Merit-Based ScholarshipsWorth a shot

Act Six Leadership Scholarship

Offered by Degrees of Change · Free to apply

Award

Full tuition and full demonstrated need at a partner college, renewable for four years

renewable in later years

Deadline

January 15, 2027

deadlines recur around January each year

Estimated odds

1 in 11

Solyo estimate, not a published rate

Application effort

~20 hrs

about $283 of expected value per hour

Act Six sends cadres of urban and community leaders to partner colleges together on a full-tuition, full-need scholarship, with the explicit expectation that scholars will return and serve their home communities. Like Posse it is a cohort programme rather than a cheque: students train together for months before they ever arrive on campus, then continue as a group through the degree. It runs in a specific set of cities in the Pacific Northwest, the upper Midwest and Indiana, and each city feeds a defined group of partner colleges. Selection is a multi-stage process over roughly three months that weighs leadership and community commitment at least as heavily as grades.

How hard is the Act Six Leadership Scholarship to win?

Real competition, but not a lottery. The time cost is low enough relative to the award that a qualified student comes out ahead by applying.

Estimated odds: roughly 1 in 11 applicants
Modelled applicant field: ~1,000 students
Awards each cycle: 117
Payoff per hour of work: $283 / hr

What drives the odds here

Odds on a scholarship are mostly a question of how many students can enter. Each rule below changes the size of that field.

Fewer rivalsLimited to 5 states
Fewer rivalsAn essay is required, which filters out casual applicants
Fewer rivalsRecommendation letters are required, a step many applicants skip
Fewer rivalsAn official transcript is required
Fewer rivalsOpen to a single grade level only
More rivalsA large award draws far more applicants

How Solyo estimates this: We model the applicant field from how narrow the eligibility rules are, then divide the awards available by that field. Requirements such as essays and recommendation letters improve a serious applicant’s odds, because most browsers never complete them. These are estimates derived from each award's published structure, not reported acceptance rates, which almost no scholarship provider discloses. Treat them as a way to rank where the hours go, not as a guarantee.

Who can apply for the Act Six Leadership Scholarship?

These are the eligibility rules Solyo verified against the official award page, translated into plain English. Your student must meet each one.

Must be a resident of Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Illinois, or Indiana
Open to high school seniors

Confirm these before applying

Runs in a defined set of cities, currently including Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Yakima Valley, Portland, Salem, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Chicago and Indianapolis. Living in the state is not enough; confirm your city participates.
You must enrol at one of the Act Six partner colleges, and each city feeds a different set of them.

Good to know

Selection runs over roughly three months in multiple stages, so plan for a sustained commitment rather than a single application.
The programme is built around returning to serve your home community, and applications are read with that expectation in mind.

What the application takes

Essay required.
2 letters of recommendation. Ask teachers or counselors early; good letters take time.
Transcript required. Request it from the school registrar ahead of the deadline.

Deadline and application cycle

The current deadline is January 15, 2027. This award runs on an annual cycle, with deadlines around January 15 each year. Timing differs by city and partner college. Check your city's Act Six page in the early autumn of senior year.

Applications close: January 15, 2027

Apply on the official site →Free to apply. Legitimate scholarships never charge a fee.

Does your student actually qualify?

See if your student qualifies in 30 seconds. Solyo checks 20+ criteria against their real profile: GPA, state, grade level, intended major, and more, across every award in this directory at once.

Match my student to scholarships →

Common questions about the Act Six Leadership Scholarship

How much is the Act Six Leadership Scholarship worth?

The Act Six Leadership Scholarship awards full tuition and full demonstrated need at a partner college, renewable for four years and is renewable in later years. 117 awards are made each cycle.

When is the Act Six Leadership Scholarship deadline?

Who is eligible for the Act Six Leadership Scholarship?

Key requirements: Must be a resident of Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Illinois, or Indiana; Open to high school seniors.

Does the Act Six Leadership Scholarship require an essay?

Yes. The application requires an essay, 2 recommendations, and a transcript. Expect to spend about 20 hours on it.

How hard is it to win the Act Six Leadership Scholarship?

Solyo estimates the odds at roughly 1 in 11 applicants, against a modelled field of ~1,000 students. The pool stays that size because limited to 5 states and an essay is required, which filters out casual applicants. At 20 hrs of work, that is about $283 of expected value per hour. This is an estimate from award structure, not a published acceptance rate.

Is the Act Six Leadership Scholarship free to apply?

Yes. The Act Six Leadership Scholarship is free to apply. Legitimate scholarships never charge an application fee, and Solyo verifies every listed award against its official page.

More merit-based scholarships

Lists this award appears on

Award details are curated by Solyo and verified against the official scholarship page. Deadlines and requirements can change between cycles, so always confirm on the provider's site before applying.