DC Mayor's Scholars Undergraduate Program
Offered by DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) · Free to apply
The District's last-dollar scholarship for residents pursuing a first associate or bachelor's degree at an area college or university. It sits alongside DCTAG rather than replacing it, and because it is last-dollar it fills what remains after other aid. Residency is the gate that catches people: you must have been a District resident for the 12 months immediately preceding enrolment in your first year of college, evidenced through a documented checklist rather than a simple declaration. Selection weighs demonstrated financial need alongside satisfactory academic promise, and applications run through OSSE's Application for Postsecondary Studies portal. Awards do not roll over automatically, so every applicant and every existing recipient reapplies each year.
How hard is the DC Mayor's Scholars Undergraduate Program to win?
A large applicant pool chases this award. Apply if the student is a genuinely strong fit, but build the plan around better-odds awards first.
- Estimated odds
- roughly 1 in 2,000 applicants
- Modelled applicant field
- ~2,500 students
- Payoff per hour of work
- $1 / 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 rivalsOpen only to District of Columbia residents
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 DC Mayor's Scholars Undergraduate Program?
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 District of Columbia
- Open to high school seniors, current college students, transfer students, and adult learners
- Must have been a resident of the District of Columbia for the 12 months immediately preceding enrolment in your first year of college
- Must be seeking your first associate degree or first bachelor’s degree
- Must enrol, or currently be enrolled, at an approved college or university
- Selection is based on demonstrated financial need and satisfactory academic promise
- Residency, academic, financial need and enrolment requirements each map to a document you must upload in the Application for Postsecondary Studies (APS)
- You must reapply every year; awards are not carried forward automatically
What the application takes
No essay, recommendation letters, or transcript are required. This is one of the lighter applications in the directory.
Deadline and application cycle
The current deadline is August 18, 2026. This award runs on an annual cycle, with deadlines around August 18 each year. Confirm the current cycle deadline with OSSE before relying on it. Recent cycles have closed in mid-August, and the document checklist takes real time to assemble, so start early.
- FAFSA opens for the next school year
- October 1, 2025
- Application deadline (confirm with OSSE)
- August 18, 2026
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.
Common questions about the DC Mayor's Scholars Undergraduate Program
How much is the DC Mayor's Scholars Undergraduate Program worth?
The DC Mayor's Scholars Undergraduate Program awards last-dollar award toward a first associate or bachelor’s degree and is renewable in later years.
When is the DC Mayor's Scholars Undergraduate Program deadline?
The current deadline is August 18, 2026. This award runs on an annual cycle, with deadlines around August 18 each year. Confirm the current cycle deadline with OSSE before relying on it. Recent cycles have closed in mid-August, and the document checklist takes real time to assemble, so start early.
Who is eligible for the DC Mayor's Scholars Undergraduate Program?
Key requirements: Must be a resident of District of Columbia; Open to high school seniors, current college students, transfer students, and adult learners.
Does the DC Mayor's Scholars Undergraduate Program require an essay?
No essay is required. The application is light on requirements. Expect to spend about 2.5 hours on it.
How hard is it to win the DC Mayor's Scholars Undergraduate Program?
Solyo estimates the odds at roughly 1 in 2,000 applicants, against a modelled field of ~2,500 students. The pool stays that size because open only to District of Columbia residents. At 2.5 hrs of work, that is about $1 of expected value per hour. This is an estimate from award structure, not a published acceptance rate.
Is the DC Mayor's Scholars Undergraduate Program free to apply?
Yes. The DC Mayor's Scholars Undergraduate Program is free to apply. Legitimate scholarships never charge an application fee, and Solyo verifies every listed award against its official page.
More state grants & programs
- 802 Opportunity GrantFull tuition and the $100 administrative fee at CCV (last-dollar)
- Access Missouri Financial Assistance ProgramVaries by SAI and school type per statutory table (amounts prorated if funding is short)
- Alabama Student Grant ProgramUp to $3,000/yr ($1,500 per semester; actual amount depends on state funding)
- Alaska Education Grant$500-$4,000/yr based on need and enrollment level
- Alaska Performance Scholarship$3,500-$7,000/yr depending on tier
- Arizona Promise ProgramFull tuition & mandatory fees at Arizona public universities (last-dollar)
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.