Morning Light Foundation（USA）Scholarship

In 2015, MLF began offering scholarships to students of Chinese descent in the United States. First made available to international foreign students, the scholarship was then extended to domestic students in 2018. These scholarships offered by MLF are designed to help students with financial need in pursuit of higher education.
The MLF（USA）Scholarship begins accepting applications from students studying in the Southern California region January 1 through March 31 each year. Applicants will be reviewed based on eligibility, the strength of their application and related documents.

Foreign Students Scholarship

Recipient will be awarded 6,000 per person

Foreign Students Scholarship Eligibility

Must be a full-time students of Chinese descent from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, and other Asian countries holding a valid passport, visa and status.

Must be enrolled to an accredited 4 year college, university or community college full time（No less than 12 units/semester or no less than 8 units/semester for students in a Master’s program）in Southern California.

Undergraduate students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5. Graduate students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.7.

Graduating high school students who have been accepted by a college must provide their acceptance letter. High school Students who have not received enrollment letters are still encouraged to apply, but approval and award is in contingent of a qualified university enrollment.

Must have actual financial need and proof. Foreign students must provide parent（s）' employer letter or other income verification.

Applicant must show strong leadership, involvement in community and volunteer work, and excel in character and academics.（Please provide copies of awards and certificates if applicable）

Scholars with the Government program are not eligible to apply.

Foreign Students Scholarship Application
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Application form can be downloaded from the Morning Light Foundation website：www.mlfcare.org or email MLFscholarship@gmail.com to request one. Scroll down to download the application.

Must provide copies of passport, visa and I-20.

Must provide parent（s）’ employer letter with income proof.

Must provide copy of official transcript from current school.

Must provide two letters of recommendation from professors/teachers. Additional recommendations from employer or mentor are also welcome.

Must provide an essay of 500 words or more on the topic “What does charity mean to me and why I need MLF’s scholarship.”

Applicant may provide copies of awards and certificates if applicable.

Application Submission​

Completed application with required documents should be in scanned in good quality and in the order of application, essay, ID/Passport/Visa, letters of recommendation, transcript, income proof/tax return and other supporting documents.

Completed applications should be submitted electronically via email in PDF format to Ms. Sonia Yang at MLFscholarship@gmail.com. Please mark Application for Foreign/Domestic Scholarship in the subject line）. The deadline for submission is no later than April 21th of the current year.

Selection and Timeline

Applications with relevant documents will be reviewed. Shortlisted students will be invited to attend an individual interview with the judges’ panel.

Successful Scholarship Recipients will be notified and awarded at a Recognition Ceremony on July of the current year. Students must attend the award ceremony on July 9, 2023 in person to receive the scholarship check.

Download 2023 Foreign Student Scholarship Application

If you have any questions, please send an email to MLFscholarship@gmail.com or Call MLF Administrator, Sonia Yang at 626-703-2408（cell）.

Domestic Students Scholarship

Recipient will be awarded 5,000 per person

Domestic Students Scholarship Eligibility

Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of Chinese decent.

Students of Chinese decent who is enrolled to an accredited 4 year college, university or community college full time（No less than 12 units/semester or no less than 8 units/semester for students in a Master’s program）in the United States.

Qualifying applicants are Southern California residents（using home address）who attend any universities or in the United States. Southern California region including Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura.

Undergraduate students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5. Graduate students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.7.

Graduating high school students who have been accepted by college must provide their acceptance letter. High school Students who have not received enrollment letters are still encouraged to apply, but approval and award is in contingent of a qualified university enrollment.

Must have actual financial need and proof. Students must provide parent（s）' tax return of the previous year.

Applicant must show strong leadership, involvement in community and volunteer work, and excel in character and academics.（Please provide copies of awards and certificates if applicable）

Domestic students who study in community college are also eligible to apply.

Domestic Students Scholarship Application

Application form may be downloaded from the Morning Light Foundation website：www.mlfcare.org or email MLFscholarship@gmail.com to request one. Scroll down to download the application.

Must provide proof of citizenship（Copy of U.S. Passport or Birth Certificate）or Permanent Resident card.

Must provide parent（s）' most recent tax return.

Must provide copy of official transcript from current school.

Must provide two letters of recommendation from professors/teachers. Additional recommendations from employer or mentor are also welcome.

Must provide an essay of 500 words or more on the topic “What does charity mean to me and why I need MLF’s scholarship.”

Applicant may provide copies of awards and certificates if applicable.

Submission

Completed Application with required documents should be in scanned in good quality and in the order of application, Essay, ID/Passport/Via, Letters of Recommendation, Transcript, Tax Return and other supporting documents.

Completed applications with relevant documents should be submitted electronically via email in PDF format to Ms. Sonia Yang at MLFscholarship@gmail.com（Please mark Application for Foreign/Domestic Scholarship in the subject line）.The deadline for submission is no later than April 21th of the current year.

Selection and Timeline

Applications with relevant documents will be reviewed. Shortlisted students will be invited to attend an individual interview with the judges’ panel.

Successful scholarship recipients will be notified and awarded at a Recognition Ceremony  in July of the current year. Students must attend the award ceremony on July 9, 2023 in person to receive the scholarship check.

Download 2023 Domestic Student Scholarship Application

If you have any questions, please send an email to MLFscholarship@gmail.com or call MLF Administrator, Sonia Yang at 626-703-2408（cell）.

ABOUT US
Based in Los Angeles and founded in 2005, Morning Light Foundation（MLF）is a non-profit charitable organization（IRC501c3 exempt organization）dedicated to helping students with financial need both in China and in Southern California. More than 5,000 university students with financial need have been benefited from its scholarship program in China, hundreds of student-teachers are sponsored to teach in rural villages, and 30 elementary schools have been built in Guangxi, Jiangxi, Anhui and Hunan Provinces in China.

In 2015, MLF began offering scholarships to students of Chinese descent in the United States. First made available to international foreign students, the scholarship was then extended to domestic students in 2018. These scholarships offered by MLF are designed to help students with financial need in pursuit of higher education.