CVS Make Your Mark Scholarship

Introduction: Making Your Mark with CVS

Securing funding for higher education remains one of the biggest challenges to face college students in America today. With rising tuition costs and increased competition for available funding, finding scholarships that match your philosophy and experiences becomes more critical than ever. The CVS Make Your Mark Scholarship is a wonderful opportunity for such students whose contributions actively make their communities better.

Having spent 15 years helping students navigate through the scholarship application maze, I can easily appreciate how such an initiative could touch students’ lives. It is not just about giving monetary support to students but also acknowledging that many of them are already doing meaningful community work.

This all-inclusive guide provides everything you need to know about the CVS Make Your Mark Scholarship: eligibility requirements and application processes, along with tips on how to create a winning proposal. Let’s dive deeper and discover how you can present your community impact and stand a chance to win one of the awards, which will amount to $5,000 for your college education.

Program Overview

CVS is collaborating with Her Campus to award five (5) students who have improved their communities a scholarship of $5,000 toward their education. This contest is part of the Beauty Unaltered campaign aimed at enhancing access to women’s health and wellness resources. It also encourages healthier self-image online.

Eligibility Requirements

Understanding who is qualified to apply for the CVS Make Your Mark Scholarship is the first step in deciding whether or not this opportunity is intended for you. According to the official guidelines, this scholarship requires all applicants to meet the following criteria:

Who May Apply:

Must be at least 18 years old at the time of application for the scholarship;
Legal resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia; Must be currently enrolled in a two-year or four-year accredited school or university or other vocational certification program; Show evidence of having a positive impact within his or her community through volunteer work or activism or engagement with other forms;

Additional Factors:

Candidates are especially favored who show:

• A commitment to the betterment of their community;
• Community leadership;
• Sustainable or innovative interventions to community challenges;
• Linkages to health promotion, wellness, or positive self-imaging.

Unlike the eligibility criteria of many scholarships, the CVS Make Your Mark Scholarship does not put GPA at the forefront of its selection criteria. The focus is purely on the ways you have impacted your community and your prospective ability to catalyze positive change. For such reasons, it remains ideal for students involved in service who may not fit into a purely academic scholarship.

Application Process

The application process for the CVS Make Your Mark Scholarship is straightforward but requires thoughtful preparation. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of what you need to do:

Step-by-Step Application Guide

Tips for a Standout Application

Having helped students get millions in scholarship funding, I have found that several strategies can help you ace the CVS Make Your Mark Scholarship:

Be Specific with Your Impact

Do not write something as general as, “Worked as a volunteer at a food bank.” Instead, go for “Organized 12 food drives that provided meals to over 500 families in my community.” Put concrete numbers and actual outcomes to give a vivid picture of your impact.

Tie Back to CVS Values

Learn about CVS’s community initiatives, such as the Beauty Unaltered campaign. Whenever possible, create organic connections between your community work and CVS’s commitment to health, wellness, and positive self-image.

Share Your Story

Speak about your personal involvement with the cause. Why is this community work important to you? What prompted you to get involved? Being authentic and telling your story will really grab the reviewers’ attention.

Make a Great Video

While optional, a video submission could allow you to stand out from the crowd of applicants. Keep it real, too; your video should only be two or three minutes long and focus instead on showing, not telling, about your impact on the community.

Examples of Qualifying Community Impact

To give you an understanding of what the reviewers appreciate, below are examples of community work that could qualify for this scholarship:

• Health Initiatives: Articulating health screenings or wellness workshops in underserved communities
• Environmental Stewardship: Leading sustainability projects benefiting health and well-being of communities
• Mental Health Advocacy: Programs on campus that support student mental health or reduce stigma
• Food Security: Food pantries or meal programs set up or greatly contributed to
• Education Access: Tutoring programs or educational tools developed for disadvantaged youth

Important Dates and Deadlines

Timing is crucial when applying for the CVS Make Your Mark Scholarship. Mark these key dates on your calendar to ensure you don’t miss any deadlines:

For the most current deadlines and dates, always refer to the official scholarship page .

FAQs About the CVS Make Your Mark Scholarship

Alternative CVS Scholarship Opportunities

In case you are neither eligible for the Make Your Mark Scholarship nor seeking further opportunities, CVS has several other interesting scholarship programs you could consider:

Success Stories: Past Scholarship Recipients

Learning from past winners can really give you an amazing glimpse into the successful award-winning application. While these stories can be found on the Her Campus website, here are some examples of community impact award that were recognized:

Maya S.- Mental Health Advocate
After facing anxiety as a first-generation college student, Maya opened a campus peer support program that expanded to three neighboring universities. It has trained over 50 peer counselors, serving hundreds of students.

“In my application, I discussed how my personal struggles had given me the fire to create lasting change, including impressive figures on how the program has grown and its impacts.”

Carlos T.- Food Security Champion
Carlos organized a network of campus gardens whose productions get donated to local food pantries. This initiative has given over 2000 pounds of fresh vegetables to members of the community in need and educated students on sustainable agriculture.

“My video submission showed the gardens in action, then had residents speaking on their experience benefiting from the program. I think that visual element really helped bring my written application to life.”
Aisha K. – Health Education Leader
Identified as a lack of health education in her community, Aisha has instituted a mobile health clinic that goes deep into those neighborhoods that have less health service, offering primary health screenings and workshops on the preventive care.

“I connected my community work directly with CVS’s mission around helping people to a better path in health. I think showing that alignment between my values and the company’s values actually strengthened my application.”

Final Thoughts and Next Steps

Beyond financial assistance, the scholarship represents the recognition of one’s commitment to fostering positive change in one’s community. You are either already deep into community work or at the very beginning: you will find validation and support for your efforts.

When filling out your application, remember that authenticity is better than perfection. Share your genuine passion about your community contribution, be specific about your contributions, and articulate clearly the impact you’ve made. The selection committee is looking for students who truly embody the spirit of “making your mark” through meaningful action.

Your Application Checklist

• Eligibility requirements are verified
• Account is created in MyScholarship.App
• Collect enrollment verification documents
• Draft and edit your written response
• Optional video submission
• Peer review of application materials
• Application submitted prior to April 29, 2025

Having worked with a great many scholarship applicants throughout the years, I can say that the most successful approach to the process has been that both heart and strategy are poured into it. These are genuine accounts told as intentionally as possible toward how their actions are perceived.