Scholarship Merit Badge
Five requirements, four of them choices. A B average for a term or semester, or improved grades; TWO of four: an educational place, interviews with two professionals, a daily planner, or research methods; a note from your principal on your behavior, leadership and service in the past year; an extracurricular activity or a team project; and a 250- to 300-word report.
The plan behind this
What rests on time already spent
| requirement | what it needs |
|---|---|
| 1 | one term or semester of grades: a B average (80 percent or higher), or improvement over the previous period |
| 3 | a note from your principal, or another school official the principal names, that during the past year your behavior, leadership and service have been satisfactory |
| 4(b) | a school team project from the past semester, if you choose that route |
If you are home-schooled, or your school environment does not include a principal, the note in requirement 3 may come from a counterpart such as your parent or guardian.
Requirement 2: do TWO of four
| route | what it asks |
|---|---|
| 2(a) | list the educational places where you live, other than schools; visit one and report on how you used it for self-education |
| 2(b) | with your counselor's and your parent or guardian's approval, interview two professionals with established careers, not teachers or others at your school, about their education, training and how they keep learning; discuss it with your counselor |
| 2(c) | show your counselor how you keep track of assignments and activities with a daily planner, and discuss how you manage your time |
| 2(d) | discuss the advantages and disadvantages of research methods for school assignments, such as the library, books and periodicals, and the internet |
Requirements 4 and 5: ONE of two each
| requirement | route | what it asks |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | (a) | an extracurricular school activity, and the benefits and teamwork you learned |
| (b) | a school team project in the past semester, and your positive contributions to it | |
| 5 | (a) | a report of 250 to 300 words on how your education will be of value in the future, and how you will keep educating yourself |
| (b) | a report of 250 to 300 words on two careers that interest you, and how specific classes and good scholarship will help you reach your career goals |
What this page is
The Scholarship merit badge, drawn so the grades and the principal's note, which rest on time already spent and on someone else, stand out, with all four choices drawn as questions. It is not a copy of the requirements: each step is a short label with a link to the official requirements, which are what actually governs and which change from year to year. The free official pamphlet is the fuller guide.
Sources for this page
- Scholarship Merit Badge Requirements, Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2026-08-21 · The requirements themselves, and the free official pamphlet linked from them.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.0.3 · The process every merit badge is earned through, which this page does not repeat.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.4.3 · Which version of a changed requirement applies to a Scout who has already started.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 4.0.0.1 · Why the requirements are not in the Guide to Advancement and are expected to change annually.
Last checked against its sources on .