FAITH Endowment Announces 2026 Scholar Class
The program recognizes 81 students for their academic achievements and community leadership.
Updated on Oct. 21, 2026 in Scholarships
Live Poll
Do you believe scholarship programs successfully encourage long-term commitment to community service?
The FAITH Endowment has officially selected 81 high school seniors as recipients of the 2026 FAITH Scholarship for Academic Excellence. In total, the organization awarded 164 scholarships this year, including 83 grants for its Excellence in STEM program.
Why it matters
The organization invests in young leaders who embody intellectual achievement and service rooted in Orthodox Christian values. These scholarships support students who demonstrate exceptional community service and leadership alongside their rigorous academic coursework.
The 2026 scholarship recipients maintain an average 3.8 GPA and score within the 99th percentile of national standardized tests. Additionally, winners average over 325 hours of volunteer work, with half having founded their own service initiatives.
The players
FAITH Endowment
This New York-based organization supports students who show academic excellence and a commitment to Orthodox Christian values.
The details
Recipients were selected for their commitment to honors-level, AP, and dual credit coursework while demonstrating leadership through an average of more than six clubs per student. The class represents a cohort of high-achieving seniors who ranked in the top 10% of their respective classes.
Timeline
The 2026 FAITH Scholarship recipients were announced on October 21, 2026.
The FAITH Scholarship program has been operating for over twenty years.
Culture Shift
The FAITH Endowment's focus on service hours and club involvement follows the rise of holistic admissions metrics in private scholarship programs. This approach mirrors a broader societal shift toward valuing extracurricular impact and community engagement as essential indicators of future success.
Students applying for future cycles should focus on documenting their service hours and leadership roles, as these were primary selection factors for the current class. Families can utilize the endowment's resources to better understand the rigorous coursework and extracurricular standards expected for successful applicants.
The takeaway
Prospective applicants are encouraged to cultivate a balanced portfolio of academic achievement and community-driven service to align with these competitive benchmarks. Demonstrating initiative through founded programs appears to be a significant differentiator for successful candidates.
Further reading
Learn more about local educational opportunities on the New York City Scholarships page.
More information
Access the full application guidelines and program details on the FAITH Endowment scholarship information website.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The National Herald.
Live Poll
Do you believe scholarship programs successfully encourage long-term commitment to community service?
