For thousands of Hoosier families, college costs feel like a wall. The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship is one of the few awards that can take that wall down. It is not a small grant. It is not a one-semester prize. It is a four-year, full-tuition scholarship for undergraduate study at an accredited public or private nonprofit college or university in Indiana.
If you are an Indiana high school senior, a parent, or a counselor looking for a scholarship that actually changes a student’s path, this program should be at the top of your list. The catch is simple and easy to miss: you do not apply to Lilly Endowment directly. You apply through the community foundation that serves your county, and the rules, essays, interviews, and deadlines change from county to county.
This guide explains what the award covers, who can apply, how selection works, and how to find the right local application before the window closes.
Scholarship Summary
- Host Country: United States (Indiana)
- Host University: Any accredited Indiana public or private nonprofit four-year college or university
- Scholarship Type: Undergraduate Scholarships
- Eligible Countries: United States (Indiana residents only)
- Scholarship Benefits: Full tuition, required fees, and up to $900 per year for required books and equipment
- Application Deadline: Varies by Indiana county (typically August–September of senior year)
What the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program Is
Lilly Endowment Inc. created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program (LECSP) for the 1997–98 school year and has funded it every year since. Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) administers the program statewide. Local community foundations in all 92 Indiana counties run the applications, interviews, and nominations.
The program has three stated purposes:
- Raise educational attainment in Indiana
- Increase awareness of what community foundations can do in their counties
- Encourage current and former scholars to stay connected and help improve life in Indiana
In recent years, the program has awarded 147 scholarships per year. Since the first class, more than 5,400 Indiana students have received the award, and Lilly Endowment’s tuition grants have totaled more than $505 million.
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That scale is why the scholarship shows up so often in guidance offices. It is also why competition is real. Most counties award only one or two scholarships.
What the Scholarship Actually Pays
This is the part families search for first.
Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship covers:
- Otherwise unreimbursed full tuition
- Required fees
- A special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and required equipment
- Four years of full-time undergraduate study leading to a baccalaureate degree (commonly described as up to eight semesters)
It does not pay room, board, or travel. Those costs stay with the student and family. If a recipient wins other scholarships, ICI reviews the package so the total aid does not exceed the college’s cost of attendance. Unused book-and-equipment money must be accounted for and returned at the end of each school year.
Eligible campuses are Indiana four-year public or private nonprofit colleges and universities accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. That includes flagship campuses, regional publics, and independent colleges across the state. Out-of-state colleges are not eligible.
The award is renewable through the four-year bachelor’s program as long as the scholar stays full-time, meets program conditions, and reports academic status as required.
See Also:
- Jack Hirst Scholarship 2027/28 at Imperial College London: Fully Funded Masters Program For Nigerians
- Mercedes AMG PETRONAS Scholarship 2027 at Imperial College London UK: Full Funding for Future F1 Engineers
- Quantedge Cambridge Masters Scholarship 2027: Fully Funded MPhil at Kings College UK
Who Can Apply for Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship
Statewide rules are consistent. County rules are not.
Statewide eligibility
Applicants generally must:
- Be residents of Indiana
- Graduate from an accredited Indiana high school and receive a diploma no later than June 30 of the award year
- Intend to pursue a full-time baccalaureate degree at an eligible Indiana college or university
- Apply through only one county
Home-schooled students are typically ineligible. Students in accredited online high schools who also attend classes in person may be eligible in some counties; local staff should confirm that before a student spends hours on essays.
County-level criteria that often decide the outcome
This is where many strong students lose time. Community foundations add their own filters. Across counties, you will see combinations of:
- Minimum GPA (examples range from about 3.0 to 3.85)
- Class rank (top 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% after six semesters)
- SAT or ACT floors in some counties
- Financial need in some counties, not all
- Residency in that county and, often, attendance at a county high school
- Community service, leadership, work history, and character
- Essays and letters of recommendation
- Interviews for finalists
Marion County is a special case: students must be nominated by a guidance counselor rather than submitting an open application.
Do not assume your GPA alone is enough. In many counties, a 4.0 student with thin community involvement will lose to a slightly lower GPA student who can show leadership, service, and a clear story about Indiana.
How the Application Process Works
Think of LECSP as 92 local contests feeding one statewide program.
Typical timeline
Dates move by county, but the pattern is stable:
- July–August: Applications open
- August–September: Applications, recommendations, and transcripts due
- September–November: Scoring, finalist interviews, and nominations to ICI
- December: Recipients confirmed and announced
For the class entering college in fall 2027, many counties opened applications in July or August 2026 and set deadlines in mid-to-late August or September 2026. Always use your county foundation’s current page. A deadline that was September 20 last year.
What committees usually score
Most applications ask for some mix of:
- Academic record and course rigor
- Activities, leadership, volunteer work, and jobs
- Personal statement or short essays
- Recommendations (often one teacher and one community/service recommender)
- Financial information in counties that weigh need
- An interview if you reach the finalist round
Some counties add an impromptu essay on interview day. That is not a trick question so much as a test of how you think under time pressure.
ICI makes the final award decision after the local foundation nominates.
Find your county contact here: Indiana Community Foundations list from ICI.
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How to Build a Competitive Application
The students who win this scholarship rarely treat it like a generic “tell us about yourself” form.
1. Start with the local rules, not a national template
Print or save your county’s eligibility list and scoring rubric if one is published. If the foundation weights academics at 20% and service at 20%, write the application that way. A brilliant STEM resume will not rescue a missing community-service recommendation if that letter is required.
2. Treat essays as evidence, not inspiration
Strong essays usually do three things:
- Show a specific Indiana community you already serve
- Connect high school work to a bachelor’s degree plan at an Indiana campus
- Explain why staying in-state is a choice, not a fallback
Vague lines about “wanting to help people” do not travel far. Concrete work does: tutoring hours, a church food pantry, 4-H leadership, a hospital volunteer shift, a family business job after school.
3. Choose recommenders who saw you work
Many counties want at least one recommendation from someone outside the school who supervised community service. Ask early. Give the writer your activity list and the deadline. A late letter can make a complete application incomplete.
4. Prepare for the interview like a job interview
Finalists should be ready to talk about:
- Why this Indiana college path
- A service project that did not go smoothly
- How they would use a tuition-free education to give back
- What they would do if they do not win
Committees are looking for character and follow-through, not a polished speech.
What Happens After You Win
The money is only the first chapter.
Scholars join the Lilly Scholars Network, which connects current students and alumni with campus chapters, statewide events, leadership programs, and community grants. LSN reports more than 5,500 scholars since 1998 across all 92 counties.
Network opportunities have included:
- Lilly Scholars Launch for new recipients
- Collegiate chapters on campuses with larger scholar groups
- Lead Forward Community Grants for scholar-nonprofit projects
- An Opportunity Fund for enrichment support
- Events with civic, business, and government leaders in Indiana
The program’s long bet is not only that more Hoosiers earn bachelor’s degrees. It is that those graduates remain connected to Indiana after commencement.
Recipients also accept conditions: choose an eligible Indiana college by the stated spring deadline, stay full-time in a baccalaureate program, report academic status, and keep ICI informed about other aid.
Common Mistakes That Cost Applicants
- Applying in the wrong county or in two counties
- Missing a county-specific GPA, rank, or test-score cutoff
- Waiting until senior fall to collect recommendations
- Writing one national scholarship essay and pasting it everywhere
- Assuming room and board are included
- Planning an out-of-state college and treating LECSP as backup
- Ignoring the local foundation’s portal instructions and file formats
If your county page is unclear, call the foundation. Staff would rather answer a five-minute question than disqualify a complete-looking application on a technicality.
Is This Scholarship Worth the Work?
Yes, if you meet the statewide rules and can make a serious county-level case. A full-tuition award at an Indiana campus can be worth tens of thousands of dollars a year, before the $900 book allocation. Even students who become finalists and do not win sometimes receive smaller local awards from the same foundation.
It is not the right scholarship if you are committed to leaving Indiana for college. It is not a graduate, master’s, or PhD award. It is an undergraduate, in-state, county-nominated scholarship with a civic purpose built in.
For official rules and the current county list, start here:
- Lilly Endowment program overview
- ICI LECSP program page
- Find your community foundation
- Lilly Scholars Network
The students who win are rarely the ones who discovered the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship the week it was due. They are the ones who treated their county application like the most important college form they would file all year, because for many of them, it is.
Official program pages: