Coolidge Scholarship

Application Launch: The 2025-26 application is now live and accepting applications!

Application Deadline Tuesday, December 16, 2025 at 5:00 PM Pacific Time: Please note the timezone. All application materials, including letters of reference must be submitted by the deadline.

By June 1, 2026: All applicants will be notified of their outcomes. Applicants can check their outcome by logging into their application portal. Applicants who are named finalists will be contacted directly by phone and invited to Finalist Interview Weekend, which takes place in Woodstock, Vermont and historic Plymouth Notch, Vermont. The Coolidge Foundation will cover the travel and lodging costs for finalists and one parent to attend Finalist Weekend.

Summer 2026: Newly selected Coolidge Scholars will spend an orientation week at the Coolidge Foundation in Plymouth Notch, Vermont.

Summer 2026: Newly selected Coolidge Senators will attend the 2026 Coolidge Senators Summit.

Eligibility Requirements

• 2025-26 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 2027. 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.)
• 2025-26 Coolidge Scholarship applicants must be citizens or legal permanent residents of the United States of America by the 2025-26 scholarship deadline.
• 2025-26 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 2027.
• 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 2027. Am I eligible? No, only current high school juniors intending to enroll as full-time undergraduates for the first time in fall 2027 are eligible to apply for the 2025-26 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 2026 rather than the spring of 2027. Am I eligible? No, only high school juniors graduating in the spring of 2027 and starting college in the fall of 2027 are eligible to apply for the 2025-26 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 2027 are eligible to apply for the 2025-26 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 to 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.