The ECE scholarship application opens on November 1, 2026, and closes on February 12, 2027, at 12:00pm Noon Central Time. Candidates who are invited to the interview round will be interviewed in March 2027. Final scholarship decisions will be communicated no later than April 15, 2027.
No. The application will close on February 12, 2027, at 12pm noon Central Time. No new applications can be started after the deadline. All application materials, including transcripts and letters of recommendation, must be submitted on time in order to be considered.
ECE aims to award about 40-60 scholarships each year, though the total number of scholarships changes annually depending on various factors.
No, the ECE scholarship does not cover 100% of students’ expenses.
Scholars are awarded $25,000 paid directly to universities at a semesterly rate of $3,125 over eight semesters. Partner universities may provide additional financial aid. Those selected for the ECE scholarship should plan to contribute a minimum of $2,000/semester toward their tuition costs, plus additional fees associated with attending college.
Applicants submit a written application online. A committee of ECE representatives reviews the applications and selects top applicants to invite to an in-person interview. Interviews are conducted with ECE staff and partner university representatives. After the interviews, finalists are selected and asked to choose their top-choice college. ECE representatives then make the final selection of scholarship recipients. Winners are notified by April 15, 2027.
The ECE scholarship is only available to support undergraduate students. There is no age requirement.
Yes, as long as you meet all scholarship requirements, you are able to apply. Though ECE prefers to fund entering first-year students, upper-year students are still welcome to apply.
Please review the University Partners page for the updated list of universities for the 2026-2027 application cycle.
ECE scholarships are only available at our official partner universities. If you are not planning to attend an official ECE partner university, you are encouraged to seek other scholarship funding.
No, our scholarship is only for students who have graduated from or will soon graduate from a high school in Tennessee. (Home school students in Tennessee or students completing an online high school degree in Tennessee are eligible to apply for the ECE Scholarship.) If you do not meet that requirement, you are encouraged to seek other scholarship funding.
Yes, as long as you meet all other scholarship requirements, you are able to apply.
The exact content of the 2026-2027 application will be determined no later than November 1, 2027. Please check back here for updates. In the meantime, you can expect to be asked to provide something similar to the following:
• Basic demographic information
• Financial information
• Headshot (photo)
• Academic information and awards, plus extracurricular activities
• Proof of application to one or more ECE partner universities
• Introductory video 1-3 minutes in length
• Two essays, each ranging 500-650 words in length
• Contact information for a school official who can provide your official high school transcript
• Contact information for an individual who can provide an academic letter of recommendation
• Contact information for an individual who can provide a personal letter of recommendation
A headshot is a photo that clearly shows your face. This does not need to be a formal studio photograph, but it should be clear and give an impression of professionalism. The application form shows examples of acceptable and unacceptable headshots.
You will be asked general financial questions, such as your household’s estimated annual income, how many people are in your household, and tax-related information. You will not be asked to submit a copy of your tax return. You will also be asked to describe your financial situation.
Your introductory video can be filmed by whatever means that you have access to, such as a cell phone or laptop. Your video will be judged on content, not on production value. Still, your video should be well-prepared and give a professional impression, even if it is simple in its production.Take into account elements such as lighting, location, and background noise to make sure you are presenting the best version of yourself.
The essay questions for the 2026-2027 application cycle will be determined no later than November 1, 2027. Please check back here for updates.
This will be a staff member at your school, most likely a school counselor or academic success coach. Please contact a representative at your school to find out who the correct person is and to obtain their contact information. It is recommended that you identify this person well in advance of the scholarship application deadline to ensure that all materials are submitted on time.
The academic letter of recommendation should be written by an adult who can speak to your academic skills and accomplishments. This is most likely a teacher, principal, school counselor, or other school official. This letter should not be written by a peer or family member.
The personal letter of recommendation should be written by an adult who can speak to your character and/or leadership abilities. This may be a coach, supervisor, religious leader, mentor, or other trusted adult in your life. This letter should not be written by a peer or family member.
Within the scholarship application, you will be prompted to list the names, titles, and email addresses of the individuals who will provide your transcript and letters of recommendation. All transcript providers and recommenders must have a valid email address. Once they are listed on your application, they will automatically receive an email generated by the scholarship application platform requesting that they provide the transcript or letter of recommendation. The transcript providers and recommenders must submit their documents directly into the application, as indicated in the automatic email from the scholarship application platform. All application materials, including transcripts and letters of recommendation, must be submitted within your application before the deadline in order to be considered.
No. You must have all application materials completed in your application, including transcripts and letters of recommendation, before you are allowed to submit your application.
No. ECE does not accept any application materials via email.
The emails asking for transcripts and letters of recommendation are sent automatically by the scholarship application platform. If the transcript provider or recommenders do not receive the email within a few minutes of you adding them to your application, something has gone wrong. Please try the following:
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- Please have your transcript provider and/or recommender check their spam folders.
- Please confirm that you typed their email addresses correctly within the application.
- If your transcript providers and/or recommenders have school-based email addresses, ask them for a different email address instead. (Many times, school district email systems reject emails from our scholarship platform.)
It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all application materials are submitted on time. You should remain in consistent communication with your transcript providers and recommenders to make sure everything is correctly submitted.
You can view the application questions in a language other than English by clicking the globe icon in the top right corner on the application platform. However, all application materials, including the introductory video and essays, must be prepared and submitted in English.
No, only a portion of the initial applicants are invited to an in-person interview. Those selected for an interview will be notified via email in late February 2027.
ECE interviews will take place in March 2027 in Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville. Specific dates and locations will be communicated to invited applicants via email in late February or early March 2027.
ECE always encourages students to apply for scholarships from as many sources as possible. Here are a few resources we recommend you explore:
Please contact ECE’s Senior Director of Operations Betsy Martinez at betsy@ecetn.org with further questions.