Award Description

Rizing Tide will annually award the Crest scholarship to students who are pursuing a physical therapy degree—and who come from an underrepresented racial and/or ethnic background (self-identifying as BIPOC). Applicants must be entering their first or second year of PT school or they must be PTAs entering a PTA-to-DPT bridge program.

The full Crest scholarships award $14,000 and the runner-up Crest scholarships (known as the Rizing Star scholarships) award $5,000. Both the full Crest scholarships and the Rizing Star scholarships may be renewed up to twice. Funds may be used to cover any school expenses (e.g., tuition, room and board, books, or fees) and will be paid directly to the school’s financial institution.

Scholarship Eligibility

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must:

• Be a student entering your first or second year of a DPT program (with your second year beginning no sooner than May 1, 2024), OR be an active first-year student, OR be a student entering a PTA-to-DPT bridge program;
• Have been accepted into a CAPTE-accredited PT program within the U.S.;
• Have an underrepresented racial and/or ethnic heritage (i.e., American Indian/Alaska Native [a member of a federally recognized Native American tribe], Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern/North African, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and/or multi-ethnic with 50% representation from this list);
• Have earned a minimum cumulative 3.2 GPA in your most recent studies; and
• Be a U.S. citizen or have DACA status.

Application Process

Completed applications for the Surge scholarship (including the digital copies of letters of recommendation) must be turned in no later than 11:59 PM Pacific on the specified deadline. Technical support will be available ONLY on Mondays through Fridays, from 9:00 AM–5:00 PM Pacific Time. We encourage you to submit your application prior to the deadline to avoid any technical problems. Please be advised that technical problems will not be accepted as a valid excuse for missing the deadline.

Applicants or their recommenders may mail a hard copy of each letter of recommendation to Rizing Tide or send them via email instead of submitting online. If you elect to send your letters of recommendation via email, please send them to [email protected]. If you elect to send your letters of recommendation through the mail, send them to this address:
     Rizing Tide Foundation

     RE: Crest Scholarship

     PO Box 32681

     Phoenix, AZ 85064

Remember that all digital and hard copies of your application materials must be received no later than the specified deadline. We suggest giving your recommenders as much time as possible to complete and postmark their letters.

When applicants submit an application without attaching all requisite transcripts and letters of recommendation, the application status will remain "In Progress" until all required documents are received. After Rizing Tide has received all of the required documents, we will send an email confirming that the application has changed status to "Complete."

Selection Process

The Beachcombers selection committee will conduct interviews with finalists via Zoom within a few weeks of the application deadline. The final winners of the Surge scholarship will be notified by no later than 60 days after the original deadline.

Scholarship Renewal

Crest scholarship recipients may renew their scholarship twice. To renew the Crest scholarship, recipients must send the Rizing Tide foundation a transcript showing that they maintained a minimum cumulative 3.2 GPA during the school year. Additionally, scholarship recipients must ask one of their instructors to submit a feedback survey on their behalf once per school year. Furthermore, to assist our continued evaluation of the scholarship program, we may request an update regarding recipients’ activities or accomplishments.   

The Rizing Tide foundation reserves the right to refuse a Crest scholarship renewal if this criteria is not met or if circumstances change. Individual situations and circumstances will be taken into consideration and final decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.