A $10,000 College Scholarship Plus So Much More - The Mitchell Institute

The 2025 Mitchell Scholarship application period closed at midnight on March 1. We are now reviewing submissions and look forward to announcing our 200 new Mitchell Scholars from every community in Maine in May!

Please Note: If you have submitted an application, please make sure that you email your acceptance letter from your first-choice college and your itemized financial aid offer (showing your complete aid package, including loans, grants, work-study, etc.) to info@mitchellinstitute.org before midnight on April 1.

The next application period for the Mitchell Scholarship will open in fall 2025. We’ll update schools by email and our website with the exact timeline and any application updates as the next period approaches.

In addition to the $10,000 college scholarship (paid in four annual and equal installments of $2,500), Mitchell Scholars receive access to a broad range of free programs, resources, and additional funding opportunities — throughout their college years and beyond. Next year, the Mitchell Institute will award 200 college scholarships statewide — to at least one graduating student from every public high school in Maine who plans to attend a two- or four-year college in fall 2026.

See the drop down links below to learn more about eligibility and all of the programs available to Mitchell Scholars.

Eligibility and Application Dates

To be eligible for a Mitchell Scholarship, applicants must be full-time residents of Maine and be on track to graduate from a public high school in Maine. Applicants should plan to attend a two-year or four-year degree program at an accredited college or university in the fall semester immediately following their high school graduation. Students pursuing a two-year degree are eligible for up to four years of scholarship support if they continue their education beyond the initial two years.

Applications are evaluated based on the following criteria: academics, community impact, and degree of financial need.

The application period for the Mitchell Scholarship will open in fall 2025. Recipients of the Mitchell Scholarship will be informed of their awards in May 2026.

To see who received a Mitchell Scholarship in 2024 and our video message of congratulations to them, please visit our Scholarship Recipients page.

Why It’s So Much More Than a Scholarship

In addition to offering the financial support of the scholarship, the Mitchell Institute offers a wide array of free personal, academic, and professional support programs, as well as a career network of more than 3,600 Mitchell Scholars, alumni, and partners.

Resources and programs for Mitchell Scholars include:

Free leadership and career development events
Access to the Mitchell Scholar alumni network
Customized career and personal advising through 1:1 meetings with Mitchell Institute staff
Opportunities to apply for Fellowship Awards of up to $1,500 to support unpaid or underpaid internships and other career development activities
Opportunities to apply for emergency financial assistance for unexpected challenges

See an Overview of All Programs

Other Scholarship Resources

We offer the links below as they may be helpful in the college and scholarship application process:

Mitchell Institute financial aid comparison worksheet
Finance Authority of Maine (FAME)
Alfond Scholarship Foundation
Maine Community Foundation
MES Foundation
Mainely Character Scholarship
Federal Student Aid: an Office of the U.S. Department of Education
BigFuture™ is a trademark owned by the College Board. Used with permission.
Fastweb’s Free Scholarships Search

Headquartered at 75 Washington Avenue in Portland, the Mitchell Institute’s nine full-time professionals are committed to the organization’s mission—to increase the likelihood that young people from every community in Maine will aspire to, pursue, and achieve a college education. We work with young people from every corner of Maine who face uphill battles on their way to college, and we level the playing field for them by providing financial resources and a broad range of supports. Through our work, we help Mitchell Scholars graduate from college at a rate that far exceeds the national average.

Learn more about the Mitchell Institute staff.

Since 2000, we have conducted longitudinal scholarship research to learn about the experiences of Mitchell Scholars and Alumni. Our research on Mitchell Scholars demonstrates that our methods work: While 44% of recent Mitchell Scholars were the first in their families to attend college and 75% came from households earning less than Maine’s median family income, they graduate at a rate 27 percentage points higher than the national average. Over 50% achieved earnings early in their careers that were higher than their entire family household income at the time they applied for the Mitchell Scholarship.