Apply for $20,000 Legion scholarship

The American Legion Boys State and Auxiliary Girls State programs will soon get underway, and a scholarship is available for many of the youth who participate in either program.

The Samsung American Legion Scholarship is available for high school juniors who participate in the current session of Boys State or Girls State and are direct descendants (or legally adopted children) of wartime veterans eligible for American Legion membership. The Samsung scholarship awards up to $20,000 for undergraduate studies (e.g.,room and board, tuition and books), and each applicant is selected according to his or her involvement in school and community activities, academic record and financial need.

Students who qualify for and are interested in the Samsung scholarship can download an application online here. Applications are submitted to program staff upon arrival to Boys State or Girls State. Please note that the scholarship is restricted to high school juniors participating in the current session of Boys State or Girls State; youth who participated in either program the previous year cannot reapply for the scholarship.

A Boy State and Girls State participant from each state is selected as a finalist for The American Legion Samsung Scholarship. During The American Legion’s Fall Meetings in October, the Samsung American Legion National Selection Committee will select and award nine finalists with a $20,000 Samsung scholarship; the 89 remaining finalists will receive a $1,100 scholarship. All scholarship recipients will be notified of their award by a letter in late October.

For the past 18 years, the Samsung American Legion Scholarship has awarded more than $4.6 million in grants, through interest earned on the fund’s principal, to nearly 1,700 eligible applicants.