The Gates Scholarship
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Closed for the 2026 cycle
The September 15, 2026 deadline has passed. This scholarship usually runs every year. Based on the last deadline, the next one is expected around September 2027. Check Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s site for the new dates before you plan around them.
- Award
- VariesRenewable
- Last deadline
- September 15, 2026Next expected around September 2027
- Requirements
- No essay · Financial need · Merit-based
Covers the full cost of attendance not already met by other financial aid, including tuition, fees, books, housing and food.
Who can apply
High school seniors who are Pell-eligible, U.S. citizens or permanent residents, with a minimum cumulative weighted GPA of 3.3, enrolling full time in a four-year degree programme at an accredited nonprofit U.S. college.
Applications are made directly with the provider. We never collect your application, never charge for one, and are not involved in selection.
Where this came from
Re-read from thegatesscholarship.org on 14 September 2026: the application is still open with a 15 September 2026 deadline. First read/scholarship on 11 September 2026. No fixed award amount is published: the award is the gap remaining after other aid.
Last checked September 14, 2026. Amounts and deadlines change every cycle, so confirm both with the provider before you rely on them.
Before you apply anywhere
- A legitimate scholarship never charges an application fee. If one does, it is not a scholarship.
- Nobody can guarantee you will win one. A guarantee is the clearest single sign of a scam.
- You should not need a bank account number or a Social Security number to apply. Those come later, from the college, if you win.
- Apply on the provider’s own site rather than through a middleman offering to do it for you.