This story was first published in our Paying for College 101 Facebook community. It’s been edited for clarity and flow. 

My daughter is close to finishing her sophomore year at college, which she is partially funding with employee scholarships. She was recently presented with the Chik-fil-A (CFA) Remarkable Futures Scholarship for the second year in a row from the CFA franchise where she works. The best part? CFA employees are allowed to earn the annual scholarship up to four times, for a total of up to $10,000. 

Check for Matching Scholarships

The CFA Remarkable Futures Scholarship is worth $2,500, but the owner/operator of my daughter’s CFA offers to match it if employees commit to 20 hours a week. During my daughter’s second year of employment at CFA, she earned $4,800 per her W2, and her scholarship earnings to date have been $5,000! She has basically doubled her salary with the scholarship — but she’s not the only one. At her CFA store, 11 students earned some type of scholarship.

Employee Scholarship Requirements

I’m often asked about the eligibility requirements for these types of employee scholarships, including how much she had to work to qualify. She only works when she’s home during summers and school breaks and not while she’s away at school. She is on the school’s Division III track team, which takes up a lot of her time. 

The scholarship emphasizes community service and grades, but as far as I know, you only have to be an employee of CFA to apply. Students also need a recommendation from the owner/operator of their CFA. Applications open in October and the deadline is in December.

Where to Find Employee Scholarships

The best part about this employee scholarship is that my daughter’s boss works with her schedule. In fact, this summer she is going to work days at CFA so she can work nights at a local AA baseball field and get some experience in her chosen industry. 

This CFA employee scholarship has been a HUGE help. I know that Chipotle also offers scholarships, as do other companies like Starbucks. If a student is looking at ways to earn money, it’s definitely worth seeking out employers that offer employee scholarships for education. 

Editor’s Note: Chick-fil-A offers two scholarship opportunities — the True Inspiration™ Scholarship ($25,000) and the Leadership Scholarship ($1,000 or $2,500) — to team members who work at a franchised, company-owned and/or affiliated restaurant. The scholarships can be used at any accredited college, university, or technical/vocational school and are available for both full-time and part-time students. 

Scholarship funds are paid in advance (no reimbursement required). For more information about this and other employee scholarships at CFA, click HERE.

To help find merit scholarships use College Insights and narrow down schools that fit the criteria most important to your student. You’ll not only save precious time, but your student will avoid the heartache of applying to schools they aren’t likely to get into or can’t afford to attend. 

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