same difficulty. There is no fair way to compare grades between schools without taking this context into account. 

In addition to this, colleges examine personal context. If you were dealing with illness, or injury, or other personal circumstances which impacted your schooling, colleges will take that into consideration. It does not absolve you from the need to get high grades of course, but it can soften the blow in some cases. We discuss this more in our article on the additional information section, which is where you tell colleges about these circumstances. 

Your grades do not need to be perfect, just good enough, and in many cases a B+ average is good enough. The real rub, the real issue, is that so many students apply who are better than good enough, with perfect grades, even taking context into account. The rest of this article, therefore, will go into how you can impress admissions officers beyond grades alone. 

How to Impress Colleges Beyond Grades

Grades are, of course, not the only thing colleges look at when they evaluate your application. It is therefore in these other areas where you can, and indeed must, impress admissions officers. We’ll go through the various pathways of doing so, and how each can weigh upon your application.

Standardized Tests

Your grades are only part of the story colleges look at when evaluating your academic fitness. Standardized test scores are another important benchmark, especially with how variable different high schools can be in difficulty and grading policies. Now, high test scores alone will not make up for lower than excellent grades, but they can cause admissions officers to be more willing to extend the benefit of the donut to applicants, especially if the rest of an application is stellar. 

Being a Recruited Athlete

There is a common trope that top athletes can get into any college they want regardless of the grades they have. This is an exaggeration, but many athletes do receive more leeway in their academic performance than other students. Unfortunately, being a recruited athlete is not something that’s easy to just do; if you are an excellent athlete then you may look into this, but most students will need to pursue other potential avenues.

Demonstrating Intellectual Vitality

There are ways to show your interest in and devotion to academic subjects beyond just good grades in classes, and if your extracurriculars are full of these, and you excel in them, then colleges take note. This can take different forms in practice, but the end result is the same: that you actively pursued your academic interests outside of the classroom, and followed that to the highest levels. 

Colleges want students who are intellectually curious and who are eager to explore their academic interests. After all, being on the cutting edge of research, following the answers to wherever they lead, is what colleges are for. If you can demonstrate that you’ve done this already outside the classroom, admissions officers may have more leeway with your performance in the classroom. 

Letters of Recommendation

Almost everything in your application is generated by you, but letters of recommendation from your teachers provide some very important and much needed context to admissions officers. These are especially important for students who may not have the best grades, as your teachers can speak to your effort, your participation in class, and your presence in the classroom. 

Of course, you must first be an excellent student to get the kind of letter of recommendation you need, but these letters can seriously bolster your profile, and help contextualize your grades. If you show dedication and effort in your classes, and work hard to both grasp the material and turn in quality work, then the letters of recommendation you get will make admissions officers more comfortable with admitting you, knowing that you are equipped to handle the rigors of college. 

Building a College List as a B Student

Building a suitable college list depends on the confluence of two factors. The first is, of course, which schools you like and are suitable for you, and the second are the schools your profile suggests you have a good shot at getting into. We are optimists, and work hard with our students to get into all the colleges on their list, but we like to be realistic as well. Not all colleges are going to be suitable for every student. 

For B students, most of the Ivy League and Ivy+ schools are going to be out of reach without serious compelling factors elsewhere in your application. This does not mean that all great schools are out of reach, merely that the already very low acceptance rates at these schools make your chances even worse. 

We advise B students to aim for more second tier universities as their reach schools; Duke and NYU, Tufts and Tulane. These are still excellent schools, with national reputations and incredible offerings, but aren’t quite so competitive, and with slightly better acceptance odds. You can still have the most competitive schools on your list, but our goal is to manage risk in such a way that students get into the best colleges possible. 

Building Candidacy as a B Student

As we have discussed throughout this article, without perfect grades, the rest of your application needs to be that much more exemplary. If you are coming at this as a student in ninth grade, then you should, of course, try to be an A student. We’re therefore going to assume that you’re coming to this article in junior year or later, and need some advice on approaching college applications with what you already have, and making the most of it. 

Last Minute Capstones

Capstone projects are culminations of earlier effort, a final crowning achievement that lets students show off the full extent of their talents and abilities. These do often have to be built to over time, but there are some you can do quickly, if you’re willing to put in a lot of time and effort. Getting an interesting internship, putting out some very useful code on GitHub, or submitting original research for publication can all theoretically be done over the summer before your senior year of high school (though probably not all three at once). 

The first step is to evaluate what you’ve done before, the skills and involvements you already have extracurricularly, and how you can take those to the next level. Do you have an interest in programming and volunteer for a nonprofit? Offer to help with their tech stack, or code an app to improve their internal processes. The specifics of what you do matter less than the work you put in and the benefit you bring as a result of your actions. 

Work With Authenticity

Do not go out and join a bunch of clubs at the last minute to try and fill space on your resume. A serious dedication to a single activity matters more, and is more impactful. Plus, admissions officers are relatively good at what they do; if they see you just going out and joining a bunch of clubs at the last minute, they’re going to assume you’re doing so cynically to pad your resume, rather than from any deep interest in the subjects you are exploring. 

Instead, you should work to heighten the connection and involvement with any groups you are currently engaged with. Take your internship to the next level. Take on more responsibilities as a volunteer. If you’re in sports, try coaching for or reffing for younger leagues, passing on the skills you worked hard to master. 

Ace Your Standardized Tests

There’s not a lot you can do at the last minute to boost your grades; the past happened, and is rather set. There is still time to do quite well on your standardized tests however, and impress colleges in that way. If you are looking for help with your test prep journey, then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help; check out our test prep coaching program to see how our students improve by an average of 170 points.

Senior Year Grades Matter (Somewhat)

Finally, you do want to do as well as possible in your senior year. There are some schools who don’t count senior year grades at all (notably the UC system), but most will check them, and do think highly of improvement over time. If you have been taking the hardest possible classes this whole time, and are doing better now at the tail end of high school, colleges are more likely to think that’s a positive sign for your future performance. 

Final Thoughts

Getting into a top college is really hard, and having less than perfect grades can make that feel impossible. We don’t want to give the impression it’s easy (because applying to these schools is never a sure thing), but your situation may not be as hopeless as you fear. We hope this article has given you insight into how colleges really think about grades, and how this may impact your own applications. 

If you’re looking for help aligning your own applications with what these schools want, or hammering out some last-minute candidacy building efforts, then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. Our mentors are skilled at working with students regardless of where they stand now, and at helping you find the colleges which will best support your needs and goals. Schedule a free consultation to learn more, we always love hearing from you.

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First, of course, it is one of the best CS programs in the country. Their school of is top ranked, and highly competitive for admissions. Beyond that, however, they offer some options that many schools do not: their combined studies . In this article, we’re going to explore both what these majors are, and how you can go about applying for them. While these aren’t going to be right for every student, they are a somewhat unique opportunity, and may be just right to perfectly prepare you for the future you’re dreaming of. 

UIUC’s Blended Computer Science Degrees

These are all single major programs, not dual degrees, which award a single BS degree. These must be applied to as your primary major; they are generally hosted in another college at UIUC, and your degree is awarded through that college. Each of these programs covers the fundamentals of both computer science and the partner field, and the merger between them, how CS can be used to advance the other work done in that field. 

There are more than a dozen of these, but we’ll go through each of them briefly, to explore who it’s for and what it can offer you.

This major is hosted by the College of Media, and covers the deeply intertwined fields of CS and advertising. It’s no secret how much digital infrastructure is devoted to ads, and this major is designed so you can understand both the technical aspects of that infrastructure, and the marketing principles which underpin the advertising decisions. Note that this is not about digital ads themselves, but rather the advertising environment which is created in online spaces. 

Like many public universities in agrarian states, UIUC has a very strong program for agricultural sciences. This too is advancing with the advent of new technologies, and this degree prepares you for that. From breeding practices to feeding and management, a knowledge of programming and automation is increasingly desired for entrants into the world of agriculture. 

Anthropology has come a long way from Durkheim just making things up, and this major highlights the increasing importance of data and analysis in this field of study. Hosted by the College of Liberal Arts, this major focuses both on the anthropological impact of computers, and on using programming and data science to analyze and parse the mountains of data that anthropologists must now deal with. 

Hosted by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, this major is in response to the field of astronomy increasingly relying on programming knowledge in order to help deal with the mountains of data and the need for complex modeling. This major is particularly aimed at those students who are interested in pursuing graduate studies. Students in this major are encouraged to complete undergraduate research, though it isn’t required. 

This major is hosted by the Grainger College of Engineering, and is in response to the increasing importance of big data in creating new medical technologies, and the increase in cybernetics and digital technologies integrated with the mechanical hardware. This major is closer to a more pure engineering and CS major, but does have some unique offerings you can’t get from just majoring in bioengineering.

Hosted by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, this major is in response to the increasing use of computer science in chemistry research, especially in the fields of modeling and visualization. While you still need to have the baseline chemical understanding, CS can help you both predict and explain your results, along with assisting in analyzing large data sets. This works well for students interested in industry or higher education. 

This major is devoted to research and innovation within agriculture, particularly in fields where there is a lot of data which needs to be analyzed. Everything from weather patterns to plant genetics now can be greatly speeded through computer modeling, while other aspects of farming also benefit from technical innovation. Ideal for students looking for a job in this specific industry. 

Hosted by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, this program focuses on data analysis, especially when dealing with the incredibly large data sets economists generally use. This prepares students both to go directly into industry or to pursue further work in research and academia. While this is not directly a business degree, it is often more valuable for careers in finance than a business degree. 

Hosted by the College of Education, this major is specifically designed for students who want to go on to teach computer science, or for those who want to better understand how technology can be successfully integrated with education. The use of digital devices in education is a hotly debated topic, and this major will give you the tools to understand that. This major intentionally prepares students to pursue advanced degrees. 

Geographic Information Science, or GIS, is the term used for mapmaking digitally, combining high precision data in order to create the most accurate maps possible. This major gives students the tools to model and work with data that relates to physical space, transforming maps to reality and back again. UIUC is a leader in both fields, and this particular combined major is excellent for anyone who wants to enter the field of GIS specifically.

Hosted in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, this major looks at how computers use and interact with natural language, the same as used by you or I. There is also room in this for computational linguistics, though that is its own field of study. This major is particularly suited for students who are interested in graduate school, but also offers opportunities in industry, especially as the use of natural language by computers becomes more common. 

Hosted by the College of Fine and Applied Arts, this major looks at the connections between music and technology, from audio tools to advancements in digital music and production. This is a fine arts major, but still requires the math and science skills as any study of CS does. Students in this program can also take graduate courses in the Music school. 

For any number of reasons, there are an increasing number of ethical and fundamental questions raised by technology and computer science. The point of this major is to give you the technical understanding to grasp the questions being asked, and the philosophical depth to attempt meaningful answers to them. This is somewhat niche compared to other majors, but no less important for that fact. 

Hosted by the Grainger College of Engineering, this major focuses on the quantitative models used in so much of physics. Physics looks at things large and small, generating mountains of data, and programming and modeling are needed to fully parse this, to understand what you are looking at and what it means. This major is related to the CS+Astronomy one, but includes other fields of physics as well. This major gives you a solid grounding; many graduates go on to careers in industry, while others continue their studies in graduate school. 

How to Apply for a CS+X Major

All of these work the same as any other major offered by UIUC. When you apply, you select your first choice major in your college of choice, and you are evaluated for your fit for that major and program specifically. UIUC has a single admissions office, but admission is done by both college and major. 

These majors do not have any additional application requirements. They are, however, extremely competitive for admissions, since they are . The CS major as a whole has an acceptance rate of 7.4%, while the acceptance rate across all CS+X programs is 17.4%. This is higher, but is still more competitive than any other college at UIUC. 

The released acceptance rate also does not differentiate between different CS+X majors. While we aren’t certain, we are reasonably confident more students are applying for CS+Economics than for CS+Crop Science. Overall, however, there is nothing additional you need to do when applying; it’s just very hard to get in. 

UIUC does allow you to choose a second major when you apply, and we recommend doing so if you are aiming for one of the CS+X degrees. This is especially true for in-state students; UIUC has a lot of very good programs beyond computer science, and being able to avail yourself of them even if you don’t get your first choice is worthwhile.

Is a CS+X Major at UIUC Right for You?

This depends entirely on what your goals are, but for many students, these combined degrees offer many more options than a pure computer science major, or a simple major in the other field. A lot of fields increasingly rely on computer science, from the need to process massive amounts of data when doing research, to the complex tools and programs which now underpin so many fields.

In general, students with two particular goals benefit the most from these majors. Those who want to pursue research which involves significant amounts of data or modeling, and those who want to enter industries which rely heavily on technology, especially in finance or business. 

Everyone who does scientific research needs to understand a small amount of programming, enough to be able to run data analyses in R and plot out the results you get. In some research projects, the amount of data you are dealing with demands more than that, and you must be able to sift through mountains of data, or program complicated models which will enable you to properly understand the reactions which are occurring. This can be done through a CS minor, but a combined degree just makes the entire process more coherent. 

For industry, many companies have begun prioritizing hiring students with some knowledge of programming, especially in certain fields of finance and consulting. This certainly isn’t always the case, but if you are aiming at some fields or career paths, a degree which includes computer science is much more valuable than one which covers business alone. 

UIUC isn’t the only college to offer combined degrees of this type, but they have an incredibly wide variety of them, and make them far more accessible than many other universities. Combined with the strength of their computer science program, they are definitely worth including on your list of colleges if you are interested in pursuing CS at a high level.

Final Thoughts

Computer science isn’t the only field students can go into, and it is entirely possible to get a good career without it. That said, it’s no surprise why so many students are interested in pursuing it, or why it’s the most popular major at so many schools. We hope this article helped you understand one particular computer science offering at a university known for them, and evaluate whether or not a CS+X degree is something that might help with your goals.

If you’re looking for more help finding the exact degree or major that best suits your interests, or applying to the program once you have found it, then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. Our mentors are experts of every aspect of the admissions process, and have plenty of experience guiding students through it. Schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can help you. 

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What Does the UC Testing Petition Say?

The petition was spearheaded by professors in the math department at UC Berkeley, but signees come from across STEM fields, and across all campuses within the UC system. This shows a remarkable degree of coordination; while not every professor has signed on, more than 600 did. As anyone who has worked with college professors knows, getting more than 600 of them to agree to anything is quite an accomplishment. 

The petition specifically requests that standardized tests be required for all students who are interested in majoring in STEM fields. Since the UC system requires applicants to apply by school or major, this would be quite simple to implement, theoretically at least. More interesting is why these professors are requesting this. The petition :

• 20% of incoming students from 2021-2023 taking introductory calculus courses were not fully prepared
• The deficiencies are so extreme in some cases professors must teach Middle School level math to students
• That without basic math fluency, success in STEM fields is untenable for students

Notably, this is not the first time UC faculty have raised concerns about students’ math preparation in recent years. Back in November, the that students’ math skills had plummeted over the past five years. In 2025, one in twelve students had math skills below a middle school level, despite having a solid math GPA.Ěý

Remedial math courses at UC San Diego were only designed in 2016; in 2020 there were 32 students enrolled in it. By 2023, that number had risen to 390. In the fall of 2025, it reached 971, and courses were now addressing holes in math back to middle school levels. 

The professors who signed the clarification that this isn’t a universal problem; most students still arrive at college fully capable of doing the math that’s required. The bottom percentile, however, is in freefall, and unable to meet the demands of the coursework they are asked to complete. 

Is This a Real Problem (and Will Standardized Tests Fix it)?

Professors have always complained about the academic capabilities of undergraduates. This is true regardless of year or institution; when I was in grad school, at a department function, complaining about the quality of work of the undergrads was commonplace. The best students were fine of course, but the bottom percentile just weren’t hacking it. 

The school’s acceptance rate at that time was around 10%; it’s only dropped since. 

The point of this anecdote isn’t to say that the claims of UC’s professors are baseless, but to highlight why they matter. Professors always complain about students; if things have gotten bad enough to motivate them to circulate and sign a petition about it, then things are truly beyond the pale. 

There has been concern about math performance by students ever since the Covid pandemic; indeed, we are still seeing losses in math from the pandemic. California’s own tests identify around 30% of high school students being at or above level in math; these are the ones who are theoretically best prepared for college. The question then is why these students grades and GPAs aren’t enough to demonstrate their readiness; as seems to be the case. 

The answer, or at least part of it, comes down to grade inflation in high schools, and policies which are designed to prevent students from failing. These are well intentioned in both cases, but have cumulative impact of robbing high school grades of their significance and predictive power. This is the curse of grade inflation; when anyone can earn an A regardless of work or mastery, then an A no longer means anything. 

This is not a problem created by teachers; the fact that most students arrive at college fully equipped to enter math courses is a sign of that. This is a problem with multiple sources and no clear solutions, but which must be addressed at the high school level; students who can’t do math on-level must address that before they move on to college level coursework, especially in STEM, where mathematical fluency underpins everything else you are doing. 

Will Standardized Tests Fix It?

This is the big question, and it’s unclear what the answer is. Anecdotal evidence from discussion boards frequented by professors, as well as professors we speak to, suggests that this is a problem which extends far beyond California, and far beyond the UC system. Even in schools where standardized tests are required for admissions, there is an increasing trend of students being ill–equipped for the required work. 

Standardized tests may be uniquely equipped to help the situation in this specific instance, but are unlikely to be a solution overall. They are still an imperfect predictor of both student preparation for college, and for their eventual performance once they get there. While these steps by the UC system are likely to at least partially ameliorate their present issue, they won’t fix the underlying one: that students who graduate from high school are not guaranteed to be able to do math. 

What Does This Mean for Students Applying to UC Schools?

As of yet, there has been no change in the admissions requirements for any of the UC schools. While the administration has certainly received the faculty petition, any changes they make (even if they want to make any) will take some time to implement. Admissions changes are discussed each Spring at around this time, so it is possible there are changes rolled out in the coming weeks. We do not think that is likely however. 

The most likely result of this is that testing requirements will be rolled out slowly, and likely not starting this fall. Universities, generally speaking, only move quickly when they absolutely have to. The pandemic forced quick action on changing testing requirements, a faculty petition will likely not. 

Complicating things still further is the fact the UC system went test-optional in the first place due to a court order. Now, we aren’t lawyers, but any time lawyers are involved things are far more complicated and take far longer to unravel. It is entirely possible for them to circumvent or overturn this order, but any attempt to do so will take time. Court cases move quite slowly, generally speaking. 

While this is our prediction, we can’t see the future, and many schools beyond the UCs are returning to requiring standardized test scores. We advise all students we work with to take these tests, and to do as well on them as they are able. WHile you may not be required to submit scores for the particular school you are interested in, some of the schools on your list will want them, and many scholarships require standardized test scores as well. 

If you are struggling with math, however, then you need to take additional steps. There’s no shame in it, but this is something you need to address before attending college, especially if you are interested in a STEM field. Engineers, doctors, programmers, scientists; all must use math regularly and fluently, and needing to catch up on lost time once you are in college will make your life much harder, and can require you to spend more time in school. 

If this is an issue for you, get help now. Schools have resources for exactly this scenario, and there are plenty of online resources as well, free and paid, which can help you catch up on math topics. As the saying goes, the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.

Final Thoughts

The UC schools handle some of the highest application rates in the country, hundreds of thousands of students applying across the system each year. Any change they make to their admissions practices is likely to be widely felt, and so it makes sense that this is major news. We do believe these professors have encountered a legitimate issue, and one which needs to be addressed in some way.

We hope that this article has helped you better understand this situation, and how it may impact your own college application journey. College applications are already stressful, and headlines like this only add to that. If you are concerned about your own standardized test scores, or want advice on any other aspect of your application, then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, we’re always happy to hear from you. 

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What Hong Kong Students Need to Know łÔąĎąŮÍř College Applications

The primary barrier of entry is that of the college applications themselves. There are two separate issues here for many students in Hong Kong. The first is that the way college applications work for US universities is completely different to how it works in the rest of the world, and the second is that on top of this, universities have additional requirements for international students. We’ll go through the ones which most often trip up the students from Hong Kong we work with. 

English Language Requirements

This is often a trip-up for students in Hong Kong because of how many students in Hong Kong are fluent in English. Indeed, many students don’t need to prove their fluency with English. The rule most colleges use is that if your high school taught in English primarily, you don’t need to prove English fluency. 

Thus, students who attend a British style or American style school in Hong Kong, where the instruction is primarily in English, do not need to prove their fluency in English. If your school’s primary language of instruction isn’t English however, you will need to prove it. You may know that you can speak English perfectly well, but colleges require proof of this. TOEFL, IELTS, and DuoLingo tests are accepted by most top US universities.

Standardized Test Requirements

Many (though not all) colleges in the US require students to take either the SAT or the ACT. These tests are not at all similar to something like the Gaokao, except superficially, and this often trips up students from Hong Kong. The Gaokao is the primary metric by which college admissions in China are determined; it is this test alone, in exclusion of all other metrics, which decides whether or not you get into a top university.

By contrast, the SAT and ACT are but one metric colleges use to evaluate students. These are important for international students, but the point of them is to determine if you are academically prepared for the rigors of college work. It is entirely possible (and indeed common) to get a perfect score on one of these exams and get rejected from many top colleges in the US because other aspects of your application did not measure up. 

Application Essays

One of the most important components of your application are your essays, something colleges in the US really prioritize, but most other universities globally do without. These essays fall into two distinct categories: 

1. The personal statement. This is a single longer essay which goes out to every college you apply to.Ěý
2. Supplementals. These are shorter essays that individual colleges want you to write, which can be on any number of topics.Ěý

Essays are your chance to tell admissions officers about yourself, as a person and a scholar. When colleges in the US are evaluating applicants, they don’t make decisions based on academic achievement alone (they do want academic achievement of course, but that’s just one of the things they’re looking for). Equally important is who you are, and how you’ll fit in with the campus community. This is completely unlike what universities in Hong Kong (or indeed the rest of the world) look for, and thus often trips up students.Ěý

Cost and Financial Aid

Unlike much of the rest of the developed world, colleges in the US cost a lot of money to attend. These costs are even higher for international students, both from travel expenses, and because many schools see international students as a source of tuition income. For this reason, many colleges in the US, even ones which are quite generous with financial aid for domestic students, offer little to none to international students.

There are some schools which do, but if you have financial constraints, then the list of schools you can and should aim for in the US is limited. Even among schools with financial aid, many are need aware, and will take into account your ability to pay when making an admissions decision.

What Hong Kong Students Need to Know as International Students

Colleges themselves have extra hurdles for students outside the US, and so does the US government. These are usually not overwhelming, but it’s good to be aware of these requirements ahead of time. Government bureaucracy requires a lot of attention to detail and strict adherence to deadlines, so being aware of what’s required ahead of time is the best way to avoid your applications getting derailed by a paperwork issue. 

Visa Requirements

We cover this in more detail in another article, but all international students require a visa to study in the US. This must be applied to from a US consulate, and requires proof of admission to a US university, along with a form from that university. Colleges are used to supplying these, and if you have concerns about this process, we advise reaching out to the international student office of any colleges which have admitted you; they’re there to help you out.

Note that as part of your evaluation for a visa, they do consider your financial assets. Students with fewer financial resources are more commonly rejected in their visa applications, as the US government considers them a higher risk for overstaying their visa (whether or not this is accurate). 

Immunization

There are always recommended or required inoculations when traveling elsewhere in the world. These can be set by both the country you are visiting, or your own country. are the vaccinations required for entry to the US, note that these are all quite common. As travel between Hong Kong and the US is quite common, this shouldn’t present a major hurdle. 

Political Concerns

There has been increasing discussion in the US about the large number of international students, particularly those from China. Now, Hong Kong and China are distinct, but also aren’t, particularly in the view of many Americans (who are known for their nuanced understanding of geography). Thus regulations or changes in requirements for Chinese students often end up making things more complicated for students from Hong Kong as well. 

The US usually changes their regulations quite slowly, but this has not been the case of late, with the current administration having a major focus on both immigration policy (including student visas), and China. These relations can fluctuate wildly, and with them policies towards students from both China and Hong Kong. 

It is a bit much to ask high school students to be aware of geopolitical realities when they are applying to colleges, but this is something you may want to keep in mind when applying to universities in the US. We don’t want to dissuade you from applying, and universities across the US are stepping up to welcome international students, but there may be unexpected hurdles which arise, specifically for students from Hong Kong.

Final Thoughts

There are many unique hurdles for international students interested in applying to universities in the US, but hundreds of thousands succeed in it each year. Students from Hong Kong have some unique challenges here, and some unique advantages as well, notably the strength of many of the high schools in Hong Kong, and the prevalence of English fluency.

We hope this article has helped you understand what challenges are presented by applying to a university in the US as a student in Hong Kong. If you are looking for help dealing with these, then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. We aren’t immigration lawyers, but we do have a deep understanding of what US universities want to see from applicants, and how to present yourself to them in an ideal manner. If you have any concerns about your own university journey, then schedule a free consultation with us today, we’re always happy to hear from you. 

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What is the Common App Honors Section?

The honors section is often overlooked, simply because it isn’t immediately apparent or important looking. It is one of many subheadings under the “Education” tab. When you enter it, you are met with this message: 

You only get a chance to enter honors if you click “yes”. Doing so, you are then able to enter up to five different honors. Here is what it looks like to enter an honor: 

You have 100 characters to list out the title of the honor you received. Compared to something like the activities list, this is fairly bare-bones, but it is still a useful avenue through which you can brag to admissions officers about things you have done in high school, and the recognition you have received for doing so. 

If you earned the same honor in multiple grades, such as honor roll or dean’s list, then it only needs a single entry. The level of recognition is determined by who is eligible for an award. If it’s anyone in your town, it’s a local award, while if it’s everyone in your country, or anyone around the world, it’s respectively larger. International awards are the most impressive, but even school-based ones are good to include. 

What Counts as an Honor?

This is the most common question, and the reason this section causes so much concern and consternation. It is not defined at all on the page itself, so students are left to wonder; all it says is that honors should be “related to your academic achievements.” What we have found is that what counts as an honor is any third-party recognition of your achievements during the four years you were in high school. 

Thus, all of the following count as honors, and can be included here: 

• Awards given out by your school, everything from Dean’s List to awards for attendance
• Prizes won for academic competitions; science fairs, quiz bowl, debate. Winning at the local, state, and national levels are all worth including
• Prizes won for athletic competitions, though these should only be included if you run out of academic awards
• Awards given by community and other foundations for volunteering
• Awards given out by College Board for repeated high scores on AP tests or the PSAT
• Any scholarships you have won
• Membership in Honors Societies, most commonly the National Honors Society

This is a somewhat extensive list, but this is on purpose. What counts as an honor is intentionally both broad and vague, to give you as much leeway as possible to tell admissions officers what you have accomplished, and how you’ve been recognized for it.Ěý

Composing Your Honors List

As with your activities list, there are guidelines we suggest students follow when writing their honors list to make it as impactful as possible. We’ll also give you some examples of what well-written honors look like, and explain why each point is important. 

First, you want to brainstorm all potential honors you have received. Use the list above to see what qualifies, and speak with your parents if you’re having trouble remembering or thinking of any. You don’t have to fill all five slots, but it’s good to have at least a few things written here. If you have more than five items, you want to prioritize the most impressive. Generally, the larger the pool of candidates for an award, the more impactful it is. 

Thus international awards are the most impressive to admissions officers, while ones from your school the least. If awards are at the same level, you should order them chronologically. If you have multiple different awards in the same category (such as debate tournament victories), these should be grouped together. 

The actual entries themselves should have the full name of the award. We advise not using acronyms, especially ones which may be unknown to admissions officers. Something may be very popular within your community, but rather unknown to the world at large. You always want to write out “Youth American Grand Prix” (a ballet competition), rather than simply saying “YAGP”.

Here are some examples of what award titles can look like from past łÔąĎąŮÍř students: 

• Regional Dance America Scholar – $51,850 in scholarship for ballet programs nationwide
• UIL Science 2nd Place Biology 
• Distinguished Honor Roll
• Universal Ballet Competition 2 Platinum Medals
• Precalculus AAC Award of Excellence

Note that you are allowed to include some necessary context in the award title, such as scholarship amounts. This isn’t the activities list, and you shouldn’t give full descriptions, but notes like this can help admissions officers contextualize what you have done, especially for awards they may not have heard of before.Ěý

What if You Have More Than Five Honors?

In some circumstances, students have more than five notable honors they wish to tell colleges about. If you do not, then don’t worry, this isn’t regular or expected. It can happen though, and there are ways to tell colleges about them even if you exceed the spaces available on the honors list. 

In these circumstances, you can use the additional information section to list other honors you think are relevant. If you have more awards than activities, some awards can be placed on the activities list, especially something like National Honors Society. We advise putting that on whichever list needs to be bulked out.

When adding awards to your additional information section, you want to emulate the format and phrasing of the awards section. This isn’t an essay, but another list which admissions officers can review. Here is an example of what a past łÔąĎąŮÍř student wrote for her additional information section:

UIL Science 3rd Place Team Invitational B 

Awarded 3rd place in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Science competition for biology, chemistry, and physics in the invitational B round

UIL Science 4th Place Team Invitational A

Awarded 4th place in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Science competition for biology, chemistry, and physics in the invitational A round

Top Junior

Awarded for highest academic standing after 5 semesters of high school 

She does provide some additional notes to give context for the awards; what they were, who was eligible for them, and what they mean. This is generally a good idea, and as in this example, can and should be done in a brief sentence. 

How Admissions Officers Review an Honors List

In general, getting specific honors or awards won’t be enough to get you into college. There are exceptions of course; , youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, did likely get an admissions boost to her already incredible resume from that. Most people do not fall into that category however, and awards alone do not decide your acceptance.

Instead, awards serve as a kind of confirmation, building on the rest of the narrative created by your application. This works in two ways; first, they can showcase what you have devoted your time and energy to, though less so than your activities list. More importantly, they offer a third party confirmation of what you have accomplished.

Colleges trust you when you describe your activities and accomplishments of course, but it can be quite difficult for them to understand the scale of them. Awards let them better understand the context of what you have done, and provide an external validation of it. 

In addition, particular awards hold more prominence. If you are entering a science fair, the work of doing a project is impressive, but it is seen as more significant if you win the fair (even if only at the local level). This makes sense in a way, since this directly compares your work and efforts to those of your peers. 

If you are concerned about this, then you can take other approaches to gain verification and validation of a project or activity even without an award. Projects for a science fair can be reworked, enhanced, and submitted for publication as original research, even if they didn’t win an award. Some activities are inherently competitive, and achieving success in them is a marker admissions officers will note. 

Tiers of Honors

Not all achievements are created equal. We all have some sense of this when we’re doing things, and it isn’t much of a surprise to students. We’re going to describe three tiers of honors. Note that all of these can still be beneficial to include, but tier one are more likely to wow admissions officers. We’ll also try to explain how we’ve separated out the tiers.

Tier 1 Honors

These are international or national awards, where you were selected from among a major field of competitors, and recognized for your merit and accomplishments. Certain schools prefer academic honors, but most top schools will have a very keen interest in any honors of this sort.

Examples: 

• Being an olympic competitor, or medalist.
• Winning an international academic competition, such as ISEF or one of the math or science olympiads.
• Winning in an international dance competition, such as YAGP or Prix du Lausanne.
• Receiving a very competitive merit scholarship, such as Davidson Fellows.
• Winning a national debate competition.

Tier 2 Honors

These are honors awarded at a state or regional level, or things which are technically awarded on a national level, but are less competitive. These are still quite impressive, but are less likely to move the needle on your admissions, instead serving to reinforce the narrative you created elsewhere in your application.

Examples: 

• Winning a regional sports championship.
• Receiving state or regional recognition in a science fair or academic competition.
• Most scholarship awards, including National Merit Scholarships.
• Becoming an Eagle Scout.
• Publishing a piece of writing, whether fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.

Tier 3 Honors

These are not bad honors, they are merely whelming (neither over- nor under-). These are honors that many students have, generally achieved at the school level. They can look quite good, and reflect well on you. Note that just having these honors will not hurt your admissions chances, but they won’t boost them much either; the rest of your application will need to show off your potential to admissions officers all the more.

Examples:

• Being a member of the National Honors Society (or other honors societies).
• Making the Dean’s List at your school.
• Awards for local volunteering. 
• Awards from College Board for excellent performance on AP Tests.

Final Thoughts

College applications have a lot of moving parts, and while the Common App has streamlined and simplified the process, it too is often confusing to deal with. We hope that this article has clarified one piece of the Common Application which often trips students up, and given you insight into why and how colleges care about the awards you have won. 

If you are looking for help with your own applications, or advice on pursuing the kinds of awards and accomplishments colleges find remarkable, then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. Our mentors are skilled at helping students accomplish remarkable things, reaching the heights of their passions. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, we’re always happy to hear from you.

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Texas State Scholarships

These are scholarship programs funded by the state of Texas itself, for students who are going to attend a college in Texas. Most are for students who live in Texas, and most are only applicable to public colleges in Texas.

This scholarship is for students from other nations in the Western hemisphere to attend a public college in Texas. This is available to students from any country in the Western hemisphere besides the United States and Cuba. You must be a citizen of that country, and not have dual citizenship with the US. 

This scholarship provides a tuition waiver at select public colleges in the state of Texas. Note that this only covers the cost of tuition; housing and other costs associated with attending the college are the responsibility of the student. This scholarship is specifically for students who intend to return home after they have finished their degree. 

The scholarship has the following eligibility requirements: 

• Have resided in the Western hemisphere for the past five years
• Be nominated by the institution you are attending or will attend
• Not be a member of the communist party

As a tuition waiver, this scholarship opportunity lasts as long as you are attending the college in question. As you must be nominated by the school, each has their own requirements as well. This is worth looking into if you are an international student interested in attending a college in Texas. The scholarship lasts for 12 months, and is renewable.

This scholarship is funded by the purchase of license plates with a college’s insignia on them, with those funds going to the college to create a scholarship fund. This, understandably, means some schools have more funds than others, particularly larger schools or those with a more successful football team. 

How these funds are disbursed depends on the college in question, but they generally do not have a separate scholarship application. All you need to do is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and you will be considered for this funding by the college. These funds are only available at public colleges in Texas. 

The intention of this scholarship program is to incentivize students to join the armed services, either federally, or the Texas national guard. This scholarship is dependent on the student enrolling in an ROTC program at a public college in Texas while they are in school, in return, it serves as a tuition waiver for that school. 

In order to be eligible for this scholarship, you must meet the following requirements: 

• Graduated or be on track to graduate high school with the Distinguished Achievement Program
• Have a high school GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) or higher
• Score a 1070 on the SAT or a 23 on the ACT
• Be ranked in the top third of your class
• Be registered with selective service, or exempt from it
• Agree to enter into a four year national guard contract or military service post graduation

If you do not meet the requirements, particularly the final one of enlisting post-graduation, you are required to repay the scholarship funding. 

This program provides funding for students to work on-campus jobs at both public and private universities within Texas, supplementing federal work-study funds. This is not a direct scholarship, but instead allows students to earn money to pay for tuition or other costs associated with attending college. 

In order to be eligible for this funding, students must be Texas residents, enrolled at least half-time in a university, show financial need, and not be receiving any form of an athletic scholarship (though this scholarship may be paired with other forms of scholarship funding). All that is required to apply for this scholarship is completion of the FAFSA, though certain colleges may have their own additional requirements. 

This is one of the largest scholarship programs in Texas, and exists to provide grant aid to students with financial need who are attending two year or four year public colleges, or technical schools. There is limited funding for this program, and not all qualified students will receive awards. The amount of funding provided by this scholarship varies, and is dependent on the amount of funding available. 

In order to be eligible for this scholarship, you must meet the following requirements: 

• Be a Texas resident, as determined by the institution you are attending
• Have financial need, and have applied for available aid
• Not already have a bachelor’s degree, nor have attempted more than 30 semester credit hours (Excluding dual enrollment courses in high school)
• Be registered for selective service if required
• Not have been convicted of any felony, nor concurrently receiving a TEXAS grant

In order to apply for this grant, you need only complete the FAFSA. This grant is renewable, but there is no guarantee of receiving it in subsequent years if you receive it one year. The amount of funding available to this scholarship varies from year to year, depending on legislative priorities. 

This is a scholarship available at public colleges in Texas. Each school makes their own decisions about who receives this scholarship, and awards funds from their own resources, though there is overall state funding for the program. The deadlines and methods of applying for this scholarship are set by each college, and the amount of funding available varies from school to school, though it cannot exceed the financial need of the student. 

The only requirements set by the state are that students be Texas residents, show financial need, and register for selective service (unless exempt). Note that individual institutions may have their own additional requirements for this scholarship. There are more eligible students than there is funding available. 

These are a collection of fee exemptions for students meeting specific requirements at public colleges in Texas. These are a kind of scholarship; instead of direct funding, these students have tuition or other fees waived by the institution. There are many categories of students who can qualify for these, we advise checking the full list and seeing if you are eligible. You should check with the specific college you are attending if you think you are qualified for one of these exemptions; individual schools have their own requirements to apply for them. 

This is one of the primary grants available to students in Texas, and was established via a grant from the Texas legislature. There is limited funding available, and not all students who are eligible will receive funds from this award. This award also cannot always cover the full cost of tuition for students. 

In order to be eligible for this award, you must be a Texas resident (as determined by the college you are attending), registered for selective service (or exempt), have financial need, and have applied for available aid. You also must not have been convicted of any felonies. Disbursement of this award is done through the financial aid office at the college you are attending. You must apply to this award via FAFSA; additional requirements may be set by specific colleges. 

This grant is specifically for students who are attending a private college in Texas. The purpose of the grant is to cover the difference in tuition between the cost of a private university and what the student would pay at an equivalent public college. There is limited funding available, and not all private universities in Texas participate; you should inquire with the financial aid office at your college if you are interested. 

In order to be eligible for this scholarship, you must meet the following requirements: 

• Be a resident of Texas (as determined by the institution you are attending)
• You must be enrolled at least Âľ time in a degree program leading to an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree. Note that religious degrees are excepted from eligibility
• Have demonstrated financial need
• Not have already earned the degree for which you are currently enrolled
• Not be receiving an athletic scholarship (though other scholarships are available)
• Be paying more in tuition than you would at an equivalent public institution
• Be enrolled in selective service (or exempt)

There is a limited amount of aid available. You must complete the FAFSA and speak to the financial aid office at the college you are attending to apply. Certain colleges may have additional application requirements. 

Third Party Scholarships for Texas Students

There are additional scholarships which are available to Texas students attending college in Texas as well, funded by various third party organizations. We won’t be able to go through all of these, but we’re going to highlight some prominent ones. We’re not presenting these in any particular order. The amount of funding available varies between scholarships. 

This foundation exists to provide funding primarily to universities directly, but also offers scholarships to students. These take the form of interest free loans. These are not as good as full scholarships, but with many loans carrying high interest rates, the ability not to have to worry about that is valuable. 

The application for these is open from January 1 to February 28 each year. The loans are for up to $8,000; they offer approximately 800 of these loans each year. You must request an application form directly from the organization, this must then be submitted via mail. You must be in the top 10% of your graduating class or have a minimum 1100 SAT or 23 on the ACT. 

While in college, you must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0. Note that the scores are the minimum; they do not guarantee you will receive this award, that is simply the bar you have to clear for your application to be considered. This loan is renewed, with another $8,000 each year, to a maximum of four years. 

This scholarship is specifically for students from Bexar County who attend one of five participating colleges in the county. This is open to all graduating high school students in the county, whether they attend public, private, charter or home schools. The fund covers tuition and fees for the completion of an associate’s degree, or for up to three years of study in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree. 

You must apply to one of the participating colleges in the county via ApplyTexas and complete the FAFSA in order to apply. This is quite a generous scholarship, though there are limited colleges you can attend with it. 

Every year, this foundation awards seventy scholarships to Houston area high school seniors. These awards are for $25,000, which is disbursed over four years. You must be in your senior year to apply; applications open in September, and can be completed fully online. You must have taken the SAT or ACT prior to applying, and the application requires you have a minimum SAT score of 1000 or an ACT score of 21. You must be a US citizen to apply. 

The applications are reviewed, and finalists are invited to interview. Based on the interview and application as a whole, awardees are determined. The decisions are based on academic merit and financial need. 

This foundation provides scholarships of $2,500-$5,000 annually to students whose parent suffered severe injury or death from their job. These can be reapplied to annually, for up to eight semesters of funding. You must be aged 16 to 25, and have been a resident of Texas at the time the incident occurred. 

You must apply for the scholarship online. This requires the online form, a resume, a current transcript, two letters of recommendation, documentation of educational expenses, and a written description of the workplace accident (along with documentation). Applications are due by June 1 for Fall semester and by November 1 for spring semester. 

This is a $5,000 non-renewable scholarship for women who are the first in their family to go to college. There is an associated scholarship for students of all genders who are entering a trade or technical school. The application for this must be done and submitted online. It is due by the end of March.

Final Thoughts

College is very expensive, even in-state schools which offer reasonable tuition. Different states offer different scholarship pathways; Texas has its own unique twist, and we hope this article has helped you understand what scholarships are available to you, and how you can avail yourself of them. They may not fund your entire college journey, but they’ll certainly help.

If you’re looking for help applying to college, or want advice on any aspect of the process, then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. Our mentors have a depth of experience, masters of guiding students through every part of the admissions journey. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, we’re always happy to hear from you. 

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A Note on “Minority” Scholarships

While we will be focusing on scholarships which are aimed primarily at Hispanic students, there are some scholarships we will list here that are for minority students more broadly. Indeed, these are more common than those aimed at a particular race or ethnicity. 

In practice, some of these are truly wide open scholarships, while others are limited by other means. There are some minority scholarships, for example, solely for students attending a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). While non-black students can take advantage of these, there is definitely a demographic which is more likely to apply based on other aspects of the scholarship. This is often done geographically; if only students from a certain high school can apply, and that school is majority Hispanic (or Black, or Asian), then those students are most likely to receive the scholarship in question. 

We will note the specific requirements of each scholarship in our description of it. Note that while colleges cannot use race or ethnicity when determining who to admit, third party scholarships are still allowed to have race or ethnicity eligibility requirements, for now at least. While lawsuits may change this in the future, this seems less likely to be viable. Though of course, we aren’t lawyers.

Scholarships for Hispanic Students

These are presented in no particular order. For each, we will link to the page for the scholarship, and describe how much money the award is for, the eligibility requirements, and how you can apply for it. While we can’t cover every scholarship here, we hope this gives you a sense of what’s available. 

The Hispanic Scholarship fund is the largest provider of scholarships to Hispanic students, and indeed one of the largest scholarship providers generally. Each year, 10,000 students are awarded a scholarship by the fund from among the applicants. The awards vary in size from $500 to $5,000, and are awarded directly to students to help with tuition and other college expenses. 

In addition to the scholarship funding, all students who are awarded these scholarships gain access to mentoring and support services, and the chance to publish in journals which have partnered with the fund if they complete undergraduate research. There are also networking and career services offered through the fund, to help awardees gain employment opportunities during and after college. 

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must be a US Citizen, permanent resident, or DACA beneficiary. You must have a 3.0 GPA, plan to enroll full time in an accredited program, and identify as being of Hispanic heritage (regardless of your race). All award selections are based on merit, while the size of the award is based on need. Awards are for one year, but students are able to reapply. Applications must be submitted online; they open in January and are due in February, requiring an essay, FAFSA forms, and a letter of recommendation.

Sponsored by McDonald’s, this scholarship awards 100 students annually, with funding ranging from $5,000 to $100,000. While this scholarship is aimed primarily at Hispanic students, and did formerly require students to have a Hispanic background to apply, this is no longer a requirement. You must be a US citizen, permanent resident, or DACA beneficiary; you must have a GPA of 2.8 minimum, a high school senior, and enrolling in an accredited institution. 

The application must be submitted online, and requires a transcript, personal statement, a letter of recommendation, and a list of your community service projects. Finalists are asked for their FAFSA information. Scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement, need, community involvement, and your personal qualities and strengths. 

This scholarship is organized by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), a group of colleges which traditionally serve Hispanic students. There are a total of 25 awards each year, each of which is for $5,000. This scholarship is offered in partnership with Cafe Bustelo, a nonprofit organization. You must be attending (or going to attend) a HACU institution to benefit from this scholarship.

You must have a GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, have applied for and received financial aid, and be a first generation college student to be eligible for this scholarship. The application must be submitted online; this requires the online application, including three short answers and an essay response. This is due in May. Finalists are required to provide a transcript, proof of enrollment, financial aid documentation, and attestation of first-generation status.

Sponsored by the California Farm Labor Contractors Association (CFLCA), this scholarship is specifically for farm laborers and their children to help pay the costs of college tuition. The scholarship awards between $1,000 and $5,000 of funding per award. Note that higher funding amounts go to students who are studying agriculture or related fields. 

In order to apply, you must have a GPA of at least 2.5, must be enrolled in an accredited college, and need to be a farmworker or child of a farmworker who was employed by a California Farm Labor Contractor within the last 12 months. Note that administrators and management are not eligible for these scholarships. Applications must be submitted online, and are due in June. Note that you do not need to be Hispanic to receive this scholarship.

Offered by the Maestro Cares Foundation (as you might expect), this scholarship is specifically intended to support Latino students throughout the US, Puerto Rico, and Latin America. These scholarships are offered both in partnership with universities, and to individual students. The amount of money offered by these scholarships varies. These are recurring scholarships, renewed each year so long as you maintain a GPA above 3.0/4.0. 

In order to apply, you must have proof of working to better the hispanic community (through documented volunteering or community involvement, be enrolled in college in the US, and have a minimum GPA of 3.0. Note that certain scholarships offered in partnership with universities have additional requirements. You must apply for the scholarship online. This requires the application itself, four essays, your most recent transcript, proof of past and current community service, and two academic letters of recommendation. Applications open in March and are due in May.

Organized and distributed by the Hacemos organization, this scholarship provides awards of $1,000 to students attending a two-year college, and awards of $2,000 to students attending a four-year college. This is open to students going for their first or second undergraduate degree, though you must be under 25 to apply. While you do not need to be Hispanic to apply, the award is intended to primarily benefit Hispanic students. 

In order to be eligible, you must demonstrate your commitment to helping your community, particularly an underserved community. You must be a US citizen, permanent resident, or DACA recipient, and have a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Applications open in January, and are due in May. Applications must be submitted online. 

Organized by the Catalino Tapia Scholarship Foundation, this scholarship exists to specifically help underrepresented first generation college students with the cost of tuition. The award itself is for $2,500-3,000, which is for tuition; there is an additional $250 technology stipend as well. Students whose parents are gardeners, janitors, landscapers, or farm workers are eligible for an additional $1,000 reward with their scholarship. 

In order to be eligible, students must live in certain counties within California. They must be first generation students with demonstrated financial need, and must have a minimum GPA of 2.5. They must maintain full time enrollment for the duration of the scholarship. Students who are selected are expected to complete ten hours of volunteering during the course of the year. The application must be submitted online, and requires financial documentation, an essay, and two letters of recommendation. The application opens in February, and is due in April. 

Not to be confused with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the Hispanic Scholarship Consortium is specifically for Hispanic students in Texas. It offers twenty awards each year, which range in value from $1,000-5,000. Note that these are a range of scholarships, each with their own criteria, but which all share an application. These scholarships are generally all renewable. 

Certain scholarships under this umbrella have additional requirements, but all have the same core eligibility. You must be a Hispanic student who lives in Texas, and you must have a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. While you do not need to be first generation, first generation students are encouraged to apply. Applications must be submitted online. You must include the online form, financial documentation, and a letter of recommendation. Applications open in January and are due in April. In addition to scholarship funding, students who are awarded scholarships gain access to mentorship opportunities.

This scholarship, as the name suggests, is meant to support Latino students who reside in Idaho. This can be used with any college in Idaho, though a trio of public colleges in Idaho have committed to matching scholarship funds for recipients who attend those particular colleges. The amount of each award, and how many are awarded, depends on the level of funding available; they are generally in the range of a few thousand dollars. 

The application opens in November, and is due by the end of March. In order to be eligible, you must be an Idaho resident who is Latino, have a GPA of 2.5, demonstrate financial need, and must be a student in good standing, enrolled in or planning to attend an accredited school. The application requires a personal statement, a resume, a transcript, two letters of recommendation, your FAFSA, and a three to five page essay on one of their possible application questions.

This is a foundation of Latino college graduates who have the aim of helping first generation Hispanic students access a college education. They offer a number of different scholarships, all of which may be applied to through their webpage. The amount of these varies, from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars worth of funding. 

The foundation is based in New York; while students from around the country are encouraged to apply, two scholarships each year are set aside specifically for Latino students who are residents of New York state. You may be a current undergraduate or graduate student, or a high school senior to apply. The awards are based on both merit and need. You need a minimum GPA of 2.8, an unofficial transcript, and a letter of recommendation to apply. 

Generally abbreviated to CALAHE, this organization seeks to promote higher education among Latino residents of Connecticut (as you might expect from the name). This is a one-year scholarship for $1,000, but students who receive this award may reapply for it. The scholarship is open to both graduating high school seniors and current undergraduate students. 

The application is due on June 20. To be eligible, you must have been a resident of Connecticut for at least the past 12 months, demonstrate financial need, have a minimum GPA of 2.75, and have demonstrated a commitment to community service in the Hispanic community. The application requires the online form, and an essay of up to two pages in length. The award is based on both need and merit. 

This is a collection of community and philanthropic groups based in or with branches in St. Louis, all dedicated to the academic success of the Hispanic community. Each of these groups has their own scholarship, but they are available collectively through the alliance’s website. The amount of funding for these scholarships varies, but is generally a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

Each group oversees its own scholarship. There is a single application for all of them; you are then judged for different scholarships based on your eligibility automatically. Some of these scholarships are only for students attending college in St. Louis, while others will support students who venture across the country. You must be a resident of St Louis to apply for any of these scholarships.

Final Thoughts

Paying for college is quite a challenge for any student, and third-party scholarships like these are made in recognition of that fact. These rarely cover anything like the full cost of tuition, but a few grand here and there can really help, especially for the first generation students or those with financial need these scholarships are aimed at. We hope that this article gave you a sense of what scholarships are available to the Hispanic community in the US, and how you can take advantage of them.

If you are looking for help with your own college applications, or finding scholarships which align with your background and goals, then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. Our mentors are masters of every part of the application process, from choosing the right schools to apply to to finding the perfect scholarship opportunities. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, we’re always happy to hear from you.

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A Note on Discrimination Lawsuits

Traditionally, a number of colleges have offered scholarships, generally endowed scholarships, which include race or ethnicity as a factor in who is awarded these scholarships. Over the past few years, there have been over these scholarships, most launched after the Supreme Court decided that affirmative action in admissions was unconstitutional. 

While these are still ongoing, a number of colleges have . While they may win in court, the price of fighting it was not seen as worth it overall. These scholarships have generally been reconstituted to instead be for students from poor socio-economic backgrounds generally, rather than those of a specific race. 

These lawsuits have generally targeted colleges and institutions of higher education. There are still many third party scholarships which are designed specifically for black students, but many of the ones previously offered by colleges are no longer available in the same form.

A List of Scholarships for Black Students

These are not presented in any particular order, and many have additional requirements beyond race. We will explain who each scholarship is for, and how you can apply to them. 

This is a $1,000 scholarship which is open to African American students who live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, or Camden County New Jersey. There are two scholarships awarded each year. You must have a GPA of 3.0 and be a high school senior planning on enrolling in a two or four year college to be eligible to apply. The scholarship favors students who have been impacted by gun violence, but this isn’t a requirement to apply for it. 

Applications open on September 1, and are due by April 10; you must apply online. The application requires demographic information, a list of your activities and honors, test scores, a note on your financial circumstances, and a one-page essay on why you want the scholarship, and how it would benefit you.

This is a last dollar scholarship, founded and funded by the Gates Foundation, which provides funding to high school seniors from low-income households. As a last dollar scholarship, it exists to fill any costs not covered by other scholarship sources. Note that this aid is applied to full cost of attendance; not just tuition, but fees, housing, books, food, and in some cases personal costs.

Note that this scholarship is not specifically for black students, but we thought it worth mentioning here, as many of the students who are awarded this scholarship are from minority communities. The be eligible to apply for the Gates Scholarship you must: 

• Be a current high school senior
• Be eligible for a Pell grant
• Be a US citizen or permanent resident
• Be in good academic standing at your high school, with a minimum GPA of 3.3 out of 4.0 (unweighted)
• Plan to enroll full time at a non-for-profit college or university in the US

You may apply for the scholarship online. They are looking for students with an excellent academic track record, demonstrated leadership, and skills which lead to personal success. While race is not technically considered, minority students are heavily encouraged to apply for this scholarship.Ěý

This scholarship is for African-American students who are pursuing the fields of computer science, aviation, nursing, or music. The scholarship provides awards of between $1,500-$4,000; these are for one year, but the scholarship is open to both high school seniors and current college students. The scholarship prioritizes students at Oakwood University, and also gives preference to students attending other HBCUs. 

Applications for this scholarship are open from May to June. The application must be submitted online; it requires demographic information, two letters of recommendation (which must be submitted on official letterhead), and an essay. They note that you are not allowed to use AI at all in completing your application. 

This scholarship is specifically for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who are studying scientific or technical fields. This scholarship provides funding of up to $3,000 a year for up to four years of undergraduate study. To be eligible for this, you must first be identified and nominated by the faculty in a science or technology department at an HBCU you are attending.

Applicants are evaluated based on their academic potential and achievement, a personal essay, two letters of recommendation, and financial need. Financial need is used as a tiebreaker between otherwise equally qualified candidates. These awards are renewed annually so long as you maintain a 3.0 GPA and maintain your major in the technical field. 

This program is specifically for students who attend public high schools in Columbus; one to two awards are given out annually, these are for up to $7,000 in total, though are disbursed in portions on an annual basis to help with tuition costs. You must have a minimum GPA of 2.75, have a demonstrated history of community involvement, intend to major in the sciences or social sciences, and provide proof you have been accepted to an accredited college or university in the US. 

This scholarship is open to all students, though minority students are encouraged to apply. The application is open from February 1 to May 31 each year. You must submit your application online. 

Disbursed by the Texas Baptists’ Association, this scholarship is specifically aimed at minority students interested in attending universities with a faith-centric purview, and who are part of the Baptist faith. The scholarship specifically requires students to attend a college in Texas which is part of the Baptist ministry; there are a number of universities in Texas which meet this requirement.

These scholarships are for a maximum of two semesters, and award $1,000 per semester. Note that you may apply for a renewal of this scholarship, for a maximum of four years of undergraduate study. Applications must be submitted online, and require a letter of recommendation from both a teacher and your pastor, along with an academic transcript. 

This scholarship is run via the Council for Great City Schools (CGCS), a professional group for education leaders in major American cities. Funded via philanthropy, this scholarship is for four students each year, two black and two hispanic, who attend school in any CGCS member district, and who are planning to attend college to study in a STEM field. 

All applications must be submitted online in April. The minimum requirements for applicants (beyond residential) are to have a 3.0 GPA and to be enrolled in a STEM field in a four-year accredited institution. The scholarship looks for students who have demonstrated academic excellence, and who have shown leadership skills and dedication to their community. The award is for up to $5,000.

This scholarship is specifically for LGBTQ students of color who are interested in pursuing a career in journalism, and who are attending undergrad in furtherance of that goal. The scholarship is open to students who are already enrolled or who are incoming. The application opens in April, and is due in May each year. There are scholarships for both undergraduate and graduate students; the scholarship for undergrads is for up to $3,000.

You must apply to the scholarship online. You do not need to be a journalism major (though it is desirable), but must show a devotion to journalism through your work. Your application requires a resume, a transcript, and five samples of your journalistic work; these samples are what determines who receives the award. 

These are a range of scholarships offered by Kappa Alpha Psi, an academic honors fraternity aimed at African American men, and which offers many different scholarships for African American men. These scholarships have a range of awards amounts, and many are targeted at scholars in different academic fields. They all share a single application, which is done through the organization’s website. 

Most of these scholarships are one year and non-renewable, but some disburse over the course of your undergraduate career. The application requires the FAFSA confirmation page, three letters of recommendation, a transcript, and an essay. Note that certain scholarships have additional requirements, but by applying, you will be entered into consideration for all scholarships you are eligible for based on your field of study. 

This is a very large collection of scholarships, primarily for students who are attending HBCUs. While these are not specifically for black students, because of the requirement to be attending an HBCU, there is some self-selection in who applies for them. These are a variety of scholarships for students of varying backgrounds, all under the same umbrella. 

To apply for these scholarships, you must first create an account on the site; this requires demographic information, and where and what you are studying. Once this is entered, you are able to apply for scholarships for which you match the profile of what they are looking for from applicants. The amount of money per scholarship, and what it can be used for, varies. You are encouraged to apply to all scholarships you are eligible for. 

Offered by the Gaines-Jones foundation, these are scholarships for African American students from a number of counties in Georgia and the San Francisco Bay area. These scholarships are for one year and do not automatically renew, but you can keep reapplying to them. Note that you can reapply for these scholarships even if you take time off or away before finishing your degree. 

These scholarships require an online application, the most important component of which is the essay response. The scholarship looks for students with clear financial need, strong academic potential, and a history of community service and leadership. Applications open in February, and are due in March. The number and amount of awards varies year to year, but is generally a few thousand dollars.

This scholarship is offered by the Chapel Hill Carrboro Public School Foundation, and is open to students who attend a public school in that town. It is open to graduating seniors planning on enrolling in a two-year, four-year, or vocational college. In order to be eligible, you must be a minority student, have demonstrated financial need, have an overall GPA of at least 2.5, and have a registered IEP with the school.

This application must be submitted online, and requires an essay, your FAFSA form, and an academic transcript. If you are interested and attend a school in the district in question, talk with your counselor about applying for the scholarship. They do note that essays which use AI will not be accepted.

The Southern Scholars Initiative exists to improve educational outcomes for students in the rural South, particularly those from minority backgrounds. As part of this, they offer a pair of scholarships, one for $18,000, one for $12,000, both disbursed over four years. There is a single online application which you may use to apply to both of these scholarships. 

These scholarships are specifically for students graduating from specific high schools in North Carolina, and are for minority students specifically. You must be Pell Grant eligible, and have a minimum GPA of 2.5. You must be accepted into and planning to enroll in a two-year or four-year college, and have a history of leadership and community service. Applications are due in April each year.

Final Thoughts

Niche scholarships are a classic thing, especially third party scholarships. Those who create them often do so with a certain goal in mind, one which can be incredibly niche, usually giving back to a group they are part of. Ethnic groups aren’t the only choice for this, but they certainly are a common one. While we haven’t been able to list every single scholarship for black students, we hope this article gave you a sense of some of what’s out there, and what they want from students.

If you are looking for advice on finding the best scholarships to match your unique circumstances, or finding a college that’s the right fit for you (academically and financially), then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. Our mentors are skilled at helping students navigate the admissions process, from finding the perfect college, to figuring out what scholarships will help you pay for it. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more about how we can help you.

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