Girls Who Code Foundation Scholarship
Before you spend hours on this
Will this scholarship actually lower your cost?
Not always. Many colleges reduce your financial-aid package when you win an outside scholarship — sometimes dollar-for-dollar — so the money can end up saving the school instead of you. It's called scholarship displacement. Two free tools tell you where you actually stand:
General guidance, not financial advice — your school's financial aid office is the only authority on how they treat outside awards. Always confirm with them before deciding.
Best fit for
Girls / women / non-binary students pursuing CS who've already done concrete CS work (GWC Club, Summer Immersion, AP CS, hackathons, personal projects). The 'I'm interested in CS' framing alone isn't enough — they want to see WHAT you've made.
What they actually look for
Girls Who Code partners with multiple corporate sponsors (Bank of America, Accenture, Lululemon, more) to fund scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $20,000. Best play: complete the GWC Summer Immersion Program in junior year — alumni get preferential consideration for the scholarship pool AND get a credential that strengthens CS college applications.
What you'll need
- Self-identify as a girl, woman, or non-binary student
- Demonstrated interest in computer science (coursework, projects, GWC Club participation, summer immersion alumni status, etc.)
- Plan to study CS or related major in college
- Essays on your CS journey, the problem you want to solve, and barriers you've navigated
- One recommendation (academic or program-mentor)
- Most GWC scholarships also require demonstrated financial need
When to start
Apply to GWC Summer Immersion in February of junior year (free 2-week intensive). Scholarship applications open spring of senior year, deadlines vary by sponsor. Some are rolling.
Watch out for
Many GWC scholarship 'pages' are actually direct-link sponsor scholarships with their own rules — check sponsor-specific eligibility (some require specific intended majors like cybersecurity or product design, not just 'CS'). Also: the scholarships are usually paid AT the partner college, so confirm your school accepts third-party scholarship funds without displacing institutional aid.