The Scholarship
Paul Tarell Family Scholarship
A $1,500 annual award supporting students who have turned adversity into the resolve to keep learning.
The award
$1,500, awarded annually as a one-time award. The funds go toward tuition, books, supplies, or other education-related expenses. This is a merit-based award decided on the quality of your essay and overall application — not on financial need.
Applications open
October 1, 2026
Award
$1,500
Deadline
January 29, 2027
Announcement
February 26, 2027
Eligibility
- A story of resilience. This award is for students who have carried something heavy — a health setback, a hard season at home, money that ran short — and stayed pointed at their education anyway.
- U.S. student. You are a United States citizen or permanent resident.
- Enrolled in school. You are enrolled in an accredited U.S. institution — high school (grades 9–12), an undergraduate program, or a graduate program. High school seniors already accepted to college are welcome to apply.
- Any level. Open from incoming college freshmen through students pursuing advanced degrees.
There is no minimum GPA, and there is no most-dramatic-story test. Adversity takes many forms, and we read each one on its own terms.
The essay prompt
What is the most difficult challenge you have overcome, and how do you think it has shaped who you are today?
Write 600–700 words — about two typed pages. The full guide to approaching it lives on the How to Apply & Write Your Essay page.
How applications are read
- Honesty. One real moment, told plainly, lands harder than a summary of a hard year.
- Reflection. We read most closely for what the challenge changed in you — how you think, what you decided to do differently, who you became.
- Academic standing. No strict cutoff; your record gives context for your commitment to your studies.
Originality notice
Every essay must be original and written by you. Work generated by AI, or copied from somewhere else, will be disqualified. The point of this award is to hear your story in your own words — there is no shortcut to that, and you do not need one.
Once the recipient is selected and notified, we coordinate with the school’s financial aid or bursar’s office to apply the $1,500 toward tuition, fees, or other verified educational expenses.
Paul also funds the Paul Tarell Eagle Scout Scholarship.