Coolidge Scholarship

Scholarship Sponsored by Coolidge Foundation

The Coolidge Scholarship is an annually awarded, full-ride, presidential scholarship that covers a student’s tuition, room, board, and expenses for four years of undergraduate study. The Coolidge Scholarship may be used by recipients at any accredited college or university in the United States. Anyone of any background, pursuing any academic discipline of study, may apply to this non-partisan, need-blind, program.

Students apply for the Coolidge Scholarship during their junior year of high school. Finalists are flown in for a finalist weekend at the Coolidge Historic Site in Plymouth Notch, Vermont where they interview with the Coolidge Scholars Finalist Jury. Recipients of the Coolidge Scholarship are notified of their award late in their junior year, before college application (note: current high school seniors are not eligible to apply). Finalists who are not named Coolidge Scholars are eligible to receive a smaller, one-time, college scholarship.

Eligibility Requirements

2026-27 Coolidge Scholarship applicants must intend to enroll full-time at an accredited U.S. college or university as an undergraduate for the first time in fall 2028. That is to say, students in their junior year of high school, or the equivalent if home schooled, are eligible to apply. (Students who are currently high school juniors but take some courses at a local college are indeed eligible to apply for the Coolidge Scholarship.)

2026-27 Coolidge Scholarship applicants must be citizens or legal permanent residents of the United States of America by the 2026-27 scholarship deadline.

2026-27 Coolidge Scholarship applicants cannot be the immediate family member of any current employee, trustee, or significant donor to the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation or the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Fund. (Note: Significant donor is defined as one with lifetime giving in excess of $25,000).

Eligibility FAQ

I’m an international student, am I eligible to apply for the Coolidge Scholarship? The Coolidge Scholarship is only open to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents. U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents currently attending high school abroad are indeed eligible to apply.

I currently am a high school junior, but take some courses at a local college, am I still eligible to apply? Yes, indeed! You must simply confirm that you intend to enroll full-time at an accredited U.S. college or university for the first time in fall 2028.

I am a current high school junior intending to take a gap year after high school, and therefore plan to begin college after the fall 2028. Am I eligible? No, only current high school juniors intending to enroll as full-time undergraduates for the first time in fall 2028 are eligible to apply for the 2026-27 scholarship. No exceptions to this rule can be made.

I am a current high school junior, but will be graduating early, in the spring of 2027 rather than the spring of 2028. Am I eligible? No, only high school juniors graduating in the spring of 2028 and starting college in the fall of 2028 are eligible to apply for the 2026-27 scholarship.

I am a current high school senior, am I eligible to apply? No, only current high school juniors intending to enroll as undergraduates full-time for the first time in fall 2028 are eligible to apply for the 2026-27 scholarship. No exceptions to this rule can be made.

I am a current high school senior intending to take a gap year before beginning college, am I eligible to apply? No, only current high school juniors are eligible to apply. No exceptions to this rule can be made.

I am a current high school senior but I intend to retake senior year if I win the Coolidge Scholarship, am I eligible to apply? No, applicants are not permitted to retake their senior year or otherwise change their high school year or graduation date for the purpose of becoming eligible for the scholarship.

I am a current high school senior but I skipped a grade in the past. Because of this I am the age of a current high school junior, am I eligible to apply? No, only current high school juniors are eligible to apply. No exceptions to this rule can be made. Current high school juniors who skipped a grade in the past are indeed eligible to apply.