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American Express Scholarship Program
Deadline to apply: February 10, 2025 4:00 pm Central Time

The American Express Scholarship Program was established in 1987 and is currently funded by the American Express Foundation to encourage and recognize academic excellence and help American Express employees fund their children’s undergraduate college education. Scholarship awards may be used for undergraduate study at accredited colleges or universities in the U.S. and Canada.

The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of American Express Foundation, and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.

Applicants to the American Express Scholarship Program must be:

  • Dependent* children of active, regular, full-time, U.S. employees, U.S. – assigned staff, or Canadian employees of American Express Company or a subsidiary of American Express. Dependent children of part-time employees are also eligible if these part-time employees are employed at least 20 hours per week as of the application deadline date.
    *Dependent children are defined as natural and legally adopted children or stepchildren living in the employee’s household or primarily supported by the employee.
  • Current high school seniors** who plan to enroll in a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited two or four-year college or university in the fall following graduation.
    **Students who are in their junior year and plan to graduate early may also apply now. Any questions regarding eligibility, including CEGEP in Quebec, please call Scholarship America at 1-800-537-4180.

Selection of Recipients

Scholarship recipients are selected based on:

  • Academic record
  • Leadership and participation in school and community activities
  • Work experience
  • A statement of goals and aspirations
  • Unusual personal or family circumstances
  • An online recommendation.

The number of recipients is determined by the number of eligible applications received. Per IRS Revenue Procedure 76-47, no more than 25% of eligible applicants may receive an award.

Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of American Express Company or American Express Foundation play a part in the selection. Applicants, recipients and schools are screened to comply with U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) requirements. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients or receive a one-time honorarium. All applicants agree to accept the decision of Scholarship America as final.

Notification

All applicants will be notified in early May.

Revisions

American Express Foundation reserves the right to review the conditions and procedures of this scholarship program and to make changes at any time, including termination of the program.

Awards

Students selected as recipients will receive an award amount based on their level of financial need. Award amounts are determined as follows:

  • If selected as a recipient, a student demonstrating financial need will receive an award ranging from $2,000 to $4,000, depending upon their level of need. These awards are renewable up to three years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first.
  • If selected as a recipient, a student demonstrating no financial need, or who does not supply complete financial data, will receive a one-time honorarium of $750.

Financial need awards are renewable for up to three years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first, provided American Express continues the scholarship program. Renewal is based on maintaining satisfactory academic performance in a full-time undergraduate program.

Awards are for undergraduate study only and are granted without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin.

Payment of Scholarships

Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of American Express Foundation. Payments are made in equal installments in late August and December 15. Checks are mailed to each recipient’s home address and are made payable to the school.

All commitments are made by the American Express Foundation and are not dependent on continued parental employment at American Express Company.

As part of your application, you must upload the following:

  • A current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
  • Student name
  • School name
  • Grades
  • Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken.

NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload a copy of your test score report(s) separately.

One online recommendation form must be submitted on your behalf no later than February 13, 2025 4:00 pm Central Time.

Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically. You’ll be sent a confirmation email directly after the successful submission of your application.

American Express Foundation has partnered with Scholarship America. Selecting the button below you will be leaving the American Express site and will be redirected to the Scholarship America Student Hub! On the Student Hub website, you will be asked to complete a profile which will allow you to access American Express Scholarship as well as other Scholarship America programs.

By choosing to create a profile on the Scholarship America Student Hub website, it is your responsibility to understand how your personal data will be collected and used. You will be opting-in to share your personal information and be matched to other potential scholarship opportunities based on the Profile you create. Your information will not be shared with other scholarship programs unless you choose to submit an application to that program. You can review the American Express Privacy Policy or the Scholarship America Privacy Policy.

Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address provided below in the footer as safe senders in your email contact list.