The REIGNWell Institute

The Dream Scholarship

Choosing a college is hard. Paying for it is harder. We make both easier.

$310,000

Awarded since 2017 to women pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees at colleges and universities across the United States.

2027 Cycle

Applications close January 15, 2027 Opens November 30, 2026 · Awards announced February 12

What this is

Admission is not access.

The Dream Scholarship offsets the cost of education and housing for women pursuing undergraduate degrees at four-year colleges and universities, and for women in graduate school. Awards range from $100 to $2,000.

The letter comes. The celebration happens. And then a deposit comes due, or a housing bill arrives before the aid does, and a student who earned her seat quietly does not take it. That gap is where this scholarship works, and it does not close after the bachelor’s degree.

The scholarship began in 2017 as a program of The Dream Academy. It continues today under SBC Global Ventures while we establish its next charitable home.

Girls with dreams become women with vision. Our job is to remove what stands in between.

Opens

November 30, 2026

Applications go live. Write your essay over winter break.

Closes

January 15, 2027

Received or postmarked. No late portfolios.

Announced

February 12, 2027

Every applicant is notified, whatever the outcome.

Enrollment proof

July 1, 2027

Only for recipients not yet enrolled when awarded.

Who it is for

The bar is clear on purpose.

You have earned, or are on track to earn, a high school diploma or GED with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. If you are applying to graduate school, a bachelor’s degree at the same standard.
You have been accepted into, are currently enrolled at, or have applied to an undergraduate program at a four-year college or university, or a graduate program, in the United States.
If you are already enrolled, you are in good standing with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
You can submit a complete portfolio by the deadline.

Still waiting to hear back?

Apply anyway. Most admission decisions, undergraduate and graduate alike, do not arrive until spring, and we were not willing to let a calendar decide who gets considered.

If you are awarded before you have enrolled, the award is held for you. Send proof of enrollment by July 1, 2027 and the funds are released.

How the committee weighs it

Every application is read.

Where applicants are comparably qualified, the committee gives weight to these, in order.

First

Sustained participation in The Dream Academy’s no-cost leadership and mentorship programming.

Second

Documented long-term community service, including Presidential Volunteer Service Award honorees.

Third

Applicants pursuing STEM fields of study.

Fourth

First-generation college students and applicants demonstrating financial need.

The Dream Academy is a no-cost program. Participation has never required payment of any kind. Priority reflects sustained engagement in that programming. Nothing purchased, nothing owed.

How recipients are chosen

Your work speaks for you here.

Every application gets a real read, by people who want you to win. Here is exactly how the decision is made.

An independent committee

Reviewers have no prior working relationship with any applicant. They read your file, not your history with us.

The board decides

Final awards are made by the board, not by the founder. No single person can hand you a scholarship, and no single person can withhold one.

Published criteria

The standards on this page are the standards applied. There is no second, private list.

Documented recusal

Any reviewer with a connection to an applicant steps out of that decision, and it is recorded.

Your essay carries the weight

One thousand words on leadership is the primary instrument. It is read closely, by people who have been where you are going.

Awarded without regard to

Race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Where it goes

This is what the money did.

Sarah Nalyanya

CSU Sacramento
Third-year undergraduate

“Even my mom was able to ask questions and left the workshop feeling empowered.”

The college planning workshops covered applications, grants, EOP enrollment, and financial aid. Then they kept going after graduation, through FAFSA and the transition itself. Sit at the front. Make sure your professors know your name. Go to office hours.

Savannah Ignont

UC Berkeley
Molecular Environmental Biology
Second-year undergraduate

“The trip really showed me what I wanted in a college campus for myself.”

She was weighing UC options. Dr. Garcia recommended UC Santa Barbara, then flew out with her and booked the hotels when she was accepted. The visit revealed how little African American representation there was on that campus, so six Black women students were brought into the conversation. She chose differently, and better, because she had seen it honestly.

What you submit

You already have most of this.

Three pieces, and your portfolio is complete.

1. The application form

Completed and signed. Fifteen minutes if you have your transcript nearby.

2. A leadership essay

One thousand words. Your definition of leadership, the values a leader should hold, and how you have demonstrated it. Write it in your own voice. That is the part we are reading for.

3. Proof of acceptance or enrollment

Or, if you are still waiting on decisions, a list of the schools you have applied to.

Send all three together so your portfolio can be reviewed in full.

The window opens November 30.

Be ready before it does. Request the packet now and it arrives the morning applications go live.

Download the Application

Questions? Write to us directly at [email protected]

Support the scholarship

Help her achieve the dream.

Every award on this page has a student attached to it. A deposit that came due. A housing bill that arrived before the aid did. A first semester that almost did not happen.

The awards are deliberately small, because small is often all that stands in the way. Five hundred dollars closes a gap. Two thousand changes a year.

Giving widens the reach: more students considered, more gaps closed, in a year when more of them are asking.

The Dream Scholarship is administered by SBC Global Ventures. It does not currently operate under a tax-exempt organization, so contributions are not tax-deductible. We are establishing a charitable home for the program and will note it here once that is in place.