Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut Scholarships

Scholarship Sponsored by Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut

Since 1983, the Community Foundation has awarded over $11.9 million in scholarships from 136 funds established by generous individuals, families, businesses and nonprofits to help area students pursue an education and establish rewarding careers.

Some scholarships are open to all students in our 42-town service area as well as Westerly, Rhode Island; others are open to only some towns, a particular town, or a specific school. Some are open to current or returning college students of any age, but most are for graduating high school seniors and most are need-based. Scholarships range from a one-time award of $500 to a multi-year award of up to $5,000 a year. In 2024, $1,148,821 was awarded to 303 students.

How Our Scholarships Program Works

Students apply for most scholarships through the General Application on the Scholarships Portal. After you have submitted the General Application, you may be asked to answer one or more questions to be eligible for certain scholarships. You must answer any additional question(s) in order to be considered for these scholarships.

Submission of this General Application does not guarantee an award. The vast majority of recipients receive one award, and very few receive two awards.

Foundation staff and volunteer committees review and assess each application based on the criteria of each of our 130+ scholarships. The Foundation prioritizes lower-income students who are first in their families to go to college.

We encourage you to review the scholarships available to residents of your town to get an idea of what you may be eligible for. Click here to view a list of all our scholarships.

Note about Graduate Students: Very few CFECT scholarships are open to graduate students. We strongly recommend that prospective graduate student applicants review the list of scholarship opportunities carefully before beginning an application.

All applicants are informed whether they have been selected to receive a scholarship by the end of June. Some scholarships are multi-year awards, but most are one-year, one-time awards. Single-year recipients are welcome to reapply for a scholarship each year. Scholarship awards are sent directly to the recipient’s educational institution, not to the recipient.

Following is an overview of the information asked for on the General Scholarship Application. The software filters each application for eligibility for any of 130+ scholarships. The Scholarship committees review pools of eligible applicants for each scholarship.

Applicant information

• Student status (high school senior, current college student, graduate student or adult learner)
• Town of residence
• Demographic information (gender, race/ethnicity, first-generation student)
• Parent/guardian information

Academic information

• High school
• Year of high school graduation
• GPA
• Transcript (required)
• SAT/ACT scores (optional)
• First choice postsecondary school and financial package if available
• Second choice postsecondary school and financial package if available
• Degree sought in next school year (trade/vocational certificate, associates, bachelors, masters, doctorate)
• Planned field of study (agriculture-related, art-related, business-related, government/public service, healthcare or health-related, liberal arts, social services/social work, STEM, technical/trade, undecided, other)
• Major of study (178 options; applicant may select all that apply or write in)
• Future plans  Brief description of applicant’s goals for their future career

Financial information

• Student Aid Index from FAFSA, FAFSA Submission Summary
• Household financial information
• Extenuating circumstances
• Dependency status
• Siblings
• Dependents

Unique criteria

• School-based/extracurricular activities, community-based activities, work experience
• Specific yes/no questions to identify eligibility for certain scholarships. Examples: Did you graduate from 8th grade at Lisbon Central School? Do you ride motocross or belong to the Central Cycle Club in Plainfield, CT? Are you a member of Mystic Congregational Church?

Short personal reflection (200-500 words) on one of the following topics:

• An event that sparked personal growth
• A failure and what you learned from it
• Overcoming adversity or hardship
• A leadership experience
• Someone who is role model to you and why
• Something special about you -- a talent, skill or big dream

General essay (500-750 words)

May use an essay already written, such as for a college application or a class, or another writing sample.

Letter of recommendation (required)

Additional materials (optional)  e.g., awards, artwork, additional recommendation

A small number of scholarship opportunities require response to a brief supplemental question.