Unveiling the Coolidge Scholarship: A Comprehensive Guide to Requirements and Selection Criteria

The Coolidge Scholarship, offered by the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, is a prestigious and substantial award designed to support exceptional students who embody the values of the former president. This article delves into the specifics of the Coolidge Scholarship, outlining its requirements, selection criteria, and the qualities the foundation seeks in its recipients. Winning a Coolidge Scholarship isn't just about winning money for college - it's about joining a community.

The Essence of the Coolidge Scholarship

The Coolidge Scholarship is an annually awarded, full-ride, presidential scholarship that covers a student's tuition, room, board, and expenses for four years of undergraduate study. The Coolidge may be used by recipients at any accredited college or university in the United States. Anyone of any background, pursuing any academic discipline of study, may apply to this non-partisan, need-blind, program. With a substantial prize of $120,000 that can be used to cover tuition, room, board, and other expenses, The Coolidge Foundation will select two or three new scholarship recipients each year. The award honors students who appreciate and embody Coolidge's core values.

Eligibility Requirements: Who Can Apply?

Students apply for the Coolidge Scholarship during their junior year of high school. To be eligible for the 2025-26 Coolidge Scholarship, applicants must be high school juniors intending to enroll as full-time undergraduates for the first time in fall 2027. That is to say, students in their junior year of high school, or the equivalent if home schooled, are eligible to apply.

To clarify eligibility, consider these scenarios:

Scenario 1: "I currently am a high school junior, but take some courses at a local college, am I still eligible to apply?" Yes, indeed!
Scenario 2: "I am a current high school junior intending to take a gap year after high school, and therefore plan to begin college after the fall 2027. Am I eligible?" No, only current high school juniors intending to enroll as full-time undergraduates for the first time in fall 2027 are eligible for the 2025-26 scholarship.
Scenario 3: "I am a current high school junior, but will be graduating early, in the spring of 2026 rather than the spring of 2027. Am I eligible?"
Scenario 4: "I am a current high school senior, am I eligible to apply?" No, only current high school juniors intending to enroll as undergraduates full-time for the first time in fall 2027 are eligible for the 2025-26 scholarship.
Scenario 5: "I am a current high school senior intending to take a gap year before beginning college, am I eligible to apply?" No, only current high school juniors are eligible to apply.
Scenario 6: "I am a current high school senior but I intend to retake senior year if I win the Coolidge Scholarship, am I eligible to apply?"
Scenario 7: "I am a current high school senior but I skipped a grade in the past. Because of this I am the age of a current high school junior, am I eligible to apply?" No, only current high school juniors are eligible to apply. No exceptions to this rule can be made.

Additional eligibility criteria include:

Applicants must be U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.
2025-26 Coolidge Scholarship applicants cannot be the immediate family member of any current employee, trustee, or significant donor to the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation or the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Fund.

Key Selection Criteria: What Makes a Coolidge Scholar?

While the Coolidge Scholarship is open to students of all backgrounds and academic disciplines, the selection process is highly competitive. The foundation seeks individuals who demonstrate a deep commitment to academic excellence, an interest in public policy, an appreciation for Coolidge's values, and a spirit of humility and service. The main criterion that distinguishes Coolidge Scholars therefore is academic excellence. Secondary criteria include: demonstrated interest in public policy; an appreciation for the values Coolidge championed; as well as humility and service.

Academic Excellence: The Cornerstone

Above all, Coolidge scholars must possess a distinguished academic record. Competitive candidates will have pursued and succeeded in the most rigorous course of study available to them. Awardees will demonstrate an uncommon academic depth and intellectual curiosity. In the case of the Coolidge Scholarship, depth matters as much as breadth. Coolidge winners’ interest in scholarly and intellectual pursuits goes beyond the classroom. Mere credential collection is not a defining trait of a Coolidge Scholar. Jonas Salk, the father of the polio vaccine, provides a good example. Salk so excelled in school that he skipped grades. However, he was also intellectually curious, writing: “As a child I was not interested in science.

Interest in Public Policy and Appreciation of Coolidge Values

From his boyhood days in Plymouth Notch through his years in the White House, Coolidge studied public policy. This scholarship therefore seeks young citizens who exhibit an interest in policy. That being said, the award is not restricted to candidates planning to pursue degrees in fields such as public policy or government. To the contrary, all academic disciplines are valued by this award. Candidates also should demonstrate an awareness of and appreciation for the values President Coolidge championed throughout his life. Some such values include: civility, enterprise, government thrift, federalism, and constitutional government. Like the president, Coolidge Scholars will engage in the pressing issues of their time.

Humility and Service

Humility is a hallmark quality of leaders in the Coolidge tradition. In his autobiography, Coolidge wrote: “It is a great advantage to a President, and a major source of safety to the country, for him to know that he is not a great man.” The Coolidge Scholarship seeks young people who display a sense of service and care for the well-being of others. Coolidge placed high value on Americans helping their own communities and fellow citizens. The Coolidge Scholarship seeks young people who demonstrate a commitment to improving their communities in meaningful ways. For the Coolidge Scholarship, genuine service that makes a difference is valued over ambitious efforts that a young person may not be well-positioned to undertake. Often a young person can best contribute by taking part in existing efforts rather than by starting their own organization. Other prizes are awarded to young people for accumulating leadership credentials in high school. This prize focuses rather on high school achievement that gives young people the potential to lead later in life. A young person who tends to work alone, but demonstrates potential to conduct breakthrough research, for example, is a strong candidate.

The Application Process: Showcasing Your Potential

Applicants must submit two letters of reference. Students should select one person who can speak directly to their academic abilities and one person who can speak to their character and/or accomplishments outside of the classroom. See application for essays. Two of the essays require students to read The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge. The Coolidge Foundation recently published a new edition of the Autobiography, which includes a new introduction and additional supplemental material.

Read also: Lasting Community

Financial Support and Additional Opportunities

A Coolidge Scholarship covers a student’s full tuition, room and board, and required fees for four years of undergraduate study. The Coolidge Scholarship also provides an annual stipend for books and supplies.

Timeline and Notification

Application Deadline - Tuesday, December 16, 2025 at 5:00 PM Pacific Time: Please note the timezone. By June 1, 2026: All applicants will be notified of their outcomes. Applicants can check their outcome by logging into their application portal. Applicants who are named finalists will be contacted directly by phone and invited to Finalist Interview Weekend, which takes place in Woodstock, Vermont and historic Plymouth Notch, Vermont.

Finalist Weekend and Coolidge Senators

Finalists are flown in for a finalist weekend at the Coolidge Historic Site in Plymouth Notch, Vermont where they interview with the Coolidge Scholars Finalist Jury. Calvin Coolidge worked hard in academics; the young New Englander’s only sport was public speaking, often on public policy. The summer before their senior year of high school, newly-selected Coolidge Scholars spend several orientation days at the picturesque birthplace of the President, Plymouth Notch, Vermont. Although only a few students are named Coolidge Scholars each year, top Coolidge Scholarships applicants are named “Coolidge Senators.” Coolidge Senators are invited, all-expenses-paid, to participate in the Senators Summit that takes place each summer.

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