Scholarships

College scholarships for highly motivated students through two distinct programs
Click on the questions below for answers to frequently asked questions about the Daniels Scholarship Program application process.

If you have additional questions, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

General Questions and Getting Started

1. What is the timeline of the application?
Oct-Early December: Application period open, Jan: Finalists announced, Feb-early Mar: Finalists interviewed, Late March: Daniels Scholars announced

Application Period: October 1- Sunday, November 15, 2020 | Deadline: 4:00 pm MST

3. Which email address should I use to register for the application?
You should use an email address of your own that you will have access to for the foreseeable future. We will use this email to communicate deadlines and progress updates to you during the application process and beyond. If you have signed up with a parent's email address or a high school email address to which you will lose access, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a better email address, so we can update it. We recommend you check your email at least twice a week during the application period. If we ask you for a new document or additional information, a quick turnaround will often be required. If you miss the deadline, your application may not be considered.
4. I have forgotten my login information. How can I retrieve it?
  • Please do not create a new account if you are having trouble getting logged in. If you are found to have multiple accounts, you may be deemed ineligible.
  • If you do not remember which email address you signed up with, please check your inboxes for the registration confirmation email. You can also contact us at 1.877.441.3139 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we can look up which email we have on file for you.
  • If you cannot remember your password, please click the "Forgot Password" link just below the log in area. This will send reset instructions to the email you registered with.
  • If you cannot remember your answer to the security question, please contact us at 1.877.441.3139 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we can verify your answer.
5. When do I need to complete my FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)?
The Daniels Fund will ask applicants to upload a copy of their Student Aid Report (SAR) in December, if necessary for additional financial verification. The SAR is generated by completing the FAFSA. We recommend that all applicants complete the 2021-2022 FAFSA as soon as possible after it opens on October 1. According to the FAFSA website, "it typically takes 3-5 days to process a [FAFSA] that was submitted online using FAFSA on the Web." If you provide an email address you will receive a link to your SAR via email. It can take much longer if you submit a hard copy of your FAFSA and/or request to receive your SAR by mail.
6. How do I complete my FAFSA?
You can find full details about this process and fill it out at: https://FAFSA.ed.gov
7. Who do I contact if I'm having trouble with my FAFSA?
The Daniels Fund does not provide assistance or advice on how to complete the FAFSA. Please contact FAFSA directly by calling 1.800.4FED.AID (1.800.433.3243) or visiting their help website at https://studentaidhelp.ed.gov/.
8. When do I need to take the SAT/ACT?
Eligible test scores from either the SAT or ACT are required for the application. Applicants must take the SAT or the ACT early enough to receive scores in time to meet our application deadline.
9. What if I have been unable to take the SAT/ACT in time for your application deadline due to COVID-19?
If the COVID-19 pandemic has made it impossible for you to take the SAT/ACT tests in time to receive scores for our application, you are still eligible to apply if you have a 3.3 unweighted GPA or higher at the time of application.

If you have taken the SAT/ACT, we will maintain a 3.0 unweighted GPA requirement along with the test score requirements that are outlined in the Eligibility Section of our website, which you can see by clicking here and reviewing the Eligibility section.

Eligibility Questions

1. What are the eligibility requirements for the Daniels Scholarship Program?
You can review our eligibility requirements in the Eligibility section at scholarship overview page.
2. Is there a GPA minimum to be eligible for the scholarship?
To be eligibile for the Daniels Scholarship Program, applicants must have a 3.0 high school Grade Point Average at the conclusion of their junior year on an unweighted 4.0 scale.

If the COVID-19 pandemic has made it impossible for you to take the SAT/ACT tests in time to receive scores for our application, you are still eligible to apply without standardized test scores, but you must have a 3.3 unweighted GPA or higher at the time of application.

You can review our eligibility requirements in the Eligibility section on the scholarship overview page.
3. Is there flexibility with the GPA or test score minimums?
To be fair, we need to maintain the same minimum eligibility requirements for all applicants. We are unable to offer flexibility or rounding options for GPA or test scores minimums.

If the COVID-19 pandemic has made it impossible for you to take the SAT/ACT tests in time to receive scores for our application, you are still eligible to apply if you have a 3.3 unweighted GPA or higher at the time of application.
4. What if my high school transcript only has a weighted GPA?
Please connect with your school counselor's or registrar's office and ask them to calculate your unweighted GPA. Documentation from your school, on school letterhead, explaining this calculation will need to be uploaded with your transcript.
5. My parents are residents of different states from each other or from me. Does that affect my eligibility?
To be eligible, the applicant must be a legal resident of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, or Wyoming and must also be graduating from a high school in one of those four states. Residency of parents or legal guardians does not affect eligibility.
6. My parents are not citizens of the United States. Does that affect my eligibility?
To be eligible, the applicant must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. Residency of parents or legal guardians does not affect eligibility.
7. I have made an error on the Eligibility Questionnaire, but have already submitted it. What should I do?
If you were deemed eligible to proceed to the application, continue with your application, but please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. explaining your error.

If you were deemed ineligible, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with details. We will review the circumstances and let you know if there is a change in your eligibility based on the new information. Do not create a new account and take the Eligibility Questionnaire again — this may make both applications ineligible.
8. Why didn't I pass the Eligibility Questionnaire?
Upon submitting your information, you should have been directed to a page, and received an email explaining why you are not eligible. You can review our eligibility requirements in the Eligibility section at DanielsFund.org/Scholarships.

If you have more specific questions, or believe you made an error in completing your Eligibility Questionnaire, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Recommendation Questions

1. What is the difference between a reference and a recommender?
You will need one recommender and one reference to complete your application. Your recommender will need to register for a recommender account and complete and submit a recommendation for you through the application website. They will also provide their contact information and answer a series of questions about you.

Your reference does not need to submit anything to Daniels Fund or take any action associated with your application. You will provide their contact information and we may reach out to them during the application review period if we have any questions for them. Not all references will be contacted.
2. How does my recommender submit their letter of recommendation?
Within your application, you will designate a recommender and provide us with their email address. Once you save your recommender information, they will receive an email with instructions on how to create a recommender account, log in, and complete a recommendation of you. It is your responsibility to ensure that your recommender submits your recommendation by the application deadline.

Emailed, mailed, or faxed recommendations will not be accepted — they must submit through the application system.
3. What do I do if my recommender hasn't received their notification email?
At any time, you can have the email re-sent to your recommender by going to the recommender page of the application and clicking the Resend Recommender Email button. There is also an invitation code on the Add a Recommender page which you can share with your recommender. This code will allow them to access the recommendation page for your application.

Application Questions

1. How long do I have to complete the application?
The application is open between October 1, 2020 and Sunday, November 15, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. MST. Once you start the application, you can save your progress and resume at a later time. You may take as long as you need before the deadline to complete and submit your application. There is no advantage to submitting early. However, as it gets closer to the deadline, there is a higher volume of requests for assistance, and Daniels Fund staff may have less capacity to assist you quickly with any issues or questions.

After submitting, you may go back into your application, make changes, and resubmit, at any time before the deadline.

The application website will automatically log you out after four hours of inactivity in a session.
2. How do I ensure my application answers are being saved?
You should save your work often by clicking the Save button to avoid any loss of data. A good practice is to work on your short answer answers in a Word document or other program, save them, and then copy and paste your answers into the application.

The application website will automatically log you out after four hours of inactivity in a session.

Once you complete your application, you will be able to download a PDF of your full application containing all of your answers.
3. How do I check the status of my application?
status tab

You can review the status of your application by visiting the Status tab within the application.

4. What restrictions are there on file uploads?
The application website will allow documents up to 200 MB to be uploaded. You may upload Word documents, PDFs, and standard image file formats.
5. I am not comfortable uploading sensitive personal or financial information. What options do I have?
The documents we request are required in order to apply for the scholarship. However, you may black out social security numbers on any document you upload, as we do not collect or review those numbers. Do not black out names or financial figures as those are needed for our eligibility review. Please read our Privacy Policy for more information.
6. How do I submit my test scores to the Daniels Fund?
You will upload all requested documents through the application website. The Daniels Fund does not have a 6-digit organization code for you to enter on your ACT or SAT test to have scores sent electronically. We do not accept scores by any other method other than uploaded through the application website.
7. What if I do not have eligible scores in all sections of my ACT or SAT yet?
You must have eligible scores in every section of your ACT or SAT from one test date by the application deadline to be eligible to apply. We do not accept late scores or scores you believe you can achieve next time, nor do we accept super-scoring. The scores you enter into your application must exactly match the score sheet you upload.

For full details on the score requirements, you can review our eligibility requirements in the Eligibility section at scholarship overview page.
8. What is super scoring?
Super scoring is when you take the highest scores from different sections of tests taken on multiple days to compile the highest scores you've received. We do not allow this — all scores must come from one individual test date.
9. Can I attend a school that I didn't list on my application?
If selected as a Daniels Scholar, you will be able use the scholarship at any two or four-year nonprofit accredited college or university in the United States. You must include any college or university that you have applied to, or plan to apply to, on your Daniels Scholarship Program application in the Colleges and Universities section. Any additional schools not listed on your application may be added to your list by emailing the school names to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. up until the time of finalist interviews. If you are selected as a scholarship finalist, you will also have an opportunity to update your list of schools at your finalist interview. After that time, you will not be able to add schools to your list.

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