Boettcher Scholarship

We need our most dynamic thinkers, doers, and difference makers to stay in Colorado so they can positively impact their communities across our state. That was the foresight behind the Boettcher Scholarship Program when it was created 70 years ago. The vision continues today as our Scholars personify the promise of Colorado and potential of Coloradans.

Awarded in partnership with our state’s four-year, nonprofit institutions of higher education, our comprehensive Scholarship program has two models. Read on or visit here to learn more about our eligibility requirements, selection criteria, and how to apply.

Beyond financial support, we provide Scholars with unique enrichment opportunities designed to enhance their learning journeys, launch careers, and cultivate leadership potential. Scholars also become part of a vast and diverse network of Boettcher Alumni that dates back to 1952. The ethos that unites Scholars across generations is the enthusiasm to give back in the communities where they attend college, work, and live.

Eligibility Requirements

To be considered for the Boettcher Scholarship, you must meet these minimum requirements:

• Be a graduating Colorado high school senior who has lived in Colorado for your full junior and senior years of high school;
• Apply during the fall of what is your final year of high school (the equivalent of your senior year), even if you are graduating early or considering taking a gap year after graduation;
• Graduate from a Colorado high school; and
• Be a citizen, legal permanent resident, or lawfully present (including through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA))  in the United States

OR

• Meet the requirements and have applied or started the process of applying for citizenship, legal status or lawful presence. (Although students can be in the application process for citizenship, legal status, or lawful presence during the Boettcher selection timeframe, in order to become a Boettcher Scholar, you must provide documentation that shows you have successfully completed the process.)

The Boettcher Foundation will not release any student’s information to federal officials or anyone else outside of our campus partners unless we receive a  subpoena request that we will notify the applicant about first.

For more information, view our “Frequently Asked Questions: Legal Status or Lawful Presence” document.

All qualified students are encouraged to apply, regardless of gender, creed, ethnic origin, race, or sexual orientation. We do not give preference based on a student’s choice of college or university, high school, city of residence or financial need.

Relatives of Boettcher Trustees, officers or employees of the Boettcher Foundation are not eligible.

Selection Criteria

Once you apply, the Boettcher Foundation Scholarship selection committee judges each student on:

• Superior scholastic ability and intellectual curiosity
• Evidence of leadership and involvement
• Service to community and school
• Outstanding character

As a merit-based scholarship, we define merit as “merit of circumstance,” meaning the selection criteria above and more. We care deeply about lived experience and the context in which a student has thrived as a leader, either because of or in spite of personal circumstances. Competitive candidates also demonstrate strong potential for continued leadership and service.