GENERAL INFORMATION

The Academic Advancement Program (AAP) will be awarding scholarships to AAP students for the 2025-26 academic year. The average scholarship award ranges from $1,500 to $5,000.

ELIGIBILITY

All AAP students who have completed 36 units, have not exceed 150 units at the college or university level, and who have a minimum cumulative UCLA GPA of 2.75 or better by the end of the 2024 Fall Quarter are eligible to apply. To receive the scholarship, you must be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate during the entire 2025-2026 academic year and apply for financial aid by filling out the FAFSA or the Dream Application*.

INSTRUCTIONS

Your application and all supporting materials must be submitted via https://ucla.academicworks.com by Thursday, February 27th, 2024[1] since no late or incomplete applications will be accepted. A complete application includes:

  1. Career Goals/Interest: Select at least one item from the list of career goals/interests.
  2. Personal Statement: Describe in 350-500 words (maximum of 4,000 characters) why you should be chosen for an AAP Scholarship and include any personal challenges, obstacles, or major event(s) in your life you’ve overcome, if any.
  3. Essay: Answer one of the two questions in a 500-600 word (maximum of 4,800 characters) essay. Failure to limit the length of your essay will result in a lower score on your application. Note: The essay question counts for over half of your final score. Be sure to proofread, use spell check, and edit your work carefully before adding your essay to the application. You can add your essay to your application at any point before the submission deadline. Remember: the application will not be considered complete until the essay is submitted.
  4. Letter of Recommendation: The letter must be from a UCLA instructor (faculty or TA) who appears as the “instructor of record” for a class on your study list (current or past).

ESSAY QUESTIONS (choose one):

Question 1 – Current Events

Following the 2024 election results, many people have felt a sense of disillusionment and/or helplessness. What specific challenges or needs are you or your community facing right now? While personal resilience is important, what kinds of external support, resources, or systemic changes do you think are necessary to navigate these feelings and help you and your community thrive?

Question 2 – UCLA Common Experience

The War for Kindness has been selected as the UCLA Common Experience title for the 2024-2025 academic year. In a world fractured by social, political, economic and cultural differences, we are reminded of the power that empathy and kindness play in creating a more inclusive environment. We are inspired to take action to increase our capacity for empathy and make our world a brighter, kinder home.

Option 1: How do you continue to actively practice and train your empathy even when you’re emotionally burnt out? What are your favorite ways to practice empathy?

Option 2: Describe a situation where you exercised empathy and how do you think it contributed to your personal growth and development?

AAP SCHOLARSHIP WORKSHOPS

The AAP staff, and UCLA Academics & First Year Experience representatives will present information workshops. Students will receive important information about the online application process, letter of recommendation, personal statement and essay.

Workshops will be via Zoom:

[1] The online application will open the week of February 1st; eligible students will receive an e-mail notification. You may work on your supporting materials now and add them to your application at any point after notification of availability and before the submission deadline.

* AB540 students are eligible to apply but must fill out the DREAM application. The DREAM application can be found at http://www.csac.ca.gov/dream_act.asp. Please visit the Financial Aid Office located at A-129J Murphy Hall for assistance.

For more information email aapscholarship@college.ucla.edu.