Society of Women Engineers Lehigh Valley Section Scholarship Application Guide 2026–2027: Requirements & Deadline (USA)

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Overview

The Society of Women Engineers – Lehigh Valley Section Scholarship has been a cornerstone of SWE-LV’s mission since 2001: helping high school senior women who intend to major in engineering get into college with less financial strain. Funded by area businesses and run entirely by SWE volunteers, the program has awarded well over 170 scholarships totaling more than half a million dollars since its inception.

For the 2026–2027 cycle, applicants can be considered for a one-time award of up to $3,500 (recent award levels have ranged as high as $5,000 in previous years, depending on sponsor funding), based on a holistic evaluation of academic achievement, extracurricular and leadership activities, a required evaluation form, and an original essay. Recipients are honored at SWE-LV’s Annual Banquet/Scholarship Recognition Event, typically held in May.

This is a genuinely regional award, not a Lehigh Valley-city-limits-only program — eligibility is defined by a broad zip code range covering more than 20 Pennsylvania counties, which is wider geographic reach than many similarly named “section” scholarships offer.

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Nationality & Residency Requirements

• Applicants must reside in an area with a zip code beginning with 177–187 or 195–196 — a range that spans more than 20 Pennsylvania counties, not just the immediate Lehigh Valley.
• This is a residency-by-zip-code requirement, not a citizenship requirement. SWE-LV’s published eligibility criteria don’t mention citizenship or visa status at all.
• Because eligibility is determined by zip code rather than school district or county name, it’s worth double-checking your specific zip code against the range rather than assuming based on which county or town you live in.

Academic & GPA Eligibility Requirements

The Society of Women Engineers Lehigh Valley Section Scholarship GPA requirement and broader eligibility rules include some restrictions that surprise a lot of applicants:

• No published GPA minimum: SWE-LV doesn’t state a specific GPA cutoff. Evaluation is holistic — based on academic achievement, extracurricular and leadership activities, an evaluation form, and an original essay — rather than a single numeric threshold.
• Must identify as a woman: Applicants must identify as a woman and be graduating from high school in the year the scholarship is awarded — this is a high-school-senior-only scholarship, not open to current college students, transfer students, or non-traditional applicants.
• First-year enrollment requirement: You must be enrolling as a first-year student in an ABET-accredited engineering program in the award year — meaning this scholarship is specifically for the transition from high school into a freshman engineering program.
• Excluded majors (the differentiator most listings skip entirely): SWE-LV publishes an explicit list of majors that do not qualify, even though students often assume they would: Engineering Technologies (any), Computer Technology, Computer Science, and Information Systems. Only majors formally accredited by ABET as engineering programs count — aerospace, chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical, environmental, materials, and similar disciplines qualify, but a Computer Science degree, even at a strong engineering school, does not.
• ABET accreditation verification is on the applicant: SWE-LV directs applicants to check their intended school and major against ABET’s own accredited-program search tool before applying, since eligibility hinges on formal ABET accreditation of your specific major at your specific institution.

Application Materials Needed

Based on SWE-LV’s published process, applicants should prepare:

1. The completed online application form.
2. An original essay.
3. An activities form detailing extracurricular and leadership involvement.
4. An evaluation form, which — notably — may be submitted separately or by a third party (such as a teacher or counselor) after your own materials are in.
5. An official transcript, which can also be submitted after your initial application materials, alongside the evaluation form.
6. Optionally, a college acceptance letter and supplemental form, if available at the time of application (not mandatory).

Step-by-Step How to Apply

1. Confirm your zip code falls within the 177–187 or 195–196 range before investing time in the rest of the application.
2. Verify your intended major and school are ABET-accredited using ABET’s official program search tool — don’t assume; check it directly, especially if you’re considering Computer Science or a “technology” variant of an engineering major, since those are explicitly excluded.
3. Start your essay and activities form early, since these must be completed and submitted with your initial application — unlike the evaluation form and transcript, which can follow later.
4. Ask a teacher or counselor to complete your evaluation form, and arrange for your official transcript to be sent — both can be submitted after your core application, but plan ahead so they arrive before the secondary deadline.
5. Submit your application form, essay, and activities form by February 1, the section’s standard annual application deadline.
6. Make sure your evaluation form and transcript are received shortly after the main deadline, per SWE-LV’s published submission windows for supporting documents.
7. Watch for notification and, if selected, plan to attend the Annual Banquet/Scholarship Recognition Event in May, where scholarships are formally presented.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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