Don't let your financial means get in the way of a life-changing opportunity. 

At the Voyageur Outward Bound School, our Need-Based Scholarship Program is guided by a single principle: every person should be given the opportunity to experience adventure and challenge, develop character and compassion, and learn leadership skills and service ethics, regardless of financial ability. Moreover, we bring together diverse groups of students to instill cultural understanding and teamwork skills that enable them to become principled leaders.

Thanks to generous donations from alumni, parents, corporations, foundations and others, Outward Bound awards up to $3.7 million in need-based scholarships to 6,000 students each year. The average scholarship is 15-30% off of the posted fee.  Our scholarship committee will determine how much we can offer you after reviewing each application on an individual basis. We try to help all interested students find a way to make our courses affordable, but cannot guarantee that we'll be able to give everyone scholarship assistance.

In some cases, applicants can schedule a payment plan with the Voyageur Outward Bound School rather than paying for the whole course in one lump sum. In cases of payment plans, final balances are due at least 30 days prior to the course-start.

How to Apply for a Need-Based Scholarship

1. ENROLL: Find a course and enroll by using our Course Finder. Pay a $500 deposit and check a box noting that you are interested in a Scholarship. The deposit payment is applied toward the total cost of the course and includes a $150 enrollment processing fee (usually non-refundable).  Be sure click on the box saying you are interested in a Scholarship.
2. FILL OUT APPLICATION:  Once you complete the enrollment process and have indicated you are interested in a scholarship, a Course Advisor will send you the Scholarship Application along with other enrollment materials. The Scholarship Application includes a Personal Statement explaining why you want to attend an Outward Bound course and a Statement of Circumstances explaining any financial circumstances that we cannot see in your tax forms that will help our scholarship committee determine if there is any assistance available to you. Parents/guardians of applicants will write this and may also want to include their reasons for wanting their child to attend Voyageur Outward Bound.
3. SEND TAX FORMS: Send copies of your most recent 1040 tax forms (dependents need to send in their parent/guardian's tax forms) or equivalent along with your application and the other materials. If you do not file for taxes, we need something that represents you or your parent/guardian's annual income before we can consider offering a need-based scholarship.

Reviewing Completed Scholarship Applications

It may take approximately two weeks for the scholarship committee to determine if we can offer you a need-based scholarship. Applicants are REQUIRED to follow all procedures and requested due dates to be considered for a need-based scholarship.

We WILL NOT evaluate your request for financial support until we receive and approve the materials all applicants are required to complete and return to us. Any delay in meeting your due dates will affect the amount of financial assistance awarded. You will NOT be refunded the $150 non-refundable Enrollment Processing Fee if you cancel (or are cancelled from course due to lack of communication) before we are able to review your scholarship materials.

When this has been determined, someone will contact you to explain the committee's decision. If you receive an Outward Bound need-based scholarship but it’s not enough for you to participate, Outward Bound will refund the $500 deposit, including the $150 enrollment processing fee.

If you have questions about anything, please contact us at (828)-239-2376 or email us at student.services@vobs.org.