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CTCL Scholarship Application

2025 Application Now Open

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 44 small, 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. 

The 2025 scholarship application is now closed. 

The scholarship was open to all current high school seniors and others who plan to enroll at a CTCL member institution as first-time undergraduates for the 2025-2026 academic year.

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.

Thank you to all of the students who submitted Part 1 of the application by the March 14 deadline.

The deadline to complete Part 2 of the application by submitting the following two items is 11:59 PM (Eastern Daylight Time), April 11, 2025:

    • One copy of an admission letter from a CTCL member institution

    • A copy of Page 1 from your FAFSA Submission Summary from the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) showing your SAI (Student Aid Index).

    • NOTE: Applicants had an opportunity to opt out of sharing the FAFSA Submission Summary in one of the questions on the CTCL scholarship application if they did not / will not file the FAFSA OR if they have difficulty securing the copy of Page 1. Applicants may also update the scholarship committee by emailing scholarships@ctcl.org.

We are excited that you will begin your undergraduate careers at CTCL member institutions for the 2025-2026 academic year and are thrilled to learn more about you and how you plan to use your education to impact your community and the world.

Scholarship applicants will be notified via email on April 14, 2025. We will share the news on our website by mid-May.

Please contact CTCL Executive Director Ann Marano with questions at scholarships@ctcl.org.