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MPOWER Global Citizen Scholarship

Offered by MPOWER Financing · Free to apply

MPOWER Financing is a lender that specializes in funding international students, and it created this scholarship to ease the financing gap those students face. The program looks for applicants with the makings of future scientists, entrepreneurs, leaders, and change-makers. MPOWER was founded in 2014 by Manu Smadja and Mike Davis, two former international students who set out to remove the financial obstacles they had faced themselves. The company operates as a Public Benefit Corporation and bases its lending decisions on a student's future potential rather than their financial past. International students, DACA recipients, and permanent residents headed to a US or Canadian university can enter this essay competition, which pays one winner $8,000 and two runners-up $2,000 and $1,000. The work is light by scholarship standards: an online form plus an essay of under 500 words on how an international education will let the writer make an impact locally or globally, scored on clarity of thought, goals, and written English. Eligibility is narrow in one respect, since the school must be one MPOWER already works with, and visa holders need the study visa stamped in the passport by the closing date. No opening date is published; entries close December 31 at 11:59 p.m. ET and winners are contacted within roughly two months. Borrowing from MPOWER is not required.

Other deadlines near this one

How hard is the MPOWER Global Citizen Scholarship 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: ~14,000 students
Awards each cycle: 3
Payoff per hour of work: $2 / 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.

More rivalsOpen nationwide, so the field is large
Fewer rivalsAn essay is required, which filters out casual 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 MPOWER Global Citizen Scholarship?

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

Open to high school seniors and current college students
Open to international students, DACA/Dreamer students, permanent residents (green card), or students on other visas

Confirm these before applying

Must be admitted to or enrolled full-time in a degree program at a US or Canadian school that MPOWER supports (list on their site)
Visa holders must have the study visa stamped in their passport by the application closing date

Good to know

US citizens studying in the US, and Canadian citizens studying in Canada, are not eligible
No requirement to be an MPOWER borrower to apply
Graduate students are eligible

Personalized matching

Does your student actually qualify?

Not sure your student clears every rule above? Solyo checks 20+ criteria against their real profile: GPA, state, grade level, intended major, and more, across every award in this directory at once.

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What the application takes

Essay required. The prompt centers on personal leadership.

Deadline and application cycle

The current deadline is December 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET. This award runs on an annual cycle, with deadlines around December 31 each year.

Entries close: December 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET
Winners notified: Within about eight weeks of the close

Remind me before Dec 31 Apply on the official site

Free to apply. Legitimate scholarships never charge a fee. We use your student's information only to build their plan.

Common questions about the MPOWER Global Citizen Scholarship

How much is the MPOWER Global Citizen Scholarship worth?

There are three awards each cycle: one $8,000 grand prize, one $2,000 scholarship for the first runner-up, and one $1,000 scholarship for the second runner-up. The fine print families should know: the money never touches your bank account. MPOWER pays the prize directly to your college or university to be applied to tuition, fees, or expenses, and only after you clear eligibility verification and return a signed affidavit and release. Winners are also on the hook for any taxes, and international winners may face US or Canadian withholding paperwork such as a W-9 or its Canadian equivalent. Prizes cannot be sold or transferred to anyone else.

When is the MPOWER Global Citizen Scholarship deadline?

11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 31, 2026 for the current cycle. Two timing traps hide in the terms. First, your visa: it is not enough to have applied for one, your visa must be stamped in your passport by the closing date of the competition. Second, notification: MPOWER's FAQ says winners are notified within 8 weeks of the deadline, while its own Terms and Conditions promise one month, so plan for the longer window and watch your email, phone, and mail, because a winner who misses the response window forfeits to an alternate. You get exactly one entry, so there is no advantage to rushing a weak essay in early; there is also no stated early-bird benefit.

Who is eligible for the MPOWER Global Citizen Scholarship?

International and DACA students who are accepted at, or enrolled in, a full-time degree program at a US or Canadian school MPOWER supports. For US study that means a green card holder, a DACA recipient, or a student with a valid US study visa; for Canada, a permanent resident or a valid study permit holder. The exclusion that surprises people: US citizens studying in the US and Canadian citizens studying in Canada are not eligible, because MPOWER built this award specifically for the students its loans serve. The page never restricts degree level, only that the program be a full-time degree, so graduate students are not excluded by the published criteria. MPOWER employees and their households are barred.

Does the MPOWER Global Citizen Scholarship require an essay?

Yes, and the essay is the whole contest: MPOWER states winners are selected based solely on the essay submission. It must be written in English and is scored on three published criteria: clarity of thought, compelling goals and vision, and communication quality; a clear connection between your intended field of study and your goals; and your potential as a scientist, entrepreneur, leader, or change-maker. Note what is absent: no GPA cutoff, no recommendation letters, no activity list. One sobering clause before you polish that draft: entries become MPOWER's property, and entering grants permission to use your name, university, country, and essay in its marketing worldwide, without extra compensation.

Is the MPOWER Global Citizen Scholarship free to apply?

Yes. There is no application fee, the terms state no purchase is necessary, and, the part families most often get wrong, you do not need to be an MPOWER borrower or even a loan applicant to enter. The scholarship page says this three separate times, so apply even if you would never take their loan. The actual price of admission is data: submitting an entry means agreeing that MPOWER may email you about products and services it thinks may interest you, and your essay and identifying details can be used in its marketing. Also note only the student may complete the form; a parent filling it out on a student's behalf voids the entry, as does any attempt at multiple entries.

How hard is it to win the MPOWER Global Citizen Scholarship?

Only three students win per cycle, and MPOWER does not publish applicant counts, so exact odds are unknowable; with a global eligible pool, treat it as a long shot worth one good essay. What the process rewards is knowable: MPOWER screens all valid entries against its criteria, then a panel of three judges picks winners from the finalists, judging solely on the essay. Published winner profiles show the flavor that lands: recent honorees came from Mexico, Germany, and Nigeria, studying at Harvard, the University of Central Florida, and Georgetown, writing about concrete impact in fields like computer science and security studies. MPOWER may also interview finalists or request more information before deciding.

How do I know if my school is on MPOWER's supported list?

Check MPOWER's "Schools We Support" page before you spend an evening on the essay, because eligibility requires being accepted at or enrolled in a full-time degree program at a US or Canadian school MPOWER supports, and the scholarship page links directly to that list. The list is a searchable tool on mpowerfinancing.com/get-a-loan/schools-we-support, described as MPOWER's network of schools. Two cautions: the network exists to serve MPOWER's loan business, so it skews toward institutions international students commonly attend, and MPOWER's lending status can shift (its site currently notes it has reached funding capacity for new loans in 2026), so verify your school appears at the time you apply rather than relying on an old screenshot.

More identity & background

Lists this award appears on

Scholarships With December Deadlines

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.