$6,000 STEM Pathways Scholarship
Application deadline
July 31, 2025
Scholarship Overview
BestColleges is committed to breaking down barriers for students. This year, we are excited to award up to five scholarships of $6,000 each. These scholarships are intended to recognize individuals who, through their extracurricular activities and academic accomplishments, have raised awareness of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics in communities traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields.
Eligibility Requirements
- This Scholarship Contest is open only to individuals who are legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia.
- You must have secured admission to or be enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student in an accredited college or university in the United States for the 2025-26 academic year.
- You must be at least 17 years of age.
- You must be pursuing a STEM-related field.
How to Enter
Limit one entry per person. The Scholarship Contest begins on April 15, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. EDT. All entries must be received by July 31, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.
- Compose an original essay, not exceeding 500 words, detailing how you have contributed or intend to contribute to raising awareness of STEM fields in underrepresented communities through your activities, leadership, and service. Please include relevant details about your life experience, values, and/or endurance through adversity.
- Essays must:
- Be original to you and not previously published or submitted to any other contest, sweepstakes, or promotion.
- Be suitable for general audiences and not offensive, obscene, defamatory, or illegal.
- Not contain any personally identifiable information of any person other than yourself nor violate the rights of others or any applicable law.
- Submit one letter of recommendation from a STEM teacher or mentor
- Submit overall GPA and unofficial transcript.
- Submit your application through the online form.
Read full rules, terms, and conditions here.
Apply Now
Once you’ve filled out the form, press “Submit” to complete your scholarship submission.
Frequently Asked Questions
One of the best reasons to pursue a STEM career is the expected salary. On average, STEM jobs net over $100,000 a year, compared to $55,000 a year for non-STEM occupations. Not only do STEM industries often include lucrative paychecks, but these jobs frequently offer cutting-edge skills and career growth. Not surprisingly, some of the most common STEM degree paths include computer science, information technology, and software engineering.
However, these degrees are also top STEM picks:
All participants and entries are subject to verification. After the application deadline, the scholarship administrator will review all eligible entries. On or about Aug. 15, 2025, the administrator will select up to five winning entries in accordance with the following criteria:
- Category 1: Thoughtfulness of response – 25%
- Category 2: Relevance to question – 25%
- Category 3: Overall academic performance – 25%
- Category 4: Quality of composition – 20%
- Category 5: Grammatical accuracy – 5%
- Odds of Winning: The odds of winning depend on the quality and number of eligible entries received.
In the case of a tie, winner entries will be selected based on their thoughtfulness of response and relevance to the question, as compared to the other finalists.
The winning participants will be notified by email to the email address provided in the submission form. Potential winners may be required, within five days of the winner notification being sent, to provide to the administrator further contact and residence information and to execute and deliver a written affidavit of eligibility, acceptance of these official rules, release of liability/publicity, scholarship disbursement forms, and other reasonable documentation. In the event that a potential winner does not timely comply, the winner may be disqualified and an alternate winner may be selected based on the criteria listed above.
Yes! While this scholarship is specific to those who have raised awareness for communities traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields, there are alternative scholarships available that you may be eligible for. We’ve put together these lists of additional opportunities:
Send us an email at scholarships@bestcolleges.com for any other questions and concerns.
