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The program will be available on or after December 2, 2024. Please return then to view the updated Guidelines for the upcoming program!

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Northwestern Mutual Childhood Cancer Survivor Scholarship Program
Live application window: December 2, 2024 through February 3, 2025 3:00 pm CT

Instrucciones del programa de español

Northwestern Mutual Foundation has established a scholarship program to assist pediatric cancer survivors, age 25 and under, who plan to continue their education in college or vocational school programs.

Click here to find information about the Northwestern Mutual Childhood Cancer Survivor Scholarship Program.

This 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. Awards are granted without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or national origin. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor, and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.

Applicants of the Northwestern Mutual Childhood Cancer Survivor Scholarship Program must:

  • Be pediatric cancer survivors, age 25 and under, who have been diagnosed by a physician as having had treatment for and survived cancer, or are currently in treatment. Applicants must upload a Medical Verification Form (MVF) completed and signed by a physician.
  • Be high school seniors, high school graduates or current post-secondary undergraduates who plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school in the United States for the entire upcoming academic year.
  • Must be U.S. Citizens or permanent residents.

Employees and children of employees of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company Foundation, Inc. and the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (and any of its affiliates and subsidiaries) are ineligible to apply.

Those who do not receive a scholarship are invited to reapply in following years. Previous recipients are not eligible to apply.

Recipients may only receive one Northwestern Mutual Foundation Scholarship. Awards are limited to one award, per family, per program.

Award information:

  • If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $5,000 award
  • Up to twenty-five (25) awards will be granted
  • Awards are renewable up to one year or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first, on the basis of maintaining full-time enrollment and continuation of the Program by Northwestern Mutual Foundation
  • Recipients may only receive one Northwestern Mutual Foundation Scholarship. Awards are limited to one award, per family, per program.

Awards are for undergraduate study only.

Notification

Applicants will be notified in April.

Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. Students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements.

Payment of Scholarships

Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of Northwestern Mutual Foundation. Payment is made in one installment in early August.

Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:

  • Academic record
  • Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
  • Honors
  • Work experience
  • Statement of educational and career goals and objectives
  • Personal impact statement describing how cancer affected the applicant’s life

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

Selection of recipients are made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of Northwestern Mutual Foundation play a part in the selection. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.

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

  • 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.
  • A Medical Verification Form (MVF) completed and signed by a physician.
  • If necessary, a separate printed Financial Data Form may be submitted in order for one to be completed if parents cannot submit jointly on the electronic application.

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. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.

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

Selecting the button below will redirect you to the Scholarship America Student Hub!

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.