A complete guide to 1st Financial Bank USA’s Financial Goals Scholarship — including a detail buried in the official rules that most scholarship directories currently get wrong.
If you’ve been searching for the 1st Financial Bank scholarship, you’ve probably run into a wall of scholarship aggregator sites all repeating the same summary, and most of them listing a deadline of December 31, 2026. That’s not quite accurate anymore.
The bank’s own current official rules, published directly on its scholarship site, show the program has been extended through December 31, 2027 — a meaningful update that most third-party listings haven’t caught up to yet.
This guide covers the real, current details: what the scholarship is, who qualifies, how the monthly cycle works, and — because this is exactly the kind of easy-entry scholarship scammers like to imitate — how to make sure you’re applying through the real thing.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- What the 1st Financial Bank Scholarship actually is
- Eligibility requirements
- How much it’s worth and how winners are chosen
- How to apply, step by step
- The real current deadline (and why aggregators disagree)
- How to tell the real scholarship from a scam
- Frequently asked questions
What Is the 1st Financial Bank Scholarship?
The 1st Financial Bank USA Financial Goals Scholarship is a recurring monthly scholarship sponsored by 1st Financial Bank USA (1FBUSA), headquartered at 363 W Anchor Dr., Dakota Dunes, SD. Rather than a single annual award with one winner, the program selects a new winner every month, making it one of the more frequently awarded scholarships of its kind.
The scholarship’s stated purpose, per the bank’s own materials, is to “celebrate those who recognize the importance of pursuing educational and financial goals” — the application itself centers on describing a personal financial goal and how pursuing a college education connects to achieving it.
Eligibility Requirements for 1st Financial Bank USA Financial Goals Scholarship
According to the official rules published at 1fbusascholarship.com, eligibility is intentionally broad:
- U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older
- Planning to enroll, or already enrolled, in a college degree program (this isn’t restricted to first-time freshmen — current students at any level appear eligible)
- Not a previous winner — individuals may only win the scholarship once in their lifetime, though you may keep entering monthly until you do
Notably excluded: employees or agents of the bank or its parent/affiliate companies and suppliers, along with their immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, children) and household members. Legal entities cannot enter — this is an individual-applicant scholarship only.
How Much Is the Scholarship Worth, and How Are Winners Chosen?
Each monthly cycle awards $2,000 to one winner. Entries are reviewed and judged on detail, creativity, and thoroughness in the required essay response, according to multiple scholarship directories that reference the official judging criteria.
Winners are notified by email and publicly announced on or before the 15th of the month following their entry period — for example, an entry submitted during the month of May would produce a winner announced by June 15.
How to Apply for the 1st Financial Bank Scholarship
- Go directly to the official entry portal at 1fbusascholarship.com — not a third-party site claiming to host the application.
- Complete the entry form, providing your basic contact and enrollment information.
- Respond to the essay prompt in 500 words, describing a personal financial goal and how your education plans connect to it.
- Submit before the last day of the current month — each calendar month functions as its own entry period with its own deadline.
- Optional: share your entry on social media using the hashtag #FinancialGoalsScholarship on Facebook or Instagram. This step is explicitly optional and not required to be considered.
- Watch your email for a decision by the 15th of the following month.
- If you win, expect to complete IRS Form W-9 to provide your Social Security number for tax purposes — this is the only point in the process where sensitive financial information is legitimately requested.
The Real Deadline (and Why Sources Disagree)
Here’s where it’s worth slowing down. Most scholarship aggregator listings — including several well-established scholarship databases — currently display December 31, 2026 as the program’s end date. That figure appears to reflect an earlier version of the bank’s official rules.
The most recently published official rules, fetched directly from 1fbusascholarship.com, state the Promotion Period runs from January 1, 2026 at 12:00 AM CST through December 31, 2027 at 11:59 PM CST, structured as ongoing monthly entry periods throughout that entire window. In practical terms, this means the scholarship is very likely still accepting entries monthly well into 2027, even though a lot of third-party listings you’ll find in a search haven’t updated to reflect that extension yet.
The safest approach: treat the monthly, rolling nature of the deadline as the reliable constant (last day of each month), and always verify the program’s overall end date directly on the official site rather than trusting a specific year from an aggregator that may be running on outdated information.
Is the 1st Financial Bank Scholarship Legit? How to Avoid Scams
This is worth its own section, because the bank’s own official rules go out of their way to warn applicants directly — a genuinely good sign of a legitimate program, not a red flag.
Per the official rules: “1st Financial Bank USA will never ask you for your Social Security number, bank account information or credit card number when you enter the Promotion.” If someone contacts you claiming to be from this scholarship and asks for that information before you’ve been notified as a winner, the bank’s own guidance is direct: hang up the phone, delete the email, exit the chat, or otherwise walk away.
Sensitive information (specifically your SSN, via IRS Form W-9) is only ever requested after you’ve been officially selected and notified as a monthly winner — not at the point of entry. Keep this sequence in mind as your own personal scam check: entry form and essay first, financial details only after a confirmed win.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often is the 1st Financial Bank Scholarship awarded? Monthly. A new $2,000 winner is selected every month, rather than once per year, making it one of the more frequently awarded named scholarships available to U.S. students.
Can I apply more than once? Yes, you can enter during multiple monthly periods if you haven’t already won. However, once you’ve won the scholarship one time, you’re no longer eligible to enter again.
Do I need to be a customer of 1st Financial Bank USA to apply? No customer relationship is mentioned as a requirement in the official eligibility criteria — the scholarship is open to any qualifying U.S. resident aged 18 or older who is enrolled or planning to enroll in college.
Is sharing my entry on social media required? No. Posting about your entry on Facebook or Instagram with the designated hashtag is explicitly described as optional and doesn’t appear to be a requirement for consideration.
What should I do if someone asks for my Social Security number to “process” my scholarship entry? Don’t provide it. According to the bank’s own official rules, your SSN is only requested via a formal IRS Form W-9 after you’ve been confirmed as a winner — never at the point of entry.
Final Thoughts
The 1st Financial Bank Scholarship’s monthly structure makes it a genuinely useful one to have on repeat in your scholarship search — twelve real chances a year rather than one, with a straightforward entry process built around a single essay.
Just make sure you’re applying at the official source, treat any early request for financial information as an immediate red flag, and don’t assume a specific end-date you see on an aggregator site is current without double-checking against the bank’s own published rules.
References
- 1st Financial Bank USA — Official Financial Goals Scholarship Site & Rules
- 1st Financial Bank USA — Real Goals Scholarship Page
- Peterson’s — 1st Financial Bank USA Financial Goals Scholarship
This article is for general informational purposes. Scholarship deadlines, terms, and promotion periods can change — always confirm current details directly on 1fbusascholarship.com before applying.