Edelman Financial Engines CFP® Certification Scholarship for Overcoming Adversity

about the scholarship

The Edelman Financial Engines CFP® Certification for Overcoming Adversity Scholarship aims to support the development of aspiring financial planners. In addition, Edelman Financial Engines seeks candidates who have shown a demonstrated commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion issues.

For more than 35 years, Edelman Financial Engines has been helping people move their financial lives forward.

Our founders set the tone for our mission – giving individual investors access to sophisticated investment modeling tools that were previously available only to institutional investors, and providing financial planning and wealth management advice with the belief that everyone should have a trusted financial advocate who is always acting in their best interests.

We’re proud to offer this scholarship, and help the next generation of exceptional, client-centric financial planners build their careers.

In partnership with the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning, the scholarship awards up to $5,000 per individual hoping to complete a certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program that would qualify them to sit for the CFP® exam.

eligibility requirements

• Must not be a prior recipient of a CFP Board Center for Financial Planning scholarship.
• Must be a U.S. resident.
• Must have at least 2 years of financial services industry experience.
• Must have an undergraduate degree.
• Must be enrolled in a CFP Board-registered certificate program at the time the scholarship application is submitted. Documentation of program enrollment and costs is a precondition to receiving the award. Review a list of eligible certificate-level programs.
• Must not have completed 6 or more courses in the certificate-level program at the time of the application.
• Eligible candidates should highlight how they have overcome adversity in their personal or professional experience.
• Must have demonstrated financial need, to be explained in the essay requirement of the application process.
• Must have a demonstrated desire to help others reach their financial goals, while building their own career in a professional setting.
• Must exhibit professionalism and dignity, and demonstrate the ability to enhance and maintain the profession’s public image.

Applicants who are selected for the final round of the application review process must pass a background check conducted by the CFP Board.

submission process

Applications will only be accepted through this webpage. Please do not submit application materials via mail, fax or email.

When submitting application essays and materials, please pay close attention to spelling and grammar, as that will be factored into the grading process.

award process

Scholarship awards will be disbursed in two equal installments. To receive the first installment, recipients will have to demonstrate proof of enrollment in an eligible certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program. The second installment will be awarded either upon completing the program (if the awardee has already started coursework), or when the awardee is half-way through the program (if the awardee has not yet started coursework).

Application DEADLINE

The application window closed on April 8, 2024.

AWARD DECISION

Scholarship applicants will be notified of the award decision via email by June 3, 2024. If you have a question about the status of your application, please contact us at scholarships@cfpboard.org.