JACL Freshman Scholarships Program

Award Amount
Application deadline
Awarded By:

Japanese American Citizens League (JACL)

Number of Awards & Eligibility: The number of awards offered varies annually.
In order to qualify, students must meet the following criteria:
  1. Must be a current high school senior.
  2. Must be a U.S. citizen.
  3. Must be planning to attend full time at a college, university, trade school, business school, or any other institution of higher learning within the United States at the undergraduate level in the fall. Students deferring enrollment will not qualify for the current year's scholarship program.
  4. This award is for U.S. students.
  5. Must be a national member of the Japanese American Citizens League.

In order to qualify, students must meet the following criteria:

Description: U.S. high school seniors who are members of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and plan to enroll full time in college are eligible for this award.

Application requirements for the JACL Freshman Scholarships Program are:

  • Recommendation letter
  • Application form
  • Personal statement
  • Official Transcript
  • ACT/SAT scores
  • JACL involv.
  • Schol. honors
Additional Information: The following named scholarships are included in this program: the Patricia and Gail Ishimoto Memorial Scholarship; the Kenji Kasai Memorial Scholarship; the Mitsugi Murakami Kasai (Ret.) Memorial Scholarship; the Henry & Chiyo Kuwahara Memorial Scholarship; the Sam & Florice Kuwahara Memorial Scholarship; the Mr. & Mrs. Takashi Moriuchi Scholarship; the Paul & Katherine Ohtaki Memorial Scholarship; the Shigeki "Shake" Ushio Memorial Scholarship; the Deni & June Uejima Memorial Scholarship; the Mush and Haru Kuroiwa Scholarship. The Hanayagi Rokumie Memorial Japanese Cultural Scholarship will be given to a student who excels in any Japanese cultural activity, such as: nihon buyo (Japanese classical dance); Japanese classical instruments (shamisen, koto, shakuhachi, taiko); ikebana (flower arrangement); chado (tea ceremony); or Japanese martial arts (aikido, karate, judo kendo, etc.). Please note: Every applicant must be an active national JACL member at either an individual or student/youth level. Membership information is available online at jacl.org/member/. The fee for student/youth membership is $25, and the fee for regular/individual membership is $60. Successful applicants who applied for multiple scholarships will receive whichever scholarship carries a higher amount. Applicants are judged on the basis of their JACL involvement, scholastic achievement, extracurricular activities, community involvement, personal statement, and letter of recommendation. Scholarship recipients will be selected and notified in August. Past recipients of JACL National Scholarships or awards are limited to a total of two national awards.

Award Amount: The number of awards offered varies annually. All awards are non-renewable.  The total dollars awarded for this scholarship is $2,333.

Deadline Information:

Deadline for this scholarship is Friday, March 1

Deadline Information:

Deadline for this scholarship is Friday, March 1

Applications are available online from the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) website. The student should use the Freshman Application to apply for this scholarship. Please note: The student need submit only one application for all scholarships in a particular category for which he/she wishes to be considered; even if the applicant is eligible for more than one scholarship, he/she may apply under only one scholarship category. The only exception is that applicants may apply for consideration for the Abe & Esther Hagiwara Student Aid Award in addition to another category. In addition to the completed application, each student must submit the following materials: an official, sealed transcript from his/her high school that includes fall semester grades of his/her senior year; a personal statement on the topic listed within the application of no more than two, typed, double-spaced pages; a one-page listing of JACL involvement; a one-page listing of scholastic honors; and one letter of recommendation. Students must also submit ACT/SAT scores, either included on the high school transcript or directly from the testing organization. The student must submit an original and two copies of all application materials, with the exception of official transcripts. Only the original transcript need be submitted. All materials must be mailed to the applicant's local JACL chapter and be postmarked by the deadline date. The applicant may request his/her chapter's mailing address by contacting JACL Membership Assistant Tomiko Ismail at [email protected] or 415-921-5225.
About Japanese American Citizens League (JACL):
Contact Information: Patty Wada, JACL Regional Director
Address: National JACL Scholarship Committee, c/o Central California District Council 4622 E. Princeton Ave. Fresno, California 93703

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