Taco Bell can help you pay your way through college… and we aren’t only talking about cheap nachos and quesadillas.
In addition to their food items, Taco Bell also awards scholarships to help students pay for college.
Does Taco Bell Offer Scholarships?
Yes! Taco Bell awards college scholarships to students between the ages of 16 -24. The scholarship awards students who are innovative and have passion and dreams.
To apply for the scholarship, you must be enrolled or planning to enroll in a college or university. If you are studying at a vocational or trade school, you are also eligible. Still in high school for a few more years? No sweat! You can defer your award until you start university.
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The Taco Bell Scholarship award ranges from $5,000-$25,000. Recipients may use the scholarship toward tuition, required fees, books, and supplies.
How Do I Apply for the Taco Bell Scholarship?
This is a relatively easy scholarship to apply to. It doesn’t require any essays.
To apply for the Taco Bell Scholarship, you need to submit a video between 30 seconds and 2 minutes long. It can be a short film, animation, or testimonial. You can film the video on your phone, computer, tablet, or any other device you have access to.
Don’t worry if you’re not a tech wizz. The scholarship committee doesn’t care about the quality of your film. What they want to see is who you are and what your passion is.
To get to know you better, the scholarship committee asks you to address these questions in your video:
What post-secondary education program, college or certificate/degree program are you attending?
What impact will following your passion have on your local community or the world?
How do you plan to achieve your passion through your educational goals?
What is your dream college, school or next step in your education?
Do I Have to Work at Taco Bell to Receive the Live Mas Scholarship?
The Taco Bell Scholarship has a few tracks. The regular Live Mas Scholarship is not open to employees of Taco Bell.
Instead, employees can apply to a special Live Mas Scholarship for Restaurant Employees Program.
The eligibility criteria for the Employees Program are pretty much the same. In addition to the general requirements, applicants must work at Taco Bell for at least 3 months of continuous service. This includes positions like Team Member, Trainer, Shift Leader, or Restaurant General Manager.
To apply for the scholarship, students need to submit a video, similar to the Live Mas Scholarship.
Can the Taco Bell Scholarship Be Renewed?
Recipients of the Taco Bell Scholarship can apply for the Live Mas Scholarship Renewal Program. To qualify for the program, you must have received a Live Mas Scholarship. You need to be in good academic standing and have used 75% or more of the funds you received.
To apply for the renewal program, you must submit a video answering the following questions:
What post-secondary education program, college, or certificate/degree program are you attending?
What impact will following your passion have on your local community or the world?
What is your passion and how have you been living it since being awarded a Live Más Scholarship?
How has your enrollment into post-secondary education helped you to develop or enhance your passion?
What Is the Taco Bell Scholarship Deadline?
Here is the following timeline for the Taco Bell Scholarship:
Application opens: November
Application closes: January
Recipients notified: May
Tips for Winning the Taco Bell Scholarship
Emphasize your passion. This is the most important part of your scholarship application. Make sure that your passion is obvious to anybody watching your video. Clearly address your passion and connect it to the scholarship.
Speak your voice. Don’t be afraid to be who you are and share your personal experiences. The scholarship committee looks for people who are unique and not afraid to be authentic.
Look at past scholarship winners. If you aren’t sure what to make a video on, check out some of the past scholarship winners and look at their videos.
Final Thoughts
The Taco Bell Scholarship is a pretty easy one to apply to. It awards students with big scholarships so it’s definitely worth applying to!
David Tabachnikov is the CEO of ScholarshipOwl. Formerly at Waze and Google, David is an experienced CTO/R&D manager with over 10 years of experience of leading tech teams. David fervently believes that students should have greater access to education, and is passionate about using technology to help them achieve that goal.
