Dream Big Scholarship
About
The [TSA-]HCA Dream Big Scholarship is designed to provide funding to senior residents in the HCA apartment community portfolio.
Would you like to pursue a hobby, accelerate personal growth, strengthen your professional skills, improve your physical health, or study an academic subject?
We’d love to help!
Successful applicants will receive funding in support of instruction for in-person or online classes, lessons, workshops, memberships, or programs.
Do be aware that we can no longer fund in-person gym memberships.
Learn more below.
APPLICATION
Residents from all apartment communities are welcome to apply online. To apply online, click on the Online Application button below. If you would like to apply using a physical copy of the application, please read on.
If you are a…
- A resident of a TSA-managed apartment community where HCA is a nonprofit partner,
AND - You would like to apply using a printed copy of the application, please click on the TSA-HCA Dream Big Application button below.
If you are a…
- A resident an apartment community not managed by TSA but where HCA is a nonprofit partner,
AND - You would like to apply using a printed copy of the application, please click on the HCA Dream Big Scholarship Application button below.
Class Guides
If you are interested in learning about opportunities to attend CLASSES ONLINE, please refer to our Dream Big Scholarship Online Class Guide.
If you are interested in learning about opportunities to attend CLASSES IN PERSON, please refer to our Dream Big Scholarship In-Person Class Guide.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Dates & Timeline
Your application must be submitted by Wednesday, May 21, 2025. Late applications will not be considered, no exceptions.
Decisions will be mailed to all applicants on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
If you are a Scholarship Award Winner, please follow the directions in your award letter. Scholarship Award Winners will have from Tuesday, July 1, 2025 to Tuesday, September 30, 2025 to claim their awards.
Unfortunately, we cannot speed up the payment process. Award payment may take 5-15 days to be issued from the date it is claimed.
The HCA Scholarship is designed to fund courses that begin between August and October of 2025. We do not recommend enrolling in an educational opportunity until you’ve received your Scholarship Award decision.
HOW TO APPLY
The Scholarship Committee will not consider re submitted applications or written responses, even if your Educational Plans have not changed since you last applied. Please tell us what you learned from that previously funded opportunity and/or what you think you can gain from additional classes, lessons, workshops, or continued membership.
The Scholarship Committee will only consider written responses that fall within the 250-300-word requirement. You may expand your work by offering specific details about the program you’re interested in and/or examples of what you’ve
done in the past or plan to do in the future. For example, if you’re hoping to enroll in guitar lessons, tell us about your history playing or appreciating the guitar. Do you hope to play a particular song or become skilled in a particular genre? Are there specific skills, like sight reading or aural skills, you hope to refine? You may also think about answering “why?” to these or similar questions.
The Scholarship Committee will only consider written responses that fall within the 250-300-word limit. Please trim your written responses down to no more than 300. You can shorten your written responses by eliminating repeated information, as well as any information that isn’t strictly needed to express your ideas or describe your plans.
We’d be happy to help you with your application! Please contact Nena by email (nena@hcahousing.org) or phone: 626-708-4461 (Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm)
CHOOSING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
We ask that you carefully consider and research your Educational Plans before submitting your application. Please be sure that you are eligible for the educational opportunity you’ve chosen, and that you have investigated the class, lessons, workshop, or membership to ensure your choice is a good fit for you.
We do not allow applicants to change their Educational Plans after the application deadline of Wednesday, May 21, 2025. We ask that you carefully consider and research your Educational Plans before submitting your application. Please be sure that you are eligible to enroll in the class, lessons, workshop, or membership you’ve chosen, and that you have researched the educational opportunity to ensure it is a good fit for you.
Visit www.hcascholarship.org to check out our Dream Big Class Guides for ideas about where you can take classes in person or online. If you need further help, reach out to us and we’ll do our best to help you identify options.
Great question! There’s a lot you can do to ensure that an educational opportunity is right for you. Here’s a handy list of steps you can take:
- Call the instructor, business, or school offering services to ask about the program and any special requirements for enrolling. For example, are there prerequisites you need to take before you can enroll in the class you hope to take? Will you need any special supplies or equipment? Are there additional costs for supplies or parking
- Ask if you may sit in on or briefly observe a class in session. (Please be aware that some schools and businesses will not allow such visits for reasons of safety, confidentiality, and/or in the interest of protecting intellectual property.)
- Visit the business or school to ensure it’s in a location that’s easily accessible to you.
- Read Yelp and/or Google Reviews of the business or school to see what other people have said about their experiences.
SCHOLARSHIP AWARD PAYMENT
No, scholarship award payments are made directly to the relevant school or business, and never to the Scholarship Award Winner or to a third party.
Payments by credit card may be made over the phone or on the school’s/business’s website, as long as payment does not require us to log into the Award Winner’s online account. Award payments will only be paid by checkor with credit card, and not with payment app, cash, or any other means of payment.
Award payment may take 5-15 business days to be issued from the date it is claimed.
No, each award will be paid out in a single installment and may not be split up into separate payments for any reason.
“The HCA Scholarship has helped me be more financially flexible and comfortable while pursuing my studies and extracurriculars like volunteer work and internships. Coming from a disadvantaged community, I never believed that I would be awarded a scholarship like the one the HCA Scholarship has awarded me, so I believe that everyone regardless of how you may perceive yourself should apply."
Angel 2023 Academic Scholarship Award Recipient,BAs in Economics & History (in progress) at University of California, San Diego