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For Students

New Applicant Information

2026-2027 CSF Application closed April 30, 2026.
2027-2028 CSF Application will become available January 2027.
Youu can save and edit your application up to the point you submit it.

Click here to create your account and then Start, Edit and submit your application.

All new Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation (CSF) applicants must create an account and complete the following by the deadline of Thursday, April 30, 2026:

  1. CSF Universal Application
  2. Upload the following documents:
    • Transcript up to first semester of the current academic year (does not need to be official transcript)
    • Student resume
    • 2026-2027 FAFSA Summary (resulting from filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid at https://fafsa.gov) that shows your Student Aid Index (SAI)
    • 2026-2027 Financial Aid Award Letter* (not the acceptance letter) from the university/college attending; this document lists all the financial aid offered, including loans
  3. Based on eligibility for some scholarships, you may be asked to complete a personal statement for consideration

SAMPLE FINANCIAL AID AWARD LETTERS:

*If you are an existing college sophomore, junior or senior, you may upload the 2025-2026 Financial Aid Award Letter

Students can also login to their portal at any time using the link at the top of the CSF website.

NOTE: Students awarded scholarships for 2026-27 already by CSF cannot be awarded addition funds with a new application.

Renewal Applicant Information

Renewing students complete a Follow-Up Form and upload their 2025-2026 grades (either official or unofficial transcript).

Click here to submit your follow-UP form once your spring 2026 grades are available.

Follow-Up Forms are due by June 15, 2026.

Most, but not all, Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation (CSF) scholarships are renewable. Students that have a renewable scholarship will be assigned an annual Follow-Up Form to complete for renewal.

Current scholarship recipients wishing to renew their scholarships for the 2026-2027 academic year must upload 2025-2026 academic year grades and scholarship donor thank you notes by the deadline of Thursday, June 15, 2026. 

While several years of forms may show in your portal, only complete and submit the Follow-Up Form that corresponds with renewing your scholarship(s) for the upcoming school year. 

Failure to complete the renewal process by the deadline will result in the forfeiture of your scholarship.

If you have an extenuating situation preventing you from meeting the deadline, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to contact the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation BEFORE the deadline to discuss whether or not CSF can make an exception for you. 

Conversations between you and CSF are confidential. We understand that things happen in our lives that derail plans. Please reach out to us with changes to your enrollment. If you do not let us know of such changes, it will be assumed that your scholarship is no longer needed.

Students can also login to their portal at any time using the link at the top of the CSF website.

Regarding Your Email

Communication from the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation (CSF) is conducted by email, so please do NOT use your high school email address, which will usually expire following graduation. Please use an email address that you check regularly and review your spam and junk folders throughout the application and renewal processes to ensure you receive our emails.

Please contact CSF by e-mail at info@cincinnatischolarshipfoundation.org or by phone at (513) 345-6701 if you have any questions regarding the application process.

Award Selection & Payment Process

The Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation awards over 140 scholarships to applicants from the Greater Cincinnati region (OH: Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties; IN: Dearborn County; KY: Boone, Campbell and Kenton Counties) who have financial need (based on the FAFSA and award letter) and are attending full-time to obtain their workforce certificate, associate degree, or bachelor’s degree. Limited awards are available for post-baccalaureate  and graduate programs.

CSF does not provide scholarships to for-profit educational institutions. Additionally, CSF reserves the discretion to withhold scholarships from non-profit educational institutions if it determines that the institution does not prioritize the best interests of its students in its mission and service delivery.

The CSF Scholarship Selection Committee will begin reviewing applications the first week in June, finishing the process by July. You can check your dashboard to see what scholarships you are being considered for and what you have been awarded during that time.

CSF will send you an email letting you know if you have been awarded with instructions to accept the scholarship.  

When you see your award on your dashboard you will see the TOTAL amount of your scholarship, not the annual amount of the scholarship. If you are an incoming freshman and you see you have been awarded $8,000, that means you will receive $1,000 per semester for 8 semesters.

The Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation is here because of YOU! Students are at the heart of everything we do. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our team at info@cincinnatischolarshipfoundation.org or by phone at (513) 345-6701 with any questions or concerns.

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