Eligibility Requirements and FAQs

Current high school seniors or students currently on a gap year program are eligible to apply for the Handeli First-Year Student Scholarship. Current college undergraduates (current freshmen, sophomores, or juniors) are eligible to apply for the Hillel Campus Leadership Award.

Yes, in order to be considered for a Hillel International scholarship, applicants must identify as Jewish. Applicants who have at least one Jewish grandparent or who have formally converted to Judaism will be considered.

Absolutely! All current Jewish college freshmen, sophomores, and juniors attending four-year U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities are eligible.

Applicants must attend or be preparing to attend an accredited four-year college or university in the U.S. or Canada.

Yes! All students who are attending or preparing to attend four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada are eligible to apply.

Unfortunately, immediate family members of Hillel officers, directors, employees, and major contributors ($5,000+) are ineligible to receive these awards.

Yes, applicants must be students in good standing with their current academic institution, and must have a GPA of 2.5 or above.

No. Both the Handeli First-Year Student Scholarship and the Hillel Campus Leadership Award are merit-based awards.

Applicants will be asked to provide the names and contact information of two references, but a letter of recommendation is not needed. References may include professors, teachers, coaches, advisors, volunteer leaders, internship supervisors, and other mentors. Please do not include friends, parents, or relatives.

Great question! Please review our scholarship timeline below:

• November: Hillel International Scholarship application opens.
• March 15: Hillel International Scholarship Program application deadline.
• March 15 - May 1: All applicants are reviewed by the scholarship committee.
• May 1: Award recipients are chosen and recipients announced.

Yes! All applicants can start their applications and save their progress. Simply hit 'Save my progress and resume later' within the application, and set a password to resume your application at a later date.

To apply for the Handeli First-Year Student Scholarship visit hillel.org/Handeli-Scholarship.

To apply for the Hillel Campus Leadership Award visit hillel.org/CampusAward.

The application deadline for both Hillel International Scholarships is March 15, 2021 at 11:59pm EDT. This is a firm deadline, and applications will not be accepted after this date.

We're so glad you asked! Our Jewish Scholarships Portal allows you to search from more than 600 college scholarships across the U.S. & Canada.