AXA Achievement Scholarship: How to Win $25k for College

Scholarships are an excellent way for students to reduce the cost of a college education. Large scholarships like the AXA Achievement Scholarship make up to $25,000 available to ambitious and driven students from a variety of backgrounds with demonstrated achievement. Keep reading to learn more about the AXA Achievement Scholarship and to learn a few tips for how to make your application stand out.

About the AXA Achievement Scholarship

Sponsored by the AXA Equitable Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AXA US, the AXA Achievement Scholarship is given to high school seniors who have exhibited excellence in the classroom, community, or workplace.

The AXA Achievement Scholarship awards over $1.4 million in scholarships ranging in value from $25,000 to $10,000 to $2,500 to students in the U.S.’s 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. In addition to providing scholarship dollars to students, the winners’ schools also receive a grant totaling $1,000.

AXA Achievement Scholarship Requirements

Recipients of the AXA Achievement Scholarship come from a diverse range of economic and ethnic backgrounds, however, awardees do share many qualities. One of the most notable qualities shared by AXA Achievement Scholarship winners is the seriousness with which applicants approach their studies and their potential to be successful college students.

AXA Achievement Scholarship winners are driven and ambitious individuals who know how to set goals and take the steps necessary to achieve them. Additionally, AXA Achievement winners possess self-confidence and are respectful members of their families and communities. Successful applicants can demonstrate these qualities through outstanding achievement in their academics, community involvement, or work-related activities. Special consideration is given to students with achievements that aid society in mitigating financial, environmental, health, and safety risks.

Past scholarship winners have created nonprofits to fight dental disease worldwide and founded organizations that fund teachers so they can support students in financial need. Want to see how you stack up compared to past scholarship winners? The AXA Equitable Foundation posts past winners with short bios on its website.

The deadline to apply for the 2020 AXA Achievement Scholarship has yet to be announced. Program and application guidelines are planned to be released in the fall of 2019.

Tips to Applying for Scholarships

Stay on Schedule: Make a calendar of all the important deadlines for the AXA Achievement Scholarship and work to stay on schedule. Collecting letters of recommendation, writing an essay, and collecting all the necessary documentation for the application can be extremely time-consuming; having a calendar with clearly defined deadlines will save you from scrambling at the last minute.

Read the Instructions: Read the scholarship application instructions well and make sure you follow and understand them. There is nothing worse than going through the massive effort of writing an essay and soliciting letters of recommendation only to be disqualified or overlooked because of a simple (often avoidable) error.

Proofread: Similar to making sure you know the rules of applying, demonstrate your writing ability and attention to detail by carefully proofreading—and having a grammatically inclined teacher, advisor, or parent double-check—all submitted materials. Sloppy writing will separate applicants from the competition, just not in the way they hoped. 

Know Your Audience: The AXA Equitable Foundation makes clear in their scholarship description the type of applicants they’re looking for. While you will likely recycle an essay or passage from time to time when applying to scholarships, be sure to tailor your applications to speak to the specific values and areas of interest of the program, and use these opportunities to stand out from the competition.

Know Your Competition: Speaking of the competition, knowing about the types of applicants a student is competing against is another way for students to set themselves apart. As mentioned earlier, AXA houses a list of past scholarship winners along with bios on their website, so you can get a sense of the types of students who have applied (and won) in past cycles.

Network: In today’s digital age, an applicant can locate (after all, the winner’s names and hometowns are posted on AXA’s website) and in many cases contact previous scholarship winners via social media or email. If past winners are willing to help, take advantage of whatever assistance they’re inclined to provide.

Your Social Self: Just as it’s easy to look up past winners on social media, you’re easily discoverable as well. Make sure your social profiles reflect a professional and positive image of yourself.

Get Professional Help: Scholarship applications can feel overwhelming for many high school students and their parents simply because they’re unaccustomed to working with them. Students should reach out to people more familiar with the application process for assistance, such as their guidance counselors or teachers. 

Curious about your chances of acceptance to your dream school? Our free chancing engine takes into account your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and other data to predict your odds of acceptance at over 500 colleges across the U.S. We’ll also let you know how you stack up against other applicants and how you can improve your profile. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to get started!