Boren Scholarships
Scholarship Sponsored by Boren Awards
Overview
Program staff provide this section-by-section guide to the undergraduate Boren Scholarships application. Strong program selection and well-crafted essays are essential for a competitive application. Contact and coordination with your campus Boren Awards representative early in the process improves your chance of receiving timely, actionable feedback. If you do not have on-campus support, the Boren Awards team is available for questions.
Description: This guide explains application structure, campus coordination, and where to get help.
Campus support: Notify your campus representative early; respect any on-campus deadlines set to allow for feedback before the national deadline.
Contact: For questions not answered on the website, call 1-800-618-6737 ext. 1 or email [email protected].
- Start early and coordinate with your campus representative.
- Program design and essays are critical to a successful application.
- External assistance is available by phone and email.
Application System Tips
The Boren Scholarships application is organized into a sequence of pages and saves responses automatically. It contains twelve main sections plus a final review and submit page; use the on-screen "continue" control to move through the application in order. Navigation via the left menu becomes available after you save at least one field in a section, and you may edit your responses until you formally submit.
Description: This section explains application flow, automatic saving, and navigation rules.
Navigation and saving: Click continue to follow the full sequence; saving enables left-navigation shortcuts and the application auto-saves as you work.
- There are twelve sections plus a final review page.
- Use the continue button to view the application in order.
- The application saves automatically and allows edits until submission.
1 - Eligibility Determination
This section establishes whether you are eligible to apply for the Boren Scholarship and is a gating stage: if your answers indicate ineligibility, the application will not proceed. You must respond to every question in this section to unlock subsequent sections of the application. Review eligibility items carefully and update responses if circumstances change before submission.
Eligibility: Applicants must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old by the time they submit, and matriculated undergraduate students at a U.S. college or university as of the application deadline. You must select your current U.S. institution, a proposed overseas study destination (which you can change later), and a proposed language of study. Boren recipients may not study in a location where they hold citizenship; applicants proposing French or Spanish will be tested for minimum proficiency prior to notifications.
- Only U.S. citizens are eligible; permanent residents and international students are ineligible.
- You must be at least 18 by application submission and be a matriculated undergraduate.
- Choose current institution, destination, and proposed language; some language choices require testing.
2 - Personal Information
The Personal Information section collects identifying and contact details used for processing and communications. Provide your full legal name (and any preferred or former names as applicable), permanent and mailing addresses, an active email address, and a telephone number formatted for the U.S. as needed. The section also requests basic biographical items and optional voluntary information that does not affect review decisions.
Required information: Enter your complete legal name, permanent address, and mailing address (re-enter if identical); provide your preferred contact email and phone number with country code. Include biographical details such as sex (as on your birth certificate), birthdate, and country of residence, and indicate veteran or active/reserve military status if applicable.
Voluntary information: Questions about community college attendance and other demographic items are optional and may be answered "Prefer Not To Say"; these responses are not shown to reviewers and will not impact your application.
- Provide full legal name and contact addresses; mailing address must be entered even if identical to permanent address.
- Supply an active email and telephone number formatted with country code.
- Voluntary demographic questions do not affect review and may be left unanswered.