Scholarship Application Process

To be eligible for a scholarship grant, applicants must have a custodial parent, stepparent, or guardian who has been killed or seriously injured as a result of a work-related accident that meets the criteria of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act and that has resulted in demonstrated financial need. Applicants must also meet the following requirements:

1. Applicants must be enrolled in or planning to enroll in a postsecondary (post high school) degree or certificate-granting education – college/university, trade/vocational school – and will pursue an undergraduate degree, license or certification as a full-time or part-time student.
2. Applicants must have achieved a high school diploma or GED by the time of the first disbursement of the scholarship award. However, High School Seniors enrolled in dual college coursework will be considered for eligibility on a case-by-case basis.
3. Applicants must be no older than age 25 at the time the scholarship is awarded.
4. Applicants may not have already attained a bachelor’s degree.
5. Applicants in graduate level programs are ineligible.
6. Applicants are eligible for the equivalent of up to 10 traditional (fall/spring) semesters of scholarship award.

We will need the following information from all applicants by the June 15 deadline:

• Your overall application for a Kids’ Chance of PA Scholarship – submitted online. You will be provided with a login and password to access your online application at any point.
• You must obtain from your parents their documentation showing proof of their compensable injury or death. You must upload and submit this as part of your online application. Examples of acceptable PA Bureau Documents include: Notice of Compensable Payable (LIBC 495), Agreement for Compensation for disability or permanent injury (LIBC 336), Agreement for Compensation for Death (LIBC 338), Compromise and Release Agreement (LIBC755), and Judge’s Decision awarding compensation benefits. NEW – you have the option to grant KCPA permission to access your workers’ compensation documentation from the PA Bureau of Workers’ Compensation if you don’t have the forms readily available.
• Your transcript showing your grades up to and including Spring 2026.

We will need the following financial aid information from applicants by the deadlines noted below. Please note carefully – these deadlines for the applicant’s financial aid documentation from their college, university, or institution differ between high school applicants and applicants who have already been enrolled in college or a post-high school program:

• If you are a HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR, you must upload and submit the following two pieces of financial aid information before the June 15 deadline, along with your online scholarship application and your parent’s workers comp documentation.
  • Your 2026-27 FAFSA Submission Summary.
  • Your finalized 2026-27 Financial Aid Award/Decision Letter.
• If you are a COLLEGE STUDENT ALREADY ENROLLED IN COLLEGE OR A POST-HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM, you must submit the following two pieces of financial aid information no later than August 1, after submitting your online scholarship application by June 15.
  • Your 2026-27 FAFSA Submission Summary.
  • Your Fall 2026 Student Account Statement/bill.

All documents must be official and uploaded in their entirety in PDF or JPEG format. All documentation must pertain to the 2026-27 academic school year and must contain the applicant’s name as well as their college or university name or, preferably, logo. Partial photographs of documentation or recreated documentation are unacceptable. All documents can be uploaded to the scholarship portal as they become available to you and your family, and the final deadline for all documentation is June 15, 2026.

If all requested application information and documentation is not received by Kics’ Chance of PA by the noted deadlines, your apoplication will be ineligible for review by the Kids’ Chance of PA Scholarship Committee, and you will not be eligible for a KCPA scholarship.

Scholarship recipients will be notified no later than early September, 2026.

If you have any questions, please contact Kathy at info@kidschanceofpa.org.

The number and amount of scholarship grants awarded by Kids’ Chance of PA each year is dependent upon the number and eligibility of students who apply and available funds.

Kids’ Chance of PA also accesses matching educational grants for Kids’ Chance of PA scholarship recipients with remaining unmet financial need through our partnership with PATH, a program of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) and American Educational Services. The future generosity of Kids’ Chance of PA donors will allow us to continue to leverage additional student grants through PATH.

Top applicants demonstrating both exceptional academic promise and significant financial need, may benefit from special scholarship awards provided by our Scholar Program Sponsors.