Buffalo Scholars Program

Applicants to the Buffalo Scholars Program must be:

Children, stepchildren, or the legal dependent of full-time Hilltop Holdings, HilltopSecurities, PlainsCapital Bank, or PrimeLending employees who are in good standing with the company and who have a minimum of one year of employment as of the application deadline.
High school seniors or graduates, or current postsecondary undergraduates, who plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study (minimum 12 credits per semester or equivalent) at an accredited, four-year, public college or university in the United States (U.S.) for the entire upcoming academic year.

Awards

If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $5,000 award. Up to 8 awards will be granted. Assuming there are qualified applicants, at least one recipient will be selected from each company and the racial/ethnic and gender diversity of the recipient pool will reflect the diversity of the applicant pool.

Awards are not renewable, but students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements.

Awards are for undergraduate study only.

Notification

All applicants will be notified in late April.

Payment of Scholarships

Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of Hilltop Holdings Inc. Payments are made in one installment in early August.

Selection of Recipients

Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:

Academic record
Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
Work experience
A statement of educational and career goals and objectives
An online recommendation.

Financial need, as calculated by Scholarship America, must be demonstrated for the student to receive an award.

Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of Hilltop Holdings Inc. play a part in the selection. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.

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 an official copy of those test scores separately. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.

One online recommendation form must be submitted on your behalf no later than March 5, 2025 3:00 pm Central Time.

Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.