FAQs – Martin Family Foundation

The Martin Achievement Scholarship is designed to support students who still have another year of study remaining at their community college before their anticipated transfer to UW Seattle. For most applicants, that means you’re applying for the Martin Achievement Scholarship during your first year of study at your community college. Students apply during winter quarter (the application is generally available February-April), anticipating that they will finish out that academic year in spring, and still have another full year of enrollment at their community college. For example, those applying for the Martin Achievement Scholarship in winter 2025 should expect to spend 2025-26 at their community college and apply for admission to UW Seattle for 2026-27.

The Martin Honors Scholarship is designed for those who are already in the transfer process, or are applying for admission to UW Seattle within the next 2 quarters. Students apply for this scholarship during spring (the application is generally available May-July), either having already been admitted to UW Seattle for spring or summer quarters, or anticipating admission for fall or winter quarter of the coming academic year. For example, those applying for the Martin Honors Scholarship in spring 2025 could be:

• already admitted to UW Seattle for spring quarter 2025, but not have earned more than 18 UW credits by July;
• already admitted to UW Seattle for summer quarter 2025;
• already admitted to UW Seattle, or still awaiting an admission decision for fall quarter 2025; OR
• planning to apply for admission to UW Seattle for winter quarter 2026.

In most cases, that means you’re applying for the scholarship before you know whether you are able to be admitted to UW Seattle.

Please note that the Martin Scholarships do not guarantee admission. You do have to apply for and gain admission through the normal UW admission processes. Receipt of the UW portion of the scholarship is continent upon successful admission.

Martin Achievement Scholarship Application Timeline:

1. Application opens each year in February.
2. Applications are due each year in early April.
3. UW campus selection committee reviews applications in April and determines a small number of finalists to invite to interview with the Martin Family Foundation Board members. All applicants are notified of their status.
4. Finalist interviews are conducted on a single specific date in May. Alternative interview dates cannot be accommodated.
5. Award determinations are communicated to finalists within a day of the interviews.
6. Scholarship funds for the final year of full-time community college studies ($5,000) are sent to your community college by mid-June.
7. Apply for admission to UW Seattle during the following academic year. See Admission Dates & Deadlines.
8. Once admitted and enrolled at UW Seattle, the scholarship provides $12,000 annually, made in quarterly payments through your UW student account during those quarters you are full-time enrolled at UW Seattle.

Martin Honors Scholarship Application Timeline:

1. Application opens each year in May.
2. Applications are due each year in early July.
3. UW Seattle admission decisions are made throughout the spring and summer, so it is likely you will learn of your admission decisions in the middle of the scholarship selection process.
4. UW campus selection committee reviews applications in July and determines a small number of semi-finalists to invite to prepare an additional essay, which will be due within roughly 2 weeks of that invitation. All applicants are notified of their status.
5. UW campus selection committee reviews those additional essays and determines a small number of finalists to invite to interview with the Martin Family Foundation Board members.
6. Finalist interviews are conducted on a single specific date in early September. Alternative interview dates cannot be accommodated.
7. Award determinations are communicated to finalists within a day of the interviews.
8. The scholarship provides up to $12,000 annually, made in quarterly payments through your UW student account during those quarters you are full-time enrolled at UW Seattle.

Yes, absolutely! There is never a guarantee of selection, but there have been students selected as Martin Honors Scholars after applying for the Achievement Scholarship and not getting selected. A lot can happen in one year, and you can learn a lot by going through any application process.

Assuming all the eligibility requirements are met, Running Start students are welcome to apply for the Martin Honors Scholarship. Running Start start students are not considered for the Martin Achievement Scholarship.

Your GPA is important, but not the only consideration for either of these scholarships.

Strong academic achievement is especially important if you’re applying for a Martin Family Honors Scholarship. Martin Honors Scholars are encouraged to join College or Departmental Honors Program at the University of Washington.

GPA is of less importance for Martin Achievement Scholarship candidates, but the competition does get tougher each year. In this program we are looking for dedicated individuals who are beginning to demonstrate an aptitude in specific areas of study, but who may not have a GPA at the top of their class. We want to encourage and support community college students who are beginning to demonstrate the academic potential that will enable them to be admitted to the University of Washington. Successful admission into the University of Washington Seattle is a requirement for the ongoing funding of Martin Achievement Scholars, which begins during a student’s second, or final year of study at one of the designated community colleges and continues when they transfer to the University of Washington Seattle.

Although a demonstrated financial need will be a consideration in awarding scholarships for both of these scholarship programs, it is not an eligibility requirement. We recognize that attending college full time can be a huge financial burden, even for those who are supported by family and/or employed, but with lots of other responsibilities.

The Martin Family Foundation is interested in assisting individuals who will have a positive impact in their communities. This goal is not intended to limit a candidate’s chosen field of study in any way. Lots of people with diverse backgrounds are making a difference every day, either through their volunteerism, their chosen career, their engagement with family, their communities, etc.

For the Martin Honors Scholarship, applicants complete an application form, including unofficial transcripts and two letters of recommendation. A review committee composed of UW faculty and staff members reviews all applications and selects a small number of applicants, who are then asked to write a brief essay to supplement their applications. The review committee reviews those essays and selects finalists to be interviewed by the Martin Family Foundation Board in September. The Board makes the final determination of scholarship recipients within one day of the interviews.

For the Martin Achievement Scholarship, applicants complete an application form, including unofficial transcripts and two letters of recommendation. A review committee composed of UW faculty and staff members reviews all applications and selects a small number of finalists to be interviewed by the Martin Family Foundation Board in May. The Board makes the final determination of scholarship recipients within one day of the interviews.

Because there are such a small number of scholarships available, and so many impressive community college students doing outstanding work and planning to transfer to UW Seattle, both the Martin Achievement and the Martin Honors Scholarships selection processes are exceptionally competitive. It is highly recommended to invest time into drafting and revising your application materials thoroughly, getting feedback from mentors and supporters along the way. 

In a typical cycle, the Martin Honors Scholarship program receives over 100 applications for the 2-4 scholarships available. The Martin Achievement Scholarship program has historically been much smaller, given the earlier timeframe involved, with roughly 20 or so applications each year for the 2-4 scholarships available. For those who can plan ahead, the Achievement Scholarship is a good opportunity!

The Martin Achievement and Honors Scholarship applications are online processes. Links to them can be found in the procedures section in the scholarship descriptions. Please feel welcome to contact us at scholarq@uw.edu if you have any questions, encounter any problems with the online application forms, etc. Recommendation letters are also submitted by your recommenders through the online application system.

The Martin Achievement Scholarship provides $5,000 to be used during the final year of full-time enrollment at the community college. Upon successful admission to UW Seattle, the scholarship will then provide $12,000/year for 2 or 3 years of full-time enrollment at UW Seattle (depending on graduation planning). Recipients must remain in good academic standing and must be enrolled full-time during the regular academic year (fall, winter, spring).

The Martin Honors Scholarship provides $12,000/year for 2 or 3 years of full-time enrollment at UW Seattle (depending on graduation planning). Recipients must remain in good academic standing and must be enrolled full-time during the regular academic year (fall, winter, spring).

Though the number can vary, during each application cycle, the Board is typically selecting 2-4 new scholars. At any given time, the Martin Family Foundation is funding twenty-five to thirty three-year scholarships.

Students selected as Martin Achievement or Martin Honors scholars join a community of scholars at the UW and beyond. Martin Scholars get together at least twice/year to share their experiences with each other, learn about resources and opportunities from each other, and meet peers, alums, and others who can provide support and guidance at UW. We encourage scholars to keep in touch with us and with each other after graduation from UW.

For the Martin Honors Scholarship, please review the details at https://expd.uw.edu/expo/scholarships/martinfamily. The link to the online application is listed under the Procedure section when the application is open.

For the Martin Achievement Scholarship, please review the details at https://expd.uw.edu/expo/scholarships/martinachievement. The link to the online application is listed under the Procedure section when the application is open.

We will need to address this for you internally. Using the email address designated in your application (so we can confirm your identity), please email scholarq@uw.edu with specific details about the changes you need to make (which recommender needs to be changed/updated). Most likely, we will need to delete the recommender information in question, to allow you to edit those details again.

First, please double-check that you’ve entered their email address correctly in your application. Using the email address designated in your application (so we can confirm your identity), please email scholarq@uw.edu with specific details about which recommender is having the issue. We will be able to resend the instruction message to them.

First, please try logging into your application using a different browser or in a private/incognito window. Often that does the trick. If problems persist, please email scholarq@uw.edu with specific details about the problem, including screenshots if relevant.