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WHO CAN APPLY?
ELIGIBILITY

Traditional Eligbility
Student on Mobile Phone

Bootstraps Scholarships and Interest-Free Loans:
Eligibility

Bootstraps provides scholarships and interest-free loans to graduating high school students from the mountain-area. Our awards are funded by generous local individuals and families, businesses, and civic organizations.

You are eligible to apply if:

  • You will graduate from high school in the current school year.

  • You are a legal resident of the State of Colorado. 

  • You reside within the attendance boundaries of Clear Creek, Conifer, Evergreen, or Platte Canyon High Schools.

  • Students who are part of homeschool programs, online programs, private, or alternative schools living within these attendance boundaries are also eligible.

  • You plan to pursue postsecondary education (college, university, community college, or trade/vocational/certification program) full-time in the fall of 2026.

  • Having financial need is a consideration we take into account for all of our students. You have financial need if the cost of attendance for the school you plan to attend exceeds your Student Aid Index (SAI) as determined by the FAFSA. Some of our scholarships and interest-free loans consider financial need, and others require financial need. Please note: if you plan on attending an out-of-state school, we will use an average COA of $42,738.94, which is the average of all Colorado public universities and the four largest private colleges, to calculate your financial need, unless your school's COA is lower. We do this to honor your school choice while also allowing for greater distribution of available funds and maintaining fairness and consistency for all students. 

  • Application Deadline: Saturday, January 31, 2026, at midnight.​

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A Man Welding

Mission: Empowering the educational and career dreams of our mountain-area students in partnership with our community. Goal: To help students pursue postsecondary education, including college, university, community college, and career schools (trades, vocational, and certification programs).

CTE ELIGBILITY
CONTINUING ELIGBILITY
Student

Continuing
Interest-Free Loans: Eligibility

You are eligible to apply for an interest-free loan if you answer yes to all of the following questions:

  • Did you receive a Bootstraps scholarship or loan upon graduation from high school?

  • Are you pursuing an undergraduate degree or certification?

  • Are you enrolled in at least 12 credit hours?

  • Do you have financial need?

  • Are you in good academic standing with a minimum 2.5 GPA?

  • Is your total Bootstraps loan balance less than $15,000?

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