Spring has always been a season of anticipation. For the 1,635 students who applied to the Lu Memorial Scholarship this year, the waiting is finally over.
Scholarship decisions for the 2026 cohort are now available in the application portal. To view your decision, log in and navigate to your Application Status page, where you'll find a View Update button. A quick but important note: there are no interim screens, so please be sure you're ready to receive your decision before you click.
A Remarkable Applicant Pool
Every selection cycle reminds us of just how many talented, driven, and deeply thoughtful young people there are in the world, and this year was no exception. Reading through 1,635 applications was both a privilege and one of the most difficult parts of the work we do. Behind every application was a real person with real dreams, and we never lose sight of that.
After careful and thorough review, we have offered Lu Memorial Scholarship to 15 students.
We know how few those spots are. The Foundation has always chosen to keep the cohort small so that each award is meaningful enough to make a real difference. We wish we could offer more, but we would rather do right by a few than spread ourselves too thin.
Who They Are
This year's admitted scholars are not cut from a single mold. They are quantum physicists and quarterbacks, filmmakers and field biologists, and yes, at least one rocket maker. They come from different backgrounds, different communities, and different corners of the world.
What they share is equally important: rigorous academics, evidence of high character, and genuine alignment with Tingyu Lu's founding mission to use science, technology, and the useful arts to make the world a better place. The students we've admitted carry that mission with a kind of quiet conviction that we find both rare and deeply encouraging.
For Waitlisted Applicants
We have placed 49 applicants on the waitlist for a secondary review period. These students will be reconsidered without prejudice in the coming weeks as we finalize the cohort and pending scholarship spots become available, subject to Board approval. Decisions for waitlisted applicants are expected in late June.
For Those Not Offered Admission
We have informed 1,489 students that we will not be able to offer them the Lu Memorial Scholarship this year. This decision has been made with care, and it is final.
We know this can be difficult to receive. But trust us: it works out okay in the end. Take a deep breath, shake it out, and go crush the rest of your applications, or whatever else you choose to do.
Withdrawn Applicants
The remaining 82 applicants withdrew before decisions were released. We wish them well wherever their paths lead.
A Note to Everyone Who Applied
To every student who took the time to apply: thank you. Applying for a scholarship like this requires vulnerability, articulating not just what you've done but who you hope to become. That takes courage, and we respect it enormously.
The qualities that led you to apply, your curiosity, your ambition, your desire to contribute something meaningful, are yours to keep. No selection committee can take them from you, and no scholarship decision changes the fact that they matter. We are rooting for each and every one of you.
Congratulations to the 2026 cohort, we are delighted to call you a Lu Scholar. And best wishes to all of our applicants. No matter where you go, please make it a better place. We know you can. We hope you will.
If you have questions about your decision or the process, please reach out through the application portal's sidebar. We are here to help.
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