Application deadlines are soon approaching for scholarships offered by Taco Bell and McDonald’s. Altogether, the fast food giants are giving away more than $6.5 million this year to help deserving students pay for college. 

Those interested in Taco Bell’s Live Más Scholarship have until January 23, 2020 to apply. And submissions for McDonald’s HACER National Scholarship will be accepted through February 5, 2020.

Both fast food giants have made quite the name for themselves in the scholarship world. They’ve already helped hundreds of talented, passionate students receive the education they deserve. 

Taco Bell’s Live Más Scholarship 

The Live Más Scholarship, administered by the Taco Bell Foundation, gives students a chance to win between $5,000 and $25,000 in scholarship money. All they have to do is create a two-minute-long video describing their passion and how they will use it to make a difference. Grades, essays and test scores do not matter.

“We want to support talented and passionate students who have the drive to make a difference,” said Lacey Gaitan, associate manager of the Taco Bell Foundation.

Because the Live Más Scholarship is passion-based, students who apply for it aren’t measured on what they’ve accomplished in the classroom, on the court or on the field. Instead, they’re awarded for their unique skills, talents and desires to pursue them.

“Students are changing and we wanted to be able to evolve and meet those needs,” Gaitan said. “We feel that providing the opportunity to support a student’s passion — not what their performance was in school — opens up the field for students of all backgrounds to pursue education beyond high school that we feel is important for them to launch into their career. And we want to be a part of providing that support.”

On top of that, the Taco Bell Foundation doesn’t consider itself to be a “one-off check writer.” Scholarship winners gain access to a large network of peers and mentors so they can continue to build valuable connections and improve their professional skills. Just this past summer, 200 scholarship winners gathered at Live Más Scholarship Workshops in San Francisco, Irvine, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Philadelphia to meet with mentors and peers and further explore how they can use their passion in the professional world and to serve others.

The number of winners the Taco Bell Foundation chooses is not predetermined. Last year, however, there were dozens of winners with more than 70 coming from California, alone. 

McDonald’s HACER National Scholarship 

This year, through its HACER scholarship, McDonald’s is awarding as much as $100,000 to up to 30 high school seniors with at least one parent of Hispanic heritage. Students are assessed and rewarded based on their academic achievement, community involvement and financial need. 

There’s no essay required. Students just have to submit an application and include a high school transcript, a personal statement, a letter of recommendation, a list of community service projects and a FAFSA report. Students must have a minimum 3.0 GPA to apply.

By design, the scholarship aims to help Hispanic students afford higher education. Although college enrollment among Hispanic students is currently at a record high, disparities persist. And cost is their number one barrier to completing their education. 

Since the scholarship was created in 2008, Mcdonalds has put nearly $5 million towards it. 

“We’re proud of the steps we’ve taken to continue supporting our Hispanic community, including expanding our HACER National Scholarship to 30 recipients last year, which is six times as many winners than in previous years,” Santiago Negre, HACER judge and McDonald’s Owner Operator, said in a statement. “We are committed to helping young people reach their full potential and alleviating the stress of higher education costs.”