SM College Scholarship: Requirements, Benefits, and How to Apply

The SM College Scholarship from SM Foundation covers full tuition and a monthly allowance, and it comes with a chance at a job in the SM Group after you graduate. It’s also strict. You need a GWA of at least 92% and a household income of ₱250,000 a year or less. I read through SM Foundation’s official scholarship page and put the requirements, benefits, and application steps here, plus what the page doesn’t tell you.

This post is about the scholarship program. To check whether your school and course are covered, read my SM College Scholarship partner schools.

Quick summary

• Who: incoming college freshmen who finished Grade 12 (or ALS completers)
• Benefits: full tuition, monthly allowance, part-time job opportunities, and exclusive job offers from the SM Group after graduation
• GWA: at least 92% (or equivalent) in Grade 12, 1st semester
• Income limit: total household income of ₱250,000 a year or less
• Courses: accounting and business, engineering, IT and computer science, education, and architecture (NU campuses only)
• Last application period I found: February 1 to 28, 2026

Is the application open now?

No. The online application period I found was February 1 to 28, 2026, and it has closed. I haven’t seen dates for the next one, so I won’t guess. The official page also doesn’t say which school year that period was for, so if you’re planning for a specific year, confirm it with SM Foundation.

If the next round follows the same timeline, it might open around February again, but that’s only my guess, not an announcement. The good news is that the documents take time to collect, so you can prepare now (I’ll explain that in the next section).

What are the scholarship benefits?

According to the official page, SM Scholars get:

• Full tuition
• A monthly allowance
• Part-time job opportunities during semestral and Christmas breaks
• A choice of specialization in accounting, information technology, engineering, or education
• Exclusive job offers from the SM Group after graduation
• Activities and enrichment programs

There page doesn’t say how much the monthly allowance is, so don’t trust any site that gives you a number without a source.

According to there page, the page also says the program has 3,791 college scholar graduates, 4,669 tech-voc scholar graduates, and 103 school buildings built.

Who can apply

You can apply if you:

1. Are an incoming freshman and a Grade 12 graduate from a public or private school in the covered areas, or an Alternative Learning System (ALS) completer
2. Finished Grade 10 in a public high school, or, if you went to a private high school, have a DepEd voucher
3. Have a general weighted average of at least 92% (or equivalent) for Grade 12, 1st semester
4. Come from a household with a total income of ₱250,000 a year or less

Who should not apply

Save your time if any of these is true:

• You’re already in college. It’s for incoming freshmen only.
• Your Grade 12, 1st semester GWA is below 92% (or the equivalent at your school)
• Your household income is above ₱250,000 a year
• You went to a private high school and don’t have a DepEd voucher
• Your area, school, or course isn’t covered (check the lists below)

If you’re close on one of these, ask SM Foundation before you decide. Don’t change your documents to qualify.

Areas covered

Luzon: NCR, Albay, Bataan, Batangas, Benguet, Bulacan, Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Cavite, Isabela, Laguna, Laoag, Nueva Ecija, Palawan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Sorsogon, Quezon, Rizal, Tarlac, Zambales

Visayas: Bohol, Capiz, Cebu, Iloilo, Leyte, Negros Occidental

Mindanao: Agusan del Norte, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Misamis Oriental, South Cotabato, Zamboanga del Sur

If you live outside these areas, the guidelines doesn’t say you can apply.

Courses covered

• Accounting and business: BS in Accountancy, Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Technology, Digital Marketing, Internal Auditing; BSBA in Financial Management and Management Accounting
• Engineering: Civil, Computer, Electrical, Electronics and Communications (also written as Electronics Engineering), and Mechanical
• Computer and IT: BS in Computer Science and BS in Information Technology
• Education: Bachelor of Elementary Education, and Bachelor of Secondary Education with majors in Biology, Chemistry, General Sciences, Physics, Mathematics, and English
• Architecture: BS in Architecture, listed as available only for NU campuses

The scholarship works only at SM Foundation’s partner schools, so you also need to find your school in the full partner schools list.

Documents you need

Attach these to the online application:

1. Parent’s or guardian’s latest Income Tax Return, or Certification of Non-Filing of Income, or Certificate of Indigency
2. Parent’s or guardian’s cedula
3. Grade 12 report card, 1st semester
4. Birth certificate
5. 2×2 ID picture
6. Sketch of your home to the nearest SM Mall

A few tips from reading the list:

• The sketch: SM Foundation does random home visits later in the process, so draw it clearly, with street names and landmarks, so someone who has never been to your area can follow it. That’s my suggestion, not an official instruction.
• The income document: which one you need depends on your parent’s or guardian’s situation. The Certificate of Indigency comes from your barangay and can take a few days.
• The report card: the page asks for the 1st semester of Grade 12, so ask your school for a clear copy.
• Scans: make every file readable, with nothing cropped or blurry.

How to apply for the SM College Scholarship?

The application is online at scholarship.sm-foundation.org. There are eight steps:

1. Apply online. Fill out the form and upload all required documents.
2. Confirm your application. Log in to the SM Scholarship Online System within 7 days of submitting. If you don’t confirm in time, your application is void.
3. Processing and evaluation. SM Foundation checks your forms and documents. You’ll get an email with your status, such as “Declined” or “For Exam.”
4. Exam. The schedule and venue come by email. Passers are announced on the same day.
5. Interview. Exam passers are interviewed individually on the same day as the exam.
6. Home visit. The SM Foundation team does random home visits for applicants who passed the interview. If you don’t qualify after the visit, you’ll get an email.
7. Confirm your school and course. Successful applicants are notified by email.
8. Orientation and contract signing. You’ll get an email with the schedule.

Two things to plan for. First, step 2 is easy to miss: you have to confirm after you submit. Second, the exam and interview are on the same day, so be ready for both when you get the exam schedule.

Mistakes to avoid

• Forgetting to confirm within 7 days. An unconfirmed application is invalid.
• Missing the exam email. Use an email address you check daily, and look in spam.
• Blurry or incomplete uploads. Check every file before you submit.
• Applying to a course or school that isn’t covered. Check both lists first.
• Guessing the sketch. A home visit can happen, so make it accurate.

How to get ready before the next application opens

1. Check your Grade 12 GWA and ask your school what 92% equals in its grading system.
2. Find out which income document applies to your family: ITR, Certification of Non-Filing, or Certificate of Indigency.
3. Ask for your birth certificate and report card copies early.
4. Take a clear 2×2 ID photo and scan it.
5. Check that your school and course are on the partner schools list.
6. Follow SM Foundation’s official channels so you don’t miss the announcement.

What the official page doesn’t say

• The amount of the monthly allowance
• The grade you need to keep the scholarship
• The exam passing rate, or what the exam covers
• The next application dates
• Whether there are service or work requirements after graduation

People also ask

Before you apply

I’m not part of SM Foundation, and I don’t process applications. Dates, requirements, and partner schools can change, so check SM Foundation’s official page before you apply. If you spot something wrong in this post, email me at hello@scholarshipsph.com and I’ll fix it.