College costs keep climbing. For students who have spent summers looping bags, reading greens, and showing up before dawn, there is a scholarship that can wipe out tuition and housing at some of the strongest universities in the country. That award is the Evans Scholarship, administered through the WGA Evans Scholars Program.
The program is not a small club prize. It is the largest scholarship program for golf caddies in the United States. Since 1930 it has sent more than 12,575 young men and women through college. For the 2025–26 academic year, a record 1,260 Evans Scholars were enrolled at 27 partner universities. Arizona State University became the 28th partner beginning fall 2026.
If you caddie, have strong grades, need financial help, and can show character that holds up under scrutiny, this is one of the most valuable undergraduate awards you can pursue.
Scholarship Summary
- Host Country: USA
- Host University: 28 Partner Universities in USA
- Scholarship Type: Undergraduate Scholarships
- Eligible Countries: United States and Canada
- Scholarship Benefits: Full tuition fee, Housing, etc.
- Application Deadline: October 15
What Is the WGA Evans Scholars Program?
The Evans Scholars Foundation (ESF) is a charitable trust overseen by the Western Golf Association (WGA) in Glenview, Illinois. The WGA also conducts major championships, including the BMW Championship, a PGA TOUR FedExCup Playoffs event whose proceeds support the Foundation.
The scholarship itself is officially the Chick Evans Scholarship for Caddies, named for Charles “Chick” Evans Jr. Evans was a celebrated amateur who won the 1916 U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in the same year. He used his amateur status and later his earnings and influence to fund college educations for caddies who could not otherwise afford them. The first two scholars enrolled at Northwestern University in 1930.
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Today the award is a full tuition and housing scholarship for four years of undergraduate study. It is renewable annually. It is not a graduate, master’s, or PhD scholarship.
What sets the program apart from a typical tuition grant is the living model. Scholars live together in Scholarship Houses or designated residence halls. Each chapter elects officers, runs service projects, and builds a peer network that the Foundation credits for a 98 percent graduation rate and a cumulative GPA around 3.3.
The average four-year value is frequently cited at more than $125,000, depending on the university. About 96 percent of graduates are employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of finishing.
Why This Scholarship Stands Out
Most need-based aid is packaged as a mix of grants, work-study, and loans. The Evans Scholarship is different:
- It covers tuition and housing, not a partial slice of one or the other.
- Recipients live in a structured community rather than scattered apartments.
- Selection is competitive but transparent: four criteria, interviews, and a defined university list.
- Alumni giving is unusually strong. Former scholars donate tens of millions of dollars back into the program.
In the most recent cycle, 1,060 caddies applied and 380 scholarships were awarded for the 2026–27 academic year, the largest class in the program’s history. Thirty-eight percent of that class were young women and 45 percent were first-generation college students. The class averaged about 160 caddie loops and an unweighted GPA of 3.8.
See Also:
- Imperial College London Widening Participation Postgraduate Scholarship
- Schilt Studentship 2027/28: The Cambridge Award Most US Applicants Never Hear About
- Jack Hirst Scholarship 2027/28 at Imperial College London: Fully Funded Masters Program For Nigerians
Eligibility Requirements for WGA Evans Scholars Program: The Four Requirements
You do not need to be a scratch golfer. You need to be a serious caddie with a record that a club professional will defend.
To qualify, applicants must meet all four standards used by the Scholarship Committee:
1. Strong caddie record
Most successful applicants have caddied at least two years and expect to continue at their sponsoring club during the application year. Volume matters. Recent award classes often average well over 100 loops.
2. Excellent academics
Applicants should finish junior year with above a B average in college-preparatory courses. SAT or ACT scores have been requested in past cycles and were optional for some recent classes. A transcript and high school evaluation are required.
3. Demonstrated financial need
Need is documented through the CSS Profile (Evans Scholars Foundation CSS code 0153) and related financial forms. Families with limited means are the intended recipients. Need is not a vague statement; it is reviewed.
4. Outstanding character
Clubs and schools submit evaluations. Selection meetings include interviews. Leadership, integrity, reliability on the course, and service off it all count.
Applications are accepted from high school seniors and college freshmen. The scholarship applies only to undergraduate study.
Citizenship is centered on the United States. Canadian caddies are directed to the University of Washington in Seattle. Applicants from U.S. territories should contact the Foundation directly.
Partner Universities: Where Evans Scholars Actually Enroll
You do not pick any college in America. You apply to the partner universities assigned to your state of residence (or caddie location) and, in many cases, to a short list of private partners.
Public and regional assignments include:
- Arizona, California, Nevada: Arizona State University
- Colorado: University of Colorado Boulder
- Illinois: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of Illinois Chicago
- Indiana: Indiana University Bloomington and Purdue University
- Michigan: Michigan State University and University of Michigan
- Ohio: Miami University and Ohio State University
- Washington: University of Washington
- Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin–Madison and University of Minnesota
- Plus University of Delaware, University of Iowa, University of Kansas, University of Maryland, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, University of Oregon, Penn State, Rutgers, and University of South Carolina, among others depending on region
Private partner universities include Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame, University of Chicago, Marquette University, Howard University, John Carroll University, and Villanova University.
Applicants apply directly to the university for admission. The Scholarship Committee recommends early action (not binding early decision) wherever it is available.
At campuses with a Scholarship House, scholars live and govern that house. Where there is no house, they live together in a designated residence hall. Community living is not optional; it is part of the program design.
Scholarship Benefits Beyond the Sticker Price
A full ride is the headline. The operating system around the money is what produces the graduation rate.
- Tuition and housing for up to four undergraduate years, renewed annually
- Scholarship House life: elected officers, shared meals and standards, built-in study culture
- Leadership training, including a national Summer Leadership Summit
- Career and alumni network across industries
- Support services aimed at first-generation students and students balancing work histories with campus life
The Foundation is funded by Par Club donors, championship proceeds (notably the BMW Championship), memorial gifts, and alumni. That donor base is why the award can remain a true full tuition and housing package rather than a shrinking grant.
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How to Apply for the Evans Scholarship
The application lives on the official Foundation site, wgaesf.org. Applications typically open around August 1.
A complete file generally includes:
- Online application
- High school evaluation
- Official transcript
- Test scores if submitted
- Caddie evaluation from the club
- CSS Profile for financial need
- Later, FAFSA-related documentation as required
Supporting documents are expected to be complete by October 15 in the cycle used by major scholarship directories and recent Foundation application guides. One Foundation FAQ page has also referenced September 30 for core materials, so treat early September as your working target and confirm the current year’s checklist on the official application page.
After files are reviewed, nominated candidates attend Selection Meetings hosted with affiliated clubs. Interviews run from late fall through spring. Most awards are announced during the senior year of high school. University placement is finalized later in the spring.
Practical advice that comes up again and again from successful applicants:
- Start logging loops and relationships with the caddie master early, not the summer before senior year.
- Ask for evaluations from people who have watched you work, not only people who like you.
- Apply to the assigned universities on time. A winning scholarship file is useless if you miss the campus admission deadline.
- Be ready to explain financial need clearly and without embarrassment. Need is a criterion, not a weakness.
Official starting points:
- Program overview: https://wgaesf.org/a-life-changing-opportunity
- Frequently asked questions: https://wgaesf.org/a-life-changing-opportunity/frequently-asked-questions
- Home and apply link: https://wgaesf.org/
Who Should Not Wait Another Year
This award favors students who already look like Evans Scholars on paper: two-plus years of serious caddying, strong college-prep grades, a club that will stand behind them, and a family budget that cannot absorb a flagship public or private university bill.
If you are a junior, the work is now: more loops, better grades, and a relationship with the club professional who will write the caddie evaluation. If you are a senior, the clock is the application window that opens in August. College freshmen can still apply, but most awards go to incoming first-year students.
The program is expanding. New partners in recent years include the University of South Carolina, the University of Delaware, John Carroll University, and Arizona State University. Growth means more seats, not easier standards. The latest class still came from a pool of more than a thousand applicants.
Frequently Overlooked Details
- The scholarship is undergraduate only. It will not fund a master’s or doctoral degree.
- You must be admitted to a partner university. The Foundation does not place you at a school that is not on the list.
- Early decision can conflict with the committee’s process. Early action is the safer path.
- Housing is part of the award because community is part of the method. Expect shared living and chapter responsibilities.
- Women are a growing share of new scholars. The program is coed and has been for decades.
Final Word
The WGA Evans Scholars Program is one of the rare scholarships that can change a family’s balance sheet overnight and then surround the student with a house full of people who understand the same grind. Chick Evans built it so caddies would not have to choose between a bag and a degree. Nearly a century later, that bargain still holds: work the course with excellence, prove you can handle the classroom, show that you need the help, and the Foundation will put tuition and a roof on the table.
If that describes you, do not treat this as casual reading. Open the official application at wgaesf.org, pull your transcript, talk to your caddie master this week, and build a file that is complete well before October 15. The loops you have already walked are the application. Finish the paperwork like you finish a round: no shortcuts, no missing holes.