JA Experian Scholarship

In partnership with Experian, we will be awarding $30,000 in scholarships to students and alumni in our JA Fellows program.

How to Apply

To apply for the JA Experian Scholarship, students must complete an online application that contains two components: an essay response and a personal statement.

Essay Response

Prompt: What is one short-term goal and one long-term goal for your future? How do you plan to achieve each goal?

Your goals should be centered around professional and career development and/or financial objectives. As you state each goal, be sure to provide context as to why you have selected this goal and how it will support your future success. Provide a thoughtful and financially realistic plan on how you will achieve each goal.

Personal Statement

The personal statement is a space for you to share experiences, achievements, and aspirations to provide additional context to our scholarship judges on who you are and why you should be selected as a scholarship recipient.

Select one of the following prompts to respond to:

  • Share an experience that has shaped your personal development
  • Share a time you made an impact in your community
  • Share why you want to pursue your desired major/career

Scholarship FAQs

JA San Diego and Experian are partnering to launch the JA Experian Scholarship to support the higher education goals of our JA Fellow students and alumni. This challenge encourages students to contemplate their short-term and long-term goals and consider what steps need to be taken to achieve each goal.

We will be awarding $30,000 in scholarships to JA Fellows students and alumni. Students have the opportunity to be awarded up to $5,000.

Scholarship funds can be used toward college/university and trade/vocation school expenses, including tuition and course materials.

This scholarship is open to JA Fellows students and alumni currently enrolled or planning to pursue postsecondary education for the 2025-2026 academic year. Note, scholarship funds will be held until the 2026-2027 academic year for current high school junior scholarship recipients.

Submit an application that includes an essay and a personal statement. Please refer to the ‘Submit Your Application’ section above.

There is a 3,000 character limit for both the essay and personal reflection responses.

The scholarship committee will evaluate applicants on the clarity and details of their short- and long-term goals and plans and the reflections and insights provided by the personal statement.

Applications will be open in mid-February. Applications are due by Monday, March 31, 2025 at 11:59 pm.

Scholarship recipients will be notified by late-April.

We will coordinate with scholarship recipients to confirm the school of attendance. Scholarship funds will be sent to the Financial Aid Office at the student’s college/school. The scholarship will be then applied to the student’s account to be used for their educational expenses.

Resources

Check out these JA and Experian resources to help you brainstorm and organize your application responses.

If you have any questions about the 5-3-1 Scholarship Challenge, please contact Catherine Van Weele at cvanweele@jasandiego.org.