How we read an application
This page says what carries weight, in order, and what we never look at.
Who this scholarship is for
The Lu Memorial Scholarship is for students who are ready to succeed in their education and whose path is narrowed mainly by money. We select the students for whom this award changes what happens next.
We do not accept test scores, honors lists, resumes, or portfolios. We do not read them if you send them.
What we ask you to show
We do not ask anyone for a document while we read applications. If you become a finalist, we ask for one document that supports what you told us about your costs. Any one of these works: an aid award letter, a funding or assistantship offer letter, a FAFSA Submission Summary, a bursar or financial aid office letter, a meal-eligibility letter, a counselor letter, or a signed statement from a school official or employer.
One staff member at the Goal Get It! Lu Office of Financial Aid reads that document. The selection committee does not see it.
We never ask you for tax returns, bank statements, Social Security numbers, passport numbers, or other government identification numbers.
What we read, in order
Three questions decide the reading. They are listed in the order a reader works through them.
Will you finish?
We look for a floor, not a ranking. Your transcript and your recommendation are how we read it. There is no GPA cutoff, and we do not compare your school to anyone else's.
What would $5,000 change for you?
This question carries the most weight of the three. Answer it concretely, in the terms of your own costs: what you could do with the award that you cannot do now, and what you would most likely do instead without it.
What did you do with what you had?
Tell us what you built, learned, fixed, or kept going despite a limit. Tell us who your education is for: one problem you have noticed that you want your education to help with.
What we do not score
Test scores, awards, the number of activities you list, the name of your school, and how polished your writing is. None of these count for or against you.
Your circumstances
We read what you did against what was available to you.
There is no minimum GPA and no test score requirement.
Depth, not number
Depth matters more than number. One or two things you stayed with tell us more than ten you joined.
Paid work and family responsibilities count the same as clubs. Tell us what you did and how much time it took.
How the decision is made
Reading the file is the first of three parts. The committee reads every application, finalists are selected, and finalists are then asked for one document about their costs and interviewed. Here is the whole of it, in order.
- You apply by the deadline.
- The committee reads every application.
- Finalists are selected.
- Finalists are asked for one document confirming their costs, and finalists are interviewed.
- The interview and the full file decide who receives the award.
- Decisions are posted in the portal.
Finalists are interviewed, and the interview is part of deciding who receives the award.
Your chances
In 2026 we read 1,635 applications and made 17 awards. Most people who apply are not selected, and that is a statement about the number of awards, not about the applicants.
Selection data has the figures for each round, including the offer rate.