FRS Scholarships
Scholarship Sponsored by Foundation For Rural Service
Introduction
Each year the Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) provides scholarships to outstanding students from rural areas entering their first year of college, university, or vocational-technical school. Applicants must be partnered with an NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association member company to qualify.
Since the program began, FRS has granted more than $1 million in scholarship support, helping rural students gain the skills and experiences they need to strengthen their hometowns.
2025 Awards
On April 24, 2025, FRS announced the winners of the 2025 FRS Scholarship Program. This year’s round awarded a total of $160,500 distributed among 50 recipients nationwide. A list of the 2025 awardees is posted at the end of this page.
Named Scholarship Opportunities
In addition to the standard FRS awards, the program includes several named scholarships. These named awards do not require the usual matching contribution.
Eligibility
To be considered, an applicant must:
- Be sponsored by a current NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association member company. Use the NTCA membership map to identify member telephone or broadband providers in your area.
- Demonstrate, in their application essay, an intention to return to and contribute to a rural community after graduation.
Selection Process
Applications are evaluated and scored by an independent panel composed of high school counselors and teachers. Successful applicants will be notified in April or May 2025.
Terms and Conditions
- A qualified selection committee will review all complete submissions and determine awardees.
- Awards are offered without regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, or disability.
- Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
- Use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) to generate responses on the application is prohibited, and plagiarism is not allowed. Submissions will be screened for A.I. use and plagiarism; any application found to contain either will be removed from consideration.
- Scholarships are one-time awards and may be deferred for up to one year.
- Funds will be released upon receipt of proof of acceptance to an accredited 2‑year, 4‑year, or vocational school and will be paid by August 2025.
- Scholarship payments will be sent directly to the educational institution the recipient will attend.
- Awardees who do not return required paperwork to FRS within 60 days of notification will forfeit their scholarship.
- Recipients will be contacted directly and their names will be published at www.FRS.org/scholarships in the spring.