Courage to Grow Scholarship 2027: $1,000 Quarterly, $1,000 Award, 250-Word Essay & September 30 Deadline
Courage to Grow Scholarship: $1,000 per award, open to US high school juniors, seniors and college students with 2.5+ GPA. Quarterly deadlines (next: September 30, 2026). Apply free with a 250-word essay.
Focus keyword: courage to grow scholarship
Quick answer: the Courage to Grow Scholarship (CTGS) is a privately run US scholarship based in Chelan, Washington. Each cycle gives out $1,000, applications run quarterly, and the entry is a short 250-word essay explaining why you deserve the award. It is open to US high school juniors, seniors, and enrolled college students with a 2.5+ GPA. The next deadline is September 30, 2026, and the 2027 cycle follows the same quarterly rhythm: the March, June, September and December deadlines each repeat on the last day of those months, so the 2027 deadlines fall on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31, 2027.
What Is the Courage to Grow Scholarship?
CTGS is a small, privately run scholarship program – not a corporate or government one. It is based in Chelan, Washington (144 E Johnson #2507, Chelan, WA 98816), run through [email protected], phone 509-293-1978. Despite the Washington base, the award is national: any US citizen can apply.
What makes it useful in a scholarship portfolio: the barrier to entry is genuinely low (250 words, free), the pay frequency is high (four chances a year), and the funds go straight to your school account rather than to you – which is what most colleges actually require from scholarship money.
Award Amount and How It Is Paid
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Award size | $1,000 per award, per quarterly cycle |
| Frequency | Quarterly (March / June / September / December deadlines) |
| Payout | Funds go to the student’s college or university account |
| Condition on payout | Proof of enrollment and GPA verification |
| Application fee | None – the application is free |
| Old listings | Older aggregator entries show $500/month cycles – the official current figure is $1,000 quarterly. Use the official site. |
Eligibility Requirements
- You are a US citizen.You are a high school junior, senior, or enrolled college student (undergraduate).You hold a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5.You can write a 250-word (maximum) essay on why you believe you should be awarded the scholarship.Aggregator listings mention a few extra rules that repeat on the official form: name, birth date, phone number and email.
Quarterly Deadlines (2026-2027)
| Cycle | Deadline (last day of the quarter’s month) |
|---|---|
| 2026 | March 31, 2026 |
| 2026 | June 30, 2026 |
| 2026 | September 30, 2026 |
| 2026 | December 31, 2026 |
| 2027 | March 31, 2027 |
| 2027 | June 30, 2027 |
| 2027 | September 30, 2027 |
| 2027 | December 31, 2027 |
The official site currently lists the September 30, 2026 deadline as the next open cycle. Each quarter is a separate competition: apply to all four in a year if you want four independent chances.
How to Apply (Step by Step)
- Go to the official site: couragetogrowscholarship.com.Fill out the short online form: full name, birth date, contact phone, email.Accept the Privacy Policy terms.Write the required essay – 250 words or less – explaining why you believe you should be awarded the scholarship.Submit before the quarter’s deadline (September 30, 2026 for the next open cycle).Wait for the winner announcement – usually about 2 weeks after the deadline.If selected, you are asked to provide proof of enrollment and GPA; the $1,000 is then paid to your school account.
Because the essay is so short, the best strategy is to write one strong template, then trim the personal details to fit each quarter. If you are also applying to larger Washington or national programs, our Tylenol application guide walks through the ISTS submission flow used by a lot of healthcare-track students.
Winners and Odds
CTGS is a small program with a single award per quarter, so per-cycle odds depend on how many qualified students apply in that window. What the program emphasizes: it explicitly prioritizes students who show a personal “courage to grow” narrative, not a resume of accolades. If your story has a clear before-and-after with a concrete action you took, that is the essay the program wants.
If you want to pair a small $1,000 award with a bigger healthcare-state scholarship, the HCAI California scholarship guide covers the state-service equivalent with awards up to $240,000.
FAQs
How much is the Courage to Grow Scholarship?
$1,000 per award, per quarterly cycle. Some older aggregator listings show $500/month for historical cycles – the official current format is a single $1,000 quarterly award.
Who can apply for the Courage to Grow Scholarship?
US citizens who are in high school (junior or senior) or enrolled as a college undergraduate, with a 2.5+ GPA. No residency requirement – the program is based in Washington state but open nationwide.
Is there an application fee for Courage to Grow?
No. The application is free. The only required content is the 250-word maximum essay on why you deserve the award.
What is the Courage to Grow deadline for 2027?
The program runs on a quarterly cycle on the last day of March, June, September and December. The 2027 deadlines fall on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31, 2027 – the September 30 cycle is the one to watch for the 2027 academic year.
How are Courage to Grow winners paid?
The $1,000 is sent to the student’s college or university account, not directly to the student, and is contingent on proof of enrollment and GPA verification.
Final Verdict
The Courage to Grow Scholarship is a fast, cheap entry in a serious portfolio: 250 words, free, quarterly, $1,000 straight to your school account. Because there are four independent cycles a year, it is one of the few awards where a single strong essay can be recycled across all four. If you are a US junior, senior, or college student with 2.5+ GPA, the September 30, 2026 cycle is the next open window.