Scholarship Overview
For over 20 years, DCU, through DCU for Kids has provided a scholarship program designed to assist students in the pursuit of higher education with over $2.1 million in scholarships being awarded.
In 2024, DCU for Kids awarded 80 scholarships totaling $150,000 to graduating high school seniors judged most likely to excel at a college or university. In 2025, scholarship awards will range from $1,500 to $2,500.
Recipients are chosen by an impartial panel of business professionals and collegiate educators who base their decisions on scholastic achievement, community involvement, leadership skills, character and integrity, recommendation letters, as well as an essay submitted by the student.
2025 scholarship winners will be notified in late April by email and will be required to complete the Confirmation of Award form, which is due immediately upon receipt of the email notice.
Awards will be processed in early July 2025. Names of those selected will be posted below once all awards are confirmed.
The Annual Memorial Scholarship Program will begin to accept applications starting in December of 2025 for the 2026 application process. Please visit this page in late November of 2025 for Official Rules and FAQs.
2025 Schedule of Events
DATES | DETAILS |
|---|---|
December 13, 2024 | Application Portal Opens |
February 28, 2025 at 3pm (ET) | Application Portal Closes Applications and ALL supporting materials (including Letters of Recommendation) must be submitted through the online scholarship portal – NO exceptions! Please take note all deadlines are within Eastern Time (ET) Zone regardless of where you are located |
Late April, 2025 | Applicants selected to receive a scholarship award will receive a Confirmation of Award email with a link to 1). Accept the award and 2). Provide the name of the college or university where the awardee has been confirmed. The Confirmation of Award Form is due immediately upon receipt of the email notice. |
Early July, 2025 | Scholarships will be awarded. Award checks will be sent via FedEx. Names of all scholarship recipients selected will be posted below once all awards are confirmed. |
2025 Winners
- Abhiram Kilaru - Phoenix, AZ
- Adhik Durga - Wesley Chapel, FL
- Aishwaryalakshmi Saravanan - Sharon, MA
- Alexander Stephan - Hopkinton, MA
- Camila Ayala Rosales - Hampton, GA
- Catherine Xinyi Zhao - Boca Raton, FL
- Dean Wang - Rochester, MN
- Eugenie Kim - Olathe, KS
- Harshmit Verman - Avon, CT
- Inesh Rai - Warwick, RI
- Luke Thankachan Cyrus - San Antonio, TX
- Max Feinberg - Deerfield, IL
- Mohin Patel - San Antonio, TX
- Natalie Olivia Clark - Cleveland, TN
- Pramya Surapaneni - Marlboro, NJ
- Rashmika Vidhya Subramanian - Mooresville, NC
- Rohan Patel - Lutz, FL
- Sakethram Ramakrishnan - Suwanee, GA
- Shaurya Patni - Hopkinton, MA
- Taksh Bhatia - Chandler, AZ
- Ainsley Reese Gennaro - Wesson, MS
- Ajibola Ajani - Bowie, MD
- Alexandra True - East Freetown, MA
- Ananya Ramesh - Plano, TX
- Anushka Liz Mathew - Collierville, TN
- Anwen Williams - Lawrence, KS
- Aubree Giselle Marquez - Lubbock, TX
- Aubrey Allen - Lithonia, GA
- Ayla Elizabeth Zook - King George, VA
- Beverly Ferris Holton - Columbia, SC
- Camryn Howard - Washington DC
- Chanda Kumar - Thornton, CO
- Chloe Retuya - Cheshire, CT
- Claire Layne Ellis - Edmond, OK
- Clare Rose Whitaker - Austin, TX
- Dexter Delaney - Winthrop, WA
- Dorcas Fabunmi - Benton, AR
- Evangeline Meiling Ko - Highland Heights, OH
- Gabrielle Wongbe - Rockville Centre, NY
- Ivanna Fernanda Ruiz - Chula Vista, CA
- Joyce Qian Hu - Morgantown, WV
- Kailey Calvo - Saint Petersburg, FL
- Katlyn Renee Hoffman - Chesapeake, VA
- Lilly Sak - Magnolia, TX
- Lily Camille Jones - Bullard, TX
- Lincoln Huckaby - Cascade, ID
- Liz Mar Ruisanchez Melendez - Virginia Beach, VA
- Makenzi Rihanna Henderson - Missouri City, TX
- Mikayla Traill - St. Albans, NY
- Miranda Whiting - Bells, TX
- Nathaniel Kim - Ballwin, MO
- Peter Olhava - Newton, MA
- Reagan Marie Veale - San Clemente, CA
- Rebecca Skylar Levine - Boca Raton, FL
- Robert Graydon Flinn - Concord, MA
- Rylee Michelle Smith - Plainfield, IN
- Sadhil Mehta - Troy, OH
- Sujay Chava - Ellington, CT
- Temiladeoluwa Deborah Adeniran - Seymour, CT
- Vaishnavi Aedavalli - Rancho Cucamonga, CA
All DCU employees, volunteers, subsidiaries, affiliates, and their immediate family members are ineligible to apply to the DCU Memorial Scholarship Program.
FAQs
No, you do not have to be a DCU member to submit an application or receive an award. The DCU Annual Memorial Scholarship is a national scholarship program that is available to any graduating high school senior with plans to attend a state or nationally accredited two or four-year college or university in the Fall of the award year.
Please Note: All DCU employees, volunteers, subsidiaries, affiliates, and their immediate family members are ineligible.
Individuals that have passed the GED or other high school equivalency exam are not eligible to apply. Applicants must be a graduating high school senior and be able to provide an official or unofficial transcript of high school grades for their senior year (to date) and junior year (full year).
No. The scholarship funds awarded in May must be applied in the Fall of the award year. Award funds cannot be deferred. Checks need to be deposited into the students’ account by the institution no later than early October. If the student has questions, concerns, or considerations that align with potentially taking a Gap Year, please contact DCU for Kids for further clarification prior to applying.
All applications and supporting materials must be received before the 3pm (ET) submission deadline as stated on the scholarship application webpage for consideration. Any materials received after the deadline will NOT be submitted to the judges, regardless of circumstance. Please plan the completion and submission of your application accordingly.
Yes. Two letters of recommendation in pdf format must be submitted on your behalf. These letters may come from your junior or senior year teachers, and/or your guidance counselor. Letters from other sources will not be accepted and will disqualify your application.
- Within the online scholarship application portal, you will submit the names and email addresses of the (2) individuals that are writing a recommendation on your behalf. You may also add a note to your email request.
- An email will be generated from the system and sent to both individuals with a unique link to upload their letter of recommendation in the required pdf format.
- Applicants can monitor within the application the status of the requests made. A reminder email can be generated should you not see the letter of recommendation in a timely manner.
Tip -- It may take some time for your teacher and/or guidance counselor to write the letter. Please plan the completion of this step accordingly. Materials received after the deadline will not be used in the judging process. Letters of Recommendation will not be accepted via email. All recommendations and transcripts must be received in the portal before the submission deadline in order for you to ‘Submit’ your application to be considered for review. An application missing this required proper documentation will disqualify your application. Please see Part 1. of the Official Rules for details of required documentation.
Scholarship winners will be notified in late April/early May by email. Winners are required to complete the Confirmation of Award form in the portal. Instructions to do so are emailed to the winners. All confirmations are due immediately upon receipt.
All applicants not receiving an award will be notified in early May. Please check the following web page for a list of winners in late May.
If you are selected as a winner of one of the scholarship awards, you would need to be enrolled and attend a state or nationally-accredited two or four-year college or university within the United States in order to receive the tuition award.
Shortly after the scholarship winners are announced, the award check will be mailed via Federal Express to the student. The student must to endorse and forward check to the school’s Financial Aid/Bursar’s office for endorsement to which that student will be attending in the upcoming academic year. The check will then be posted to the students account.
All scholarship checks must be deposited into the student’s account no later than October 1st. Should you not be able to comply with this date, please contact DCU for Kids via email at scholarships@dcu.org to explain your circumstance.
Note: The award check is a dual signatory check where both the student and the school need to endorse it for deposit. Funds CANNOT be deposited into a personal checking/savings account. Funds must be deposited into the student’s account at the school named in the confirmation of award that you will be matriculating in the upcoming academic year.
No. The check will be made payable to the student and the college/university of which you will be matriculating in the Fall of the award year. You will then need to endorse the check and forward to the Bursar’s office to be applied directly toward your tuition fees. You will not be able to cash the check or deposit it into your own personal bank account as this is a dual signatory check. DCU for Kids will not provide a check for the scholarship recipient in their name only – no exceptions.
If you have already paid your fall tuition costs, the check must still be provided to the Bursar’s Office to be applied toward your spring tuition. If both semesters have been paid, the deposit can typically be made to your tuition account, and your school may be able to issue you a reimbursement check in your name. Please consult your Admissions Officer or Bursar's Office for assistance. DCU for Kids will not provide a check for the scholarship recipient in their name only – no exceptions.
In the event that you need to delay your school enrollment the college or university may keep the award check in your school account to be applied towards your tuition once you enroll. Note: the award check cannot be cashed by you nor be kept in a personal account.
Should you choose not to enroll with the original college/university that you confirmed with us and choose to attend another school before your freshman year begins DCU for Kids will cut a new check for the new school. The original check will become void.
If you decide to completely withdraw your intention to attend any higher education institution as originally stated for whatever reason the award will then be considered forfeited.
If any of the above circumstances occur please contact DCU for Kids at scholarships@dcu.org to let us know about your plans.
You are responsible for providing an official or unofficial transcript of high school grades for your senior year (to date) and junior year (full year). Upload your transcripts as one file in pdf format through the portal in the designated space provided. You will be able to see the attachment on your application page.
Note: There is no secondary log-in for school administrators to submit documentation on your behalf. NO emailed transcripts will be accepted. All supporting materials (recommendations and transcript) must be uploaded to the portal site prior to the submission deadline for consideration. Documentation missing will prohibit you from submitting your application.
No. Submitted scholarship applications become official, and therefore cannot be edited. Please carefully review your application before submitting.
Tip -- Consider saving your application in draft form and returning to edit, review, and submit prior to the submission deadline. Also, request your recommendations early to eliminate undue time constraints with submitting your application in a timely manner.