Winning a merit-based scholarship as a high schooler can be one of the biggest honors you can receive.

The Cameron Impact Scholarship is one of the world’s most prestigious high school scholarships.

In this post, we provide a comprehensive overview of the Cameron Impact Scholarship including key dates, application requirements, and tips and tricks for how to win.

What is the Cameron Impact Scholarship?

Sponsored by the Bryan Cameron Education Foundation, the Cameron Impact Scholarship is one of few merit-based full ride scholarships in the United States.

Each year, 10-15 Cameron Impact Scholars are chosen to receive a full-tuition scholarship spanning all four years.

The scholarship is applicable at any four-year accredited university based in the United States.

Image Credit: Bryan Cameron Education Foundation Website The Cameron Impact Scholar is unique among their peers in their desire to directly impact  their communities and in the world at large.

Our Scholar aspires to contribute to positive forces for change and plans to tailor their education to that end.

Bryan Cameron Education Foundation Website The CIS program puts special emphasis on leadership, community service, extracurricular activities, and academics.

In short, they're looking for change makers and people who have shown to create positive change in the communities around them.

What’s the Eligibility for the Cameron Impact Scholarship?

To apply for this highly competitive program, make sure you meet all the eligibility requirements below for the 2025 current application cycle: Be in the high school graduating class of 2025 and planning on enrolling in a 4-year college following graduation Showcase excellence in extracurricular activities, leadership, and participation in community service Minimum cumulative unweighted GPA of

3. 7/

4. 0 or above Full citizen of the United States What are the Requirements to Apply?

To be considered for the scholarship, the Cameron Impact Scholarship requires the submission of the following:  An online application including short essays and the space to list extracurricular activities  2 teacher recommendations; one must come from a current school affiliated personnel who has “made a significant impact on your life” An unofficial or official high school transcript Please note that the CIS program only accepts 3,000 total applications to review.

This selection is solely based on the time an applicant chooses to submit their application and space fills up on a rolling basis.

Cameron Impact Scholarship Acceptance Rate Each year, CIS accepts 3,000 applicants, from which 10-15 are chosen.

This yields less than a

0. 5% acceptance rate.

This is extremely selective.

Cameron Impact Scholars go on to attend the most prestigious universities in the world (7 of the 15 receipts chosen in 2023 either attend Harvard or Stanford) and have thoroughly participated in civil engagement and leadership in high school.

This sets the bar very high for aspiring applicants.

How Do I Win the Cameron Impact Scholarship?

Now that we’ve established the Cameron Impact Scholarship is a highly competitive program, you need to have an exceptional application to distinguish yourself in the applicant pool.

If you’re a CIS hopeful, make sure you follow these steps to win. https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=-TW-mUU2tRE We provide key tips to win below, but make sure to watch the above video for the ultimate guide to landing scholarships in high school.

Remember: for highly competitive scholarships like Cameron Impact, any detail can make or break your application.

Don't miss out on a potential win from these tips.

Start early.

Giving yourself ample time to prepare your application will reflect on the overall quality of your application.

In addition, starting your CIS application early ensures that your recommender and school counselor have enough time to prepare their materials on your behalf.

The rule of thumb is to ask for letters of recommendation or transcripts at least two weeks in advance.

See the CIS scholarship application timeline below for the most recent year.

May 22, 2024: Early Application deadline.

September 5, 2024: Regular Application deadline.

Fall 2024: 75-100 finalists selected and interviewed face-to-face (typically at the applicant’s high school).

December 2024: Scholarship winners announced.

Since there’s a limit to how many the scholarship committee reviews, you should definitely apply in the Early Application round.

See what CIS has to say: Statistically the odds of receiving a finalist interview are typically higher in the Early Pool than the Regular Pool.

CIS typically sends out warnings on their social media pages for when the application limit is approaching.

Make sure you take advantage of this and stay up-to-date with the program application cycle.

Challenge yourself and excel in school.

One of the scholarship selection criteria is academic achievement.

You should be actively challenging yourself with a rigorous workload and showing the selection committee that you regularly seek challenges and work to overcome them.

Of course, doing well in your courses are just as crucial—make sure you’re on top of your classes and maintain your GPA above

3. 7 to ensure you qualify to apply.

Highlight your personality and achievements.

Utilize your application to your advantage.

Make sure to personalize your essays as much as possible in order to hammer home who you are as a person and why you deserve a spot in the program over everyone else.

In addition, the extracurriculars you describe in your application are just as important as the character you showcase in your essays.

The foundation especially emphasizes leadership and community service when selecting scholarship winners.

Make sure these qualities shine through in your essays and application as a whole and tie into the central theme of what you stand for.

Remember, show, don’t tell when crafting your narrative.

Your unique theme is going to be your differentiating factor, whether it be environmental awareness or policy research.

Be attention-grabbing in your essays (start with hooks or in medias res!) and use memorable, impactful words.

Highlight your humanity and be vulnerable when necessary.

Explain the whys as well as the whats that pertain to what you do.

If you need additional guidance for how to build your personal theme, check out this article that shows you how to do just that–and craft a compelling college application in the process.

Fulfill all application criteria.

Make sure that you’ve fulfilled all requirements prior to the deadline.

Do not risk a void application because of late or missing materials.

Concluding Remarks In conclusion, we provided a comprehensive overview of the Cameron Impact Scholarship as well as how to maximize your chances at winning.

Undergraduate scholarships not only do a great deal in alleviating financial burden but are overall great opportunities to socialize with other bright scholars and gain a supportive community.

However, each scholarship can only accommodate so many recipients—the key lies in applying to multiple to increase your odds at obtaining one.

Check out Rishab’s ultimate scholarship guide that contains 90+ vouched scholarships that are absolutely worth the time applying for.

Best of luck!.