Scholarship Application Information:
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) Scholarship Program offers scholarships to graduating high school seniors who are Mayflower descendants and will be attending a four-year college or university or two-year community college. In 2024, the GSMD‘s added a Native American Scholarship for graduating high school seniors with proven descent to a Native American ancestor.
The 2025 Scholarship Application Process is Closed!
SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD) Scholarship Program is awarding three High School Senior students’ scholarships in the amount of: $6000, $5000, $4000. In addition, a $2,400 Mary Chilton Winslow Scholarship will also be awarded. For all these scholarships, it is required to be a graduating high school senior who is a Mayflower descendant and will be attending a four-year college or university or two-year community college.
ANCESTRY REQUIREMENTS
For an applicant to be considered for a Mayflower Scholarship, the Applicant must provide the name of the Mayflower Ancestor(s) from whom they descend. They must also provide a valid GSMD membership number for either the applicant or for a parent, grandparent, or great grandparent of the applicant. This member must be active – not deceased, resigned or dropped.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Each scholarship applicant must:
- Be a graduating senior
- Complete and submit the application form
- Complete and submit the essay
- Submit a recent transcript
- Enter a four-year college or university or two-year community college.
In the spirit of the Mayflower settlers seeking to better themselves by moving to a new and uncharted world, special consideration will be given to applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to bettering themselves.
Applicants are required to provide names/emails from a teacher and a person in the community for each of them to complete a “Letter of Recommendation” form.
Failure to send appropriate forms will eliminate your application from consideration.
For more information about how to apply for the Native American Scholarship please visit:
The Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants.
2024 Scholarship Winners:
There were 5 scholarships awarded in 2024:
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants 1st Prize – $6,000
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants 2nd Prize – $5,000
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants 3rd Prize – $4,000
The GSMD Native American Scholarship – $2,600
The Mary Chilton Winslow Scholarship – $2,400
The 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize scholarship winners, along with the Mary Chilton Winslow scholarship winner are all descendants of a Mayflower passenger. The scholarships were awarded based on the student’s class standing and GPA, extracurricular activities, sports, awards and community involvement. Additionally each applicant had to submit one character reference and one academic reference as well as a two part essay on the Mayflower Compact.
This year The Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants also selected a winner for a Native American Heritage Scholarship. The scholarship was based on similar criteria except the applicant’s ancestry must be tied back directly to a Native American tribe and their essay was based on the student’s Native American heritage. This year’s winner, Nathan Potter, is a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head.
All of the winners were selected by a scholarship committee, made up of five adjudicators and the committee chair.
First Prize:
Liam Brennan
Second Prize:
Connor Curtis
Third Prize:
Maddox Lingo
Native American Scholarship:
Nathan Potter
Mary Chilton Winslow Scholarship:
Owen Bell
