Foothill College - Experience Foothill Scholarship for the Spring 2026 Costa Rica Program

The Foothill Global Experiential Learning Office is offering three $5,000 scholarships in the form of a program fee reduction (no direct payment to the student) for students accepted into the Costa Rica program. The purpose of this funding is to support students who have been traditionally underrepresented in study abroad, and to support the diversification of our Global Experiential Learning programs into the future.

Eligibility: We welcome applications from Costa Rica program applicants who are current Foothill students, and who have completed a 2025-2026 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and still have a funding gap between their financial aid award and the study abroad cost of attendance.

In order to receive the award, applicants must have submitted a Costa Rica program application by the scholarship application deadline. Scholarship award will be contingent upon acceptance into the program. Students who apply for an Experience Foothill scholarship but are not awarded this scholarship may request to have their program fees paid up through October 31, 2025 refunded if they end up withdrawing from the program due to financial hardship.

Applicant must demonstrate financial need. Applicant must file a current academic year’s financial aid application (the FAFSA at www.fafsa.gov for U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens, or the California Dream Act Application at https://dream.csac.ca.gov for undocumented students who qualify for AB540 status) at least one week prior to the scholarship application deadline by 4:00pm. NOTE: Undocumented students who do not qualify for AB540 status should contact the Financial Aid Office for guidance about completing a financial aid application.

Expectations: Awardees of this scholarship will be asked to submit a photo and an open letter to prospective students upon completion of their study abroad program, and will be invited to share their experiences abroad with prospective students from underrepresented groups on campus through on campus and/or virtual outreach events.

Application dates & deadlines: Deadline: October 15, 2025. Notification of Award: October 31, 2025

Selection process: Applications will be reviewed by a Foothill Global Experiential Learning Scholarship Committee. All applicants will be notified of results via email at the conclusion of the process.

Prompt for the personal statement: Please write a 350-600 word personal statement sharing why you are applying for this scholarship, including what makes you eligible to be considered for this scholarship and what your anticipated funding gap is in order to be able to participate in this program. Please also share your vision for how you will fulfill the expectations of scholarship awardees in helping to diversify the population of students applying to future study abroad programs.