SchoolHouse Connection Youth Leadership & Scholarship Program

One of the only national scholarship programs built specifically for youth who have experienced homelessness, SchoolHouse Connection's Youth Leadership & Scholarship Program gives each Scholar a $2,500 award plus monthly stipends of up to $100 throughout college, three fully-funded trips (an awards ceremony, a Washington, D.C. policy summit, and a wellness/workforce retreat), one-on-one staff mentoring, and a peer community that runs the length of a Scholar's college career, not just a single payout. Eligible applicants must currently live in the U.S. (undocumented students are eligible), have experienced homelessness within the last six years, and be a high school junior, a senior planning a gap year, or a GED student who has not yet started college. The program runs on a roughly two-year runway: the cycle opening January 4, 2027 and closing June 4, 2027 is for students starting college for the first time in the 2028-2029 academic year, so it's meant to be applied to well before senior spring. The application asks for a transcript, a 1,000-word essay, and one to three letters of recommendation.

Eligibility

DemographicsFor youth who have experienced homelessness within the last 6 years (2027 cycle: born on/after June 2, 2008); undocumented students eligible; excludes current college students and dual-enrollment-only credits.

Applying

$2,500 scholarship plus monthly stipends of up to $100 throughout college, plus three fully-funded program trips.