High school seniors who are U.S. citizens planning to attend a four-year accredited college or university established in the United States. Each applicant must have a minimum 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale and have SAT and/or ACT test scores to submit.

Yes. Native-born or naturalized U.S. citizens who meet all other qualification standards may apply for a Hadden Scholarship. Permanent Resident status does not meet Hadden Scholarship qualifications.

The 2026 online application will be available from February 1, 2026, through May 15, 2026.

May 15. No applications or materials will be accepted after 11:59 PM, Eastern Standard Time, May 15, for any reason.

No. All times referenced are Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Yes. The scholarship may only be used for colleges and universities established in the United States. However, Hadden funds may be used for a semester or year of study abroad done through the student’s home institution. Hadden Scholars are responsible for verifying their college’s policies for applying outside aid to study abroad tuition.

If you will be receiving need-based grants, then no, you will not qualify for a Hadden Scholarship. Reducing gift aid by ANY amount is not allowed by Youth Foundation rules. However, not every Hadden Scholar receives need-based aid from their school. Merit-based aid is not usually reduced as a result of outside scholarships. It is IMPERATIVE that each student fully understands the scope and limitations of their financial aid offers.

Absolutely not. Hadden scholars come from all over the United States and attend a wide variety of colleges and universities. Youth Foundation does require that the schools do not lower any gift aid (grants and scholarships) to the student as a result of the Hadden Scholarship. Check the school’s website or communicate with a financial aid officer at the school of your choice to confirm that they will not reduce gift aid as a result of outside scholarships.

Please see the Award Displacement section of this website for an in-depth explanation.

No. We apply our requirements equally, and without exception, to all applicants. We congratulate you on all of your achievements and wish you the best of luck at your chosen university, but if you do not meet our minimum requirements you may not apply.

No.

Hadden Scholarships are not awarded to parents, they are awarded to students. We appreciate that parents want to help their students during this stressful and busy time in their lives, however the student must fill out the application and the student must email admin@youth-foundation.org with any questions not answered on the website.

No. We do not make exceptions and all questions not covered on our website should be submitted by the students themselves.

Yes. As long as they have a GPA, transcript, and SAT and/or ACT scores to submit with their application and otherwise meet the minimum requirements.

Yes. To qualify for a Hadden Scholarship, students must have a minimum 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale. This is an UNWEIGHTED grade point average of 3.50 or higher.

Each applicant is responsible for converting their GPA to a 4.0 scale. Generally, this is identified as an unweighted GPA on school transcripts. Applicants are required to upload a PDF of their transcript with a full list of classes and grades as part of the application.

No. You MUST convert your GPA to a 4.0 scale. If you report a GPA higher than a 4.0 your application will not be considered.

Unless you have all As, you do not have a 4.0. If you enter a 4.0 as your GPA, but do not have ALL As, your application will not be considered.

There are many tools online to help you convert your weighted GPA to an unweighted GPA.

There are many tools online to help you convert your 100-point GPA to an unweighted 4.0 GPA.

No. An unofficial transcript is fine, as long as it is complete, correct, accurate, and all social security numbers have been redacted.

You must provide your grades through the fall semester. One way to address this problem is to combine your full transcript and your fall report card into one PDF for uploading into the application. If you do not include your fall grades, your application will be rejected.

Yes. ACT and/or SAT test score submissions are REQUIRED. Applicants may submit either an ACT score, SAT score, or both; no substitutions of any other test scores are allowed. The composite score (overall score) will be entered and a copy of the score report will be uploaded. Youth Foundation does not super score. Applicants should only submit their single highest score, not their entire test score history. Please be mindful that all uploads must be submitted in an allowed format. You may click the ‘?’ button next to all required upload fields to see the document formats allowed for each question.

You may screenshot your ACT results and submit a JPEG or PDF. The uploaded document must include your name, the date the test was taken, the individual subject scores, and the composite (overall) score. If multiple screenshots are required to provide this information, combine the images into a single PDF to submit.

No. Youth Foundation does not super score. Applicants submitting either an ACT score, SAT score, or both should enter the single best test score for each test (one score for ACT, one score for SAT if submitting for both), NOT a super-scored result. The composite score (overall score) will be entered and a copy of the score report will be uploaded. Applicants should only submit their highest score, not their entire test history.

No.

No. If you have scanned/uploaded multiple pages that are saved as multiple individual documents, you may save them as PDFs and merge the PDFs into one document before uploading. All uploads must be complete ( i.e., you should not upload just the first page of a multi-page document), clear, legible, oriented correctly (i.e., sideways or upside down documents will not be reviewed), and all social security numbers must be redacted.

Each applicant is required to submit IRS income tax forms for the most recent year available for their parents and themselves, if applicable. They will be asked to estimate the income they will be reporting for their current IRS income tax forms. Applicants must also submit a completed FAFSA Submission Summary, which is typically 7-12 pages long.

We require the Submission Summary (formerly called Student Aid Report or SAR), which is typically 7-12 pages, and the Student Aid Index (SAI, formerly called the Expected Family Contribution or EFC) and we will not accept late submissions for any reason. There will be no deadline extensions and no changes to our required materials.

No. Do not upload anything other than the information and documents specifically requested. Uploads that are incorrect, out of focus, illegible, upside down or sideways, contain visible social security numbers, or anything other than the specific document requested will not be reviewed and those applications will be disqualified.

In addition to the required tax forms and the FASFA Submission Summary, each applicant will be asked for a total of cash, investments, brokerage and checking accounts, and savings, including 529 college saving plans, for themselves and their parents. This is information required for the FAFSA, so it should already be readily available to applicants.

No. If you have scanned/uploaded multiple pages that are saved as multiple individual documents, you may save them as PDFs and merge the PDFs into one document before uploading. All uploads must be complete ( i.e., you should not upload just the first page of a multi-page document), clear, legible, oriented correctly (i.e., sideways or upside down documents will not be reviewed), and all social security numbers must be redacted.

Applicants whose parents are not married to each other will be asked to separately report financial information for each parent.

No. You must submit financial information for both parents. If there is an extraordinary circumstance preventing you from accessing your non-custodial parent’s financial information, you will have an opportunity to provide an explanation in the application.

You are required to submit your parents’ financial information, even if you live with someone other than your parents.

If, due to special and extraordinary circumstances (incarceration, for example), you are unable to provide financial information for either one or both of your parents, you will be provided an opportunity to explain the circumstance on the application.

You will be given an opportunity to indicate and explain on the application if you are considered an independent student.

In evaluating financial need, a variety of factors are considered; there is no specific cut-off for income or Student Aid Index. There are Hadden Scholars who receive the full Pell grant amount and a have zero SAI, and scholars who do not qualify for any Pell grant and have a much higher SAI. The totality of the circumstances is weighed and applicants are given the opportunity to provide additional information that may not be reflected in a FAFSA or tax return.

In evaluating financial need, a variety of factors are considered; there is no specific cut-off for income or Student Aid Index. There are Hadden Scholars who receive the full Pell grant amount and a have zero SAI, and scholars who do not qualify for any Pell grant and have a much higher SAI. The totality of the circumstances is weighed and applicants are given the opportunity to provide additional information that may not be reflected in a FAFSA or tax return.

Not necessarily. Youth Foundation takes into consideration all of the financial information included in the application, as well as any other financial circumstances the applicant chooses to disclose. Current Hadden scholars have a wide variety of financial aid packages from their institutions. Finalists will be required to send a copy of their financial aid award letter to confirm they are able to receive outside aid.

It depends. If “full ride” means full tuition, but not room and board, you may be eligible to receive a Hadden Scholarship. You should check with the financial aid office of your school to confirm that you have expenses that are allowed to be covered by outside scholarships. If “full ride” means all expenses, including tuition, room, and board, are covered by the school, you probably do not have eligibility to receive outside aid without reducing the school’s award. Again, you MUST verify this with your institution. It is important for students to understand the full scope and limitations of the awards they receive from their colleges and universities.

No. Youth Foundation sends the funds for their Hadden Scholarship recipients directly to the colleges and universities the scholars are attending. These funds may be applied to tuition, room, board, technology, health insurance, or any fees, as allowed by the school’s rules and any applicable state or federal laws. As long as our rules are followed (student is enrolled as a full-time student, maintains a minimum 3.0 GPA, and the school does not decrease gift aid as a result of outside aid), we are flexible as to how the funds are applied by the schools. Students are responsible for understanding any potential income tax liabilities resulting from this or any scholarships.

Yes. Two letters of recommendation are required as part of the Hadden Scholarship application.

Recommendations may be written by a teacher, administrator, coach, advisor, manager, supervisor, or other adult who has worked with the student in a position of authority and has witnessed first-hand the student’s character and leadership potential. Applicants will provide an email address for their intended recommenders through the online application platform. A link will be emailed to the recommenders so that they may easily submit their letters; all letters must be submitted as a Word or PDF document and all letters must be received before the application deadline.

Some school email systems will filter out emails from unknown senders. If your teachers are able to check their junk or spam folders, the recommendation requests might be found there. If that does not work, you may send the request to your email address and then forward to your teacher. The application admins will be able to see that step was taken so be aware that those letters may receive higher scrutiny. Ideally, all recommendation letters will have a signature and contact information for the recommender, but recommendations from a forwarded link should especially contain these elements. In the alternative, you may choose recommenders who do not have a school generated email, such as an employer or other adult who has first-hand knowledge of your leadership skills, character, and potential college success.

Applicants should monitor their application portals to see when their recommendations have been submitted. Up to four recommendation requests may be sent; applications may not be submitted and will not be considered until at least two recommendations have been posted. Recommendations sent through the mail will not be accepted; the recommendations must be sent via the email links provided through the application process and they must be received before the application deadline.

First, ask your recommenders if they will submit a letter on your behalf before you send the official request. Let them know to expect an email from Youth Foundation that will have a link for electronically submitting the recommendation. If your recommenders are not expecting an email from Youth Foundation, they may assume it is spam. Also, make sure the deadline is clear and provide a resume (or simple list of interests/achievements) or any other materials that may be helpful to your recommenders. Ask them if there is anything you may do to facilitate their submitting your recommendations on time. It may also be helpful to remind your recommenders that all letters must be submitted as a Word or PDF document. Make sure that your recommenders understand that applications may not be submitted until at least two recommendations have been received, so the recommendations will need to be uploaded with enough time left for the application to be submitted by the deadline.

No. However, we allow you to submit recommendation requests to up to four recommenders at one time, even though only two letters are required. Take advantage of this opportunity to ensure you will be able to submit your application on time. If you have already made four requests but still do not have two letters, follow-up with your recommenders to politely remind them of the deadline.

All documents must be submitted in an allowed format. You may click the ‘?’ button next to all required upload fields to see the document formats allowed for each question. PDF is the preferred format for every upload, though screenshots are usually allowed as long as they are legible and include all of the required information. Please remember, reviewers will not be able to read attachments that are upside down, sideways, or out of focus.

It may be because you do not have two letters of recommendation submitted on your behalf. Check your application portal and follow up with your reviewers.

No. No applications, in whole or in part, will be accepted through the mail.

We understand that you may not make your college decision until close to the deadline; we recommend completing as much of the application as possible, including sending the recommendation requests, and setting a reminder for yourself to complete and submit the application as soon as you have made your final college attendance decision.

Applicants who do not know their college major or minor may simply declare ‘undecided’ on their application.

As long as the essay was written by the applicant, does not exceed 750 words, and addresses the essay prompt, it may be submitted for the Hadden Scholarship application. Helpful hint: essays that do not address the provided prompt, or that are merely recitations of an applicant’s resume are not persuasive. Take advantage of the opportunity to give the reviewers a deeper understanding of your goals and motivations.

No. You must hit the ‘Submit’ button to formally submit your application. You will receive a confirmation email when your application has been submitted. If you do not receive a confirmation email your application has not been Submitted. An application that is complete, but not Submitted, will not be considered. No application may be Submitted after the deadline for any reason, even if it was otherwise complete before the deadline.

Great question! Applications with the following errors are automatically rejected without exception:

• Failure to meet the minimum requirements
• Failure to upload the correct, complete documents for each section
• Failure to convert a GPA to a 4.0 scale or listing a GPA as 4.0 without having all As
• Failure to include senior year fall grades when the transcript is uploaded
• Only uploading the first page of the required tax forms
• Any visible social security numbers, belonging to any person including the applicant, applicant’s parents, or applicant’s siblings
• Submitting a FAFSA confirmation email or SAI estimator instead of the complete Submission Summary and SAI
• Failure to Submit a completed application—if you do not receive a confirmation email, your application has not been Submitted
• Missing the application deadline or attempting to submit an application after Eastern Standard Time cut-off

Of course! Most importantly, check your work—proofread, proofread, proofread. Make sure uploaded documents are the correct documents for the question asked. For example, if a transcript is mistakenly uploaded where the FAFSA is requested, the application will show that step as complete when, in fact, the FAFSA is still missing. Applicants should check and re-check all uploaded documents to ensure they are clear, readable, and correct. Lastly, put yourself in the shoes of the reviewer. If you were evaluating many applications, would you want to see large blocks of text with no paragraph breaks, repeated typos and errors, or uploaded documents that are out of focus or oriented the wrong way? Submit the type of application you would want to review.

All communication will be via the email used by the applicant when setting up the application account. NOTE: If an applicant uses a school-generated email account that will no longer be available after graduation, we will not be able to contact the applicant with award information should they be a winner. Applicants we are unable to contact via email will be disqualified. Applicants who do not respond to emails by stated deadlines will be disqualified.

All finalists will be contacted via email. Winners must provide their student ID number, the address for outside scholarships for their college, and any other information required by their school for the processing of outside scholarships. Failure to provide the required information by the stated deadline will result in the loss of the scholarship.

The award is renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study. Students must be enrolled full-time, maintain a 3.0 GPA, and provide a transcript and current financial aid award letter for each academic year. Failure to comply with the renewal requirements will result in the loss of the Hadden Scholarship.