The GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship is earned by a Girl Scout who completed a Gold Award project that demonstrated extraordinary leadership, measurable and sustainable impact, and addressed an issue of national and/or global significance.
RECIPIENT BENEFITS
Additionally, all scholarship recipients will be added to a GSUSA database where they may be asked to serve as representatives for Girl Scouts through public relations, web/social, speaking engagements, or other related opportunities.
WHEN: The application period is March 13 – April 14, 2026.
Gold Award Girl Scouts who are high school seniors or recent high school graduates can apply for the 2026 program.
Specifically:
- current high school seniors who earned or will earn anytime before April 1, 2026
- recent high school graduates who earned in their senior year after March 31, 2025
Notes on eligibility:
- Gold Award Girl Scouts who applied in a previous year are not eligible to re-apply.
- To be eligible, all Gold Award Girl Scouts must have their final report approved in the GoGold web app within the eligibility date range.
- Gold Award Girl Scouts who are not yet in 12th grade will have the opportunity to apply in their senior year.
How to apply for the Gold Award Scholarship:
Apply between March 13–April 14, 2026. All applicants will receive status updates in June 2026.
In addition to providing demographic information, a headshot with photo release, and confirmation of Gold Award status, each applicant will answer four essay questions in either a video (3 minutes or less each) or written (500 words or fewer each) format describing their Gold Award:
- Please summarize your project in a narrative describing the root cause, how your project addresses it, the resources you leveraged, and how you achieved your goal. Be sure to indicate how you displayed leadership, detailing 1) how you led a team to accomplish your goals and 2) how you involved appropriate community members in your solution.
- Please describe how your project had measurable and sustainable impact. Share the information or data you collected throughout your project and how you used it to measure your project’s impact on your issue. Be sure to share your actual results. Then, share how your project carries on or continues to have impact beyond your involvement.
- Please describe how your project had a local connection to a national or global issue. Why does your project matter? Explain how your project meaningfully addressed an issue that is relevant nationwide and/or worldwide. Be sure to include your research and cite any sources.
- Please describe the impact completing your Gold Award project has had on you. Be sure to include what new skills you may have gained, what qualities you have learned about yourself, and how these discoveries will help you in the future.
Find more information on the GSUSA website.
