Currently, there are over 175 Lenfest Scholars attending colleges and universities around the country, and there are approximately 450 Scholar alums of the Lenfest College Prep Program (2001 - 2011) or the Lenfest College Scholarship Program (2002 - Present). In 2024, we chose 40 new Scholars to join the Lenfest Scholars community; they are currently seniors in high school.

You receive financial support, including up to $12,000 per year for four years to help with college expenses, internship funding for at least one summer while you are in college, and reimbursement for a laptop computer. While in high school, Scholars receive comprehensive college counseling, individualized standardized test preparation, and extensive personal support throughout the college application and decision process. Advising support continues throughout and after college with an assigned Scholar Advisor at the Foundation. You join a community of Scholars and Scholar alum who will offer advice, support, and friendship. Once you become a Lenfest Scholar, you are a Scholar for life!

A "last-dollar scholarship" is a scholarship designed to fill the gap between what the financial aid package for a student offers and the true cost of attending the college. The exact amount that you will receive from Lenfest depends on the total cost of attendance at your school, your expected family contribution, and any aid you receive from the school or elsewhere.

Yes! It’s helpful to ask your college's financial aid office how scholarships will factor into your total student aid package.​

Yes! Scholars attend a wide range of four-year colleges and universities across the United States, and we will support you as you decide where to apply and attend.

Yes, you can defer your attendance, take a leave of absence, or transfer; you will just need to notify us of any such changes in your plans.

The Selection Committee will consider academic achievement and potential, as well as ambition to succeed at a challenging college or university, but you do not need to have a certain GPA in order to apply.

No. You do need to remain “in good standing” as defined by your school, and we will ask you for transcripts after each year of attendance to ensure you are making progress toward your degree. We encourage you to use campus resources, and we can help you identify them.

No. We look at applications holistically and consider family financial need as a factor.

No. Some applicants may have specific major plans and even career ideas, but many do not, and this is not a requirement when applying to Lenfest or to college.

No. The application is open to students the year before they graduate (typically, that is the junior year) from one of our 23 partner high schools."

The stages of the application process are: initial application, semi-finalist application, finalist interviews, final decisions.

You will be requested to submit the following: essays, counselor recommendation, teacher recommendations, family financial information, high school transcript.

Yes. We encourage you to complete these sections of the semi-finalist application as soon as possible so that your contacts have enough time to complete the forms. When you complete these sections, your contacts receive an email with a link to complete their form. You will receive confirmation emails regarding the forms as well.

If the other parent contributes financially in any way, and/or will contribute in the future, please include them. You are welcome to include any notes you'd like us to be aware of in the "Special Circumstances" field of the Parent/Guardian section.

​Please write to contact@lenfestscholars.org with any questions not answered here.

There is no typical Lenfest Scholar. Generally, we are looking for students who are intellectually curious, aspirational, self-reflective, motivated, and who take initiative.

The initial and semifinalist applications are read by Lenfest Scholars Foundation staff. At the finalist stage, your application will be read by members of the Selection Committee, who are leaders in the college admissions and student life fields. They will make recommendations to the staff.

Finalist interviews are typically held at the end of April through the beginning of May. For the 2025 application cycle, interviews will be held virtually from April 24, 2025- April 29, 2025.

Interviews are typically conducted by an interview team composed of two college admissions leaders, two college student life leaders, and members of the Lenfest Scholars Foundation staff. A member of the Foundation Board may participate, as well.

Interviews are about 30 minutes in length. We will welcome your questions toward the end. Our goal is to learn as much about you as possible in a relatively short period of time. To accomplish this, we try to create a relaxed and comfortable environment--one that will allow you to shine! You will not be put on the spot or asked trick questions.