Udaan India Scholarship

All eligible students must complete the application form and submit the essay, whether or not you’re an MPOWER borrower.

You must have your visa stamped in your passport by the closing date of the competition.

MPOWER selects winners based solely on their essay submission. We’ll select 11 finalists then choose winners from this pool. MPOWER retains final determination of the winners. By accepting the award, the scholarship winner agrees to provide MPOWER with the following:

1. A quote about winning the contest
2. A headshot 
3. A short video summarizing their essay 

MPOWER awards one US$10,000 grand prize scholarship and 10 US$1,000 runner-up scholarships.

The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on May 30, 2024.

We expect to notify the winners within eight weeks of the deadline.

Once MPOWER has selected the winners,  we’ll verify their eligibility. Following verification, we’ll send all winners a release to be signed before release of funds. Upon receipt of a winner’s executed release, MPOWER will disburse the funds directly to the winner’s college/university, subject to the requirements of any applicable U.S. or Canadian laws. In the event a winner cannot be verified or fails or refuses to execute the release, that person becomes ineligible for the scholarship, and MPOWER will select a replacement winner.

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Only one entry per scholarship. By applying for the MPOWER Udaan India Scholarship, you agree to be bound by the official terms and conditions (“Terms and Conditions”).

Employees (including their immediate family [for e.g., spouse, parents, siblings, and children], and household members) of MPOWER Financing (“MPOWER”), its affiliates, subsidiaries and those of any agent, vendor or supplier of MPOWER, are not eligible. Eligibility is contingent upon agreement to, compliance with, and fulfillment of all requirements set forth herein. Participation in an MPOWER Scholarship constitutes an entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Terms and Conditions and MPOWER’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Scholarship. Where applicable, the MPOWER Udaan India Scholarship is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

This scholarship is open to international graduate students with Indian citizenship admitted to or enrolled in a full-time STEM degree program at an MPOWER-eligible U.S. or Canadian school. You must be permitted to legally study in the U.S. or Canada, as applicable:

• For study in the U.S., an applicant must have a valid visa that permits study in the U.S. or be a U.S. permanent resident (green card holder). 
• For study in Canada, this means the applicant has a valid Canadian study permit. 

You don’t need to have an MPOWER student loan to apply.

MPOWER Financing, Public Benefit Corporation, 1101 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 900, 20036 Washington, District of Columbia

The scholarship application period ends May 30, 2024. Only entries submitted and received during the scholarship period will be eligible. MPOWER is both the official timekeeper and final arbiter of eligibility for each scholarship.

For the scholarship period, eleven (11) scholarship winners will be selected. The first-place winner will be awarded a US$10,000 MPOWER Scholarship to be applied to tuition, fees or expenses at the winner’s school of attendance (each a “Prize”). Ten additional winners will be awarded a US$1,000 “Runner Up” award. 

For any scholarship, only one entry will be accepted during the scholarship period. For each scholarship, entrants must complete and submit the online scholarship link? entry form (an “Entry”) found at https://mpowerfinancing.com/scholarships/udaan-india-stem-scholarship. Any entry that does not comply with the Terms and Conditions is void. All entries become the property of MPOWER Financing and will not be acknowledged or returned. Entry constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use entrant’s university name, state, country of origin and/or essay question response for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity in any and all media now or hereafter known, throughout the world in perpetuity, without additional compensation, notification, permission or approval. Any entry found to contain erroneous, expired, canceled, fraudulent or fake information is void. Only the actual student may participate in the scholarship, and the completion of the online entry form by any family member or other individual or entity will disqualify such entry from this scholarship. Any attempt by any person to obtain more than one entry by any means (including, but not limited to, the use of multiple email addresses, phone numbers, identities, registrations or logins; or any other unauthorized method of entry) will result in such person’s automatic disqualification from the scholarship. By submitting an entry, you agree that MPOWER may, from time to time, communicate with you regarding products and services that it believes may be of interest to you.

Eleven (11) Scholarship winners will be selected. The first-place winner will be awarded a US$10,000 Scholarship to be applied to tuition, fees or expenses at the winner’s school of attendance (each a “Prize”). Ten additional winners will be awarded a US$1,000 prize. Students (the “Entrants”) may enter the scholarship once. There are no substitutions permitted for any awarded prize. A prize will only be awarded to the person submitting the Entry and may not be sold, assigned, or otherwise transferred (“Transfer”). Any scholarship details or attempted Transfer shall be void. Any prize details not specified above will be determined by MPOWER in its sole discretion.

All entries will be judged based on the quality of the essay question response. MPOWER will review all applicable and valid Entries and select 11 finalists based on the selection criteria. MPOWER is responsible for selecting the winner from the pool of finalists. A panel of three judges will then review the finalists’ applications and select the winners. The essay must be written in English.

Prior to any decision, MPOWER reserves the right to conduct interviews and/or request additional information from any Entrants related to their Entry. The Judges’ decision is final and binding. Winners will be notified within 8 weeks of the submission deadline. All decisions (including but not limited to eligibility determinations) will be final and binding and are not subject to challenge or appeal. Prize awards are subject to MPOWER’s verification of winners’ eligibility. All winners will be required to submit (without alteration and in the form provided by MPOWER) a completed and signed Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability & Publicity Release (the “Release”). In the event that the Winner is under 18 years of age at the time of award, the Winner’s parents will be required to submit a completed and signed Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability & Publicity Release. Winner’s failure to timely return an executed Release within the required time period to MPOWER will void a winner’s Prize award and MPOWER reserves the right to award such Prize to an alternate entrant. Winners are solely responsible for the payment of any applicable federal, state, and local taxes associated with their acceptance and receipt of any Prize. Winners acknowledge that their Prize may be subject to U.S. or Canadian withholding and that they may be required to execute and return to MPOWER the U.S. Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Form W-9 or applicable Canadian form. 

All winners will be notified by telephone, email, and/or regular mail using contact information provided on their Entry. MPOWER shall have no liability for any winner notification that is lost, intercepted, or not received by the potential winner for any reason. If any potential winner does not respond within the time required by MPOWER, or if any winner notification is returned as unclaimed or undeliverable to a potential winner, or fails to timely return the Release to MPOWER, the Prize for that Scholarship will be awarded to an alternative winner selected by the Judges based on the results of the aforementioned judging criteria. Following MPOWER’s verification of winner’s eligibility and receipt of the executed Release from a winner, MPOWER shall pay the Prize on winner’s behalf, directly to the winner’s school of enrollment. MPOWER will not have any liability to the winner in the event that the winner’s school refuses, loses, fails to properly apply, or otherwise fails to credit any Prize (or portion thereof) for the winner’s benefit.

Except where prohibited by law, Entrant agrees that: (1) all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with a Scholarship or any prize awarded will be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate federal or state court located in the District of Columbia; (2) all claims, judgments, and awards will be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering a Scholarship, but in no event will include attorneys’ fees; and (3) Entrant will not be permitted to obtain awards for indirect, punitive incidental and consequential damage and any rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Terms and Conditions, or the rights or obligations of Entrant or MPOWER in connection with a Scholarship, are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules, no matter what jurisdiction, that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than as stated.

The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Terms and Conditions will not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event any provision is found invalid or unenforceable, these Terms and Conditions will otherwise remain in effect in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or unenforceable provision was never included. MPOWER’s failure to enforce any term of these Terms and Conditions does not constitute a waiver of that provision. MPOWER may cancel, suspend, and/or modify a Scholarship or any part of it, in any way, if MPOWER determines in its sole discretion that a Scholarship is not capable of executing as MPOWER intended, or that any mistake, clerical, or typographical error, omission, fraud, technical failure, tampering, computer virus, or other factor, technical or otherwise, beyond MPOWER’s reasonable control, impairs or may impair MPOWER’s ability to properly conduct the Scholarship, subject to any applicable law or regulation.

Information collected from Entrants in connection with a Scholarship is subject to the MPOWER’s Privacy Policy.

The list of winners will be announced via email. In extenuating circumstances, MPOWER reserves the right to protect the privacy of scholarship recipients.

Though a Scholarship may be promoted via social media websites, such websites are not affiliated with MPOWER or any Scholarship. No Scholarship is in any way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or any other site or medium that might host content where information about a Scholarship is posted or published (collectively “Content Hosts”). Entrant is providing information only to MPOWER and not to any Content Hosts.