CTCL Scholarship Application

The Colleges That Change Lives Scholarship was established in 2016 to honor the 20th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of Loren Pope’s classic book and the 10th anniversary of the non-profit organization, Colleges That Change Lives.

Since first appearing in 1996, four versions of Colleges That Change Lives have been published, each update offering valuable insights about the college search, as well as profiles of distinctly different, residential, liberal arts schools that offer high-impact, transformative educational experiences to thousands of students each year. The non-profit Colleges That Change Lives organization is dedicated to preserving the author’s message. 

This scholarship is yet another way to ensure the CTCL experience becomes a reality for even more students, including the recent scholarship recipients.

ALL high school seniors in the Class of 2026 and others who intend to enroll at one of the CTCL Member Institutions as first-time undergraduates for the 2026 – 2027 academic year are invited to apply for the scholarship, regardless of U.S. Citizenship or U.S. Permanent Resident status. 

Two awards of $6000 will be made. The scholarship is disbursed directly to the recipient’s CTCL institution at $1500 per year for four years. 

The Scholarship Application consists of two parts. 

1. Part 1 of the application is the application form itself; it must be SUBMITTED by 11:59 PM (Eastern Daylight Time) March 13, 2026.

2. Part 2 of the application is the submission of the following supporting documents by 11:59 PM (Eastern Daylight Time), April 10, 2026.

• One copy of an admission letter from a CTCL Member Institution
• A copy of the page(s) from the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Submission Summary that include the SAI (Student Aid Index).
  • NOTE:  Applicants who will not or cannot file the FAFSA will have an opportunity to indicate they are not sharing the FAFSA Submission Summary in one of the application questions.  If an applicant does not submit the FAFSA Submission Summary and is selected as a finalist, CTCL will contact them directly for more information.

NOTE:  Due to school security firewalls, applicants may experience issues accessing the application from their personal device while using the school WiFi or a school affiliated computer, device, or email account. We recommend accessing the application using a non-school affiliated device, WiFi, or email account.

NOTE: Part 2 documents (listed above) may be uploaded as a part of the scholarship application or emailed to scholarships@ctcl.org after the application is submitted. Please follow the instructions provided in the application. 

Notification of scholarship decisions will be emailed to all applicants on April 17, 2026.