Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions


G1. How many scholarships are available this year and what is the amount of each scholarship?
For the 2023 InspirASIAN Scholarship Program, we will award 30 national scholarships worth $2000 each. One national scholarship will be reserved for children or dependents of InspirASIAN members. Applicants who are not awarded a national scholarship will be automatically considered for state scholarships where offered.

  • InspirASIAN National Scholarships ($2000)
  • Students residing in the following below states will be eligible for the InspirASIAN State Scholarships. Chapters are still finalizing their scholarship awards for next year so the To-Be-Determined (TBD) place holder will be updated when chapters confirm.
    • Arizona ($1000 scholarships)
    • California ($1000 scholarships)
    • Colorado ($1000 scholarships)
    • Florida (No local scholarships)
    • Georgia ($1000 scholarships)
    • Hawaii (No local scholarships)
    • Metro DC (No local scholarships>
    • Midwest States (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) (TBD scholarships)
    • Missouri (TBD scholarships)
    • Minnesota (No local scholarships)
    • Nevada ($1000 scholarships)
    • New Jersey ($1000 scholarships)
    • Texas ($1000 scholarships)
    • Washington State ($1000 scholarships)

G2. Do I need to apply separately for the state scholarship?
Applicants do not need to submit a separate application for state scholarship. An applicant who is not awarded a national scholarship and is from one of the states providing a state scholarship mentioned in question G1 above will be automatically considered for the state scholarship.

G3. Can I receive a national as well as state scholarship?
If a student is awarded the national scholarship, they will not be considered for a state scholarship.

G4. How and when will scholarship recipients be announced?
The InspirASIAN Scholarship Committee will notify the scholarship recipients (via phone call and letter) and their schools (via email) before the end of May 2023. Scholarship recipients will also be published on the InspirASIAN scholarship website.

G5. How can I find out the status of my application?
Upon successful submission, each applicant will receive email confirmation of the receipt of the application. InspirASIAN Scholarship Committee will notify all applicants of the program result after all scholarship recipients are selected.

G6. How do I contact InspirASIAN Scholarship Program?
You can email scholarship@inspirasian.us for any questions during the process.

Eligibility Requirements


E1. Who is eligible to apply for InspirASIAN Scholarship?
InspirASIAN Scholarship is open to anyone who meets ALL of the following eligibility requirements:

  • Full-time graduating high school seniors in good academic standing (minimum unweighted cumulative GPA of 3.40 on 4-point scale), of any ethnic or cultural background, who plans to attend an accredited college or university (2-year and 4-year) in Fall 2023.
  • Citizens or permanent residents of the United States.
  • Residents of one of the following states or metropolitan area where we currently have participating InspirASIAN chapters: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area (Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

E2. Is this scholarship open to high school seniors in any state of the U.S?
High school seniors from any of the states where we have a local InspirASIAN chapter can apply. Applicants will need to be residents of one of the states or metropolitan area where we currently have InspirASIAN chapters (see the list in E1).

E3. I live in Portland, OR. Am I eligible to apply for InspirASIAN scholarship?
The scholarship is not available for residents of state of Oregon since we do not have an InspirASIAN chapter in the state.

E4. Is the scholarship available only to Asian Pacific Islanders?
Ethnicity is not among the eligibility requirements. InspirASIAN Scholarship is open to all qualifying students meeting the eligibility requirements.

E5. Do I need to be a child or legal dependent of an InspirASIAN member to be eligible?
No. Eligibility is not limited to children or legal dependents of InspirASIAN members. InspirASIAN Scholarship is open to all qualifying students meeting the eligibility requirements.

E6. Do I need to be a child or legal dependent of an AT&T employee to be eligible?
No. Eligibility is not limited to children or legal dependents of AT&T Employees. InspirASIAN scholarship is open to all qualifying students meeting the eligibility requirements.

E7. I am currently a freshman in college. Can I apply for the InspirASIAN scholarship or is it only offered to graduating high school seniors? 
The scholarship is open to graduating high school seniors only.

E8. Am I eligible to apply if I take a break from attending college or take a gap year after graduating from high school?  
No. You must be a graduating high school senior who plans to attend college or University in Fall 2023 to be eligible for this scholarship.

E9. I understand that students must attend high school full-time in order to be eligible. I participate in a program (which I believe is unique to Washington state) called Running Start, so that I am taking some of my classes at a local college, and some at my current high school. Am I still eligible to apply for the scholarship?
If you are a high school senior enrolled in Running Start, you are eligible to apply as long as your transcript verifies that you received both High School and College credit for these courses.

Application Materials


A1. Where can I get a copy of the scholarship application?
InspirASIAN scholarship application is available for download at https://inspirasian.us/scholarships.

A2. How do I submit my application, now that I have downloaded and completed it?
The scholarship application must be completed and submitted online by 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time on January 31, 2023.
For successful completion and processing of your application please follow the instructions below:

  • Complete the scholarship application. The application must be saved as a Microsoft Word or PDF document using the following file name format FirstName_LastName_Application.
  • Upload the scholarship application online at https://inspirasian.us/scholarships.

A3. Do I need to submit my transcript with my application?
No. Transcripts are not needed as part of the initial application. Students are required to enter their cumulative GPA & scale in the online application form from the latest transcript available and indicate whether it is unweighted or weighted. If the transcript has unweighted and weighted GPAs, both should be entered.
Students selected for the final round of review will be given instructions by the scholarship committee via email on how to submit their official transcripts.

A4. Do I need to submit a recommendation letter with my application?
No. Recommendation letters do not need to be submitted as part of the application process.

A5. Is there a mailing address where I can mail my application to?
No. Applications are processed electronically and must be submitted via the online form.

A6. Is there a fax number where I can fax my application to?
No. Applications are processed electronically and must be submitted via the online form.

A7. My fall semester/term transcript will not be ready before the deadline. What are my options?
Fall semester grades are not required at the time of application. Student shall enter the GPA and scale from the latest available transcript. Only students who are selected for the final round of review will be asked to submit their official transcripts that should include fall semester grades.

A8. I do not know my GPA scale. Where can I get that information?
Please check with your school registrar or counselor for this information. This information is required for your application.

A9. If my transcript does not have unweighted GPA, can I provide only the weighted GPA?
The unweighted GPA is used to score your application. If you provide only your weighted GPA, it will be converted to unweighted GPA which may render your application ineligible if it falls below the minimum unweighted GPA required. You are strongly encouraged to obtain unweighted GPA from your school if it is not on your transcript.

A10. Regarding the essay for the InspirASIAN scholarship, is there a specific subject theme that is supposed to be addressed or is it a free-range type of essay for the applicants?
The detailed instructions for the essay can be found on page 6 of the application. Your essay should start on page 7 (last page) of the application as instructed.

A11. Should the essay only address one of the four questions listed under the subject theme “Making a Difference in My Community”, or is it required that I equally address all four questions within my essay?
Please compose an essay to address all four questions as well as anything you feel relevant to the theme provided based on your personal experience.

A12. In the Extracurricular Activities, Community Services, and Work Experience sections of the InspirASIAN scholarship application, should I list my counselor as the contact for all of them? My counselor is familiar with all my activities and can testify to their validity.
If an activity was associated with an organization outside of your school, it is better for you to provide a contact within that organization. For activities within your school, your counselor can be used as the contact if she/he is familiar with what you did.

A13. What contact information should I provide for an independent activity/project without an adult supervisor or coach??
It depends on the nature of the activity. Please provide the contact information of the person who can best explain the activity and your contribution to it.

A14. Can I include the same activity in multiple categories if it is relevant?
No. When listing activities, please determine which category is the most appropriate home for the activity and document it only once.

A15. For contact information for these activities, are both email addresses and telephone numbers required?
Students must provide both email addresses and telephone numbers. Email will be the primary means of contact and in the event the contact cannot be reached via email, attempt will be made to reach them via phone.

A16. I would like to make changes to the application I submitted. Can I re-submit my application?
We recommend that you carefully review the application for accuracy before it is submitted. If you have questions or revisions to the submitted application, please reply to the confirmation email that you received upon submission of the application for further assistance. Do not create a new duplicate application as this may adversely affect your application.