In 2008, Mike Rowe eventually launched his scholarship program Mike Rowe Scholarship, after having been triggered by society to change people’s mindset of work, several years back.
It is plausible to add that the founder was especially moved by a quote he saw in 1977: “Work smart, not hard”. He was displeased with a subterfuge mentality like this.
To him, the saying was so dumb he would later tag it as an idiotic cliché. It is also reasonable to see this fit into the category of what he calls ‘misperception of work’…
Mike doesn’t think it is rational or ethical to say that people shouldn’t work hard. He thought the quote should be: “Work smart and hard”.
Going further on this proposition, Mike makes us see how being formally educated won’t necessarily pave the way for one the career of his choice. He doesn’t believe that the four-year degree programs run in schools are the best path to finding a successful career.
After all, most of the students bagging these degrees are responsible for unpaid student loans of about $1.5 trillion! This is a fact to underscore the point that we are already getting it wrong. Our society has kept working towards some poor mentalities over the years.
He’d be quoted as saying, “Pop culture has glorified the ‘corner office job’ while unintentionally belittling the jobs that helped build the corner office.”
Consequently, the Mike Rowe scholarship is established in the quest to get people trained for vocational jobs that are highly in demand. It is striving to ‘make work cool again’, knowing that there is almost no sense in seeing educated people unemployed while there are millions of jobs they are either not trained for or not willing to take.
Embrace vocational jobs, apply for the Mike Rowe scholarship today, and stand a chance to pave the way for yourself in today’s world.
Don’t chase a space in the irrational perception of the innumerable other people out there. Do it right with Mike. What are some other things you should know about the Mike Rowe Scholarship?
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What Are The Eligibility Criteria for Mike Rowe Scholarship
To be considered for the Mike Rowe scholarship, applicants should meet the following criteria:
1. Be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. You must also be willing to enroll in your program within the country.
2. Be a recent graduate or a senior high school student.
3. A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required of all applicants.
4. You’re also required to submit a whole online application containing an essay.
5. You must be pursuing a vocational or trade-related career. (This criterion is a major one)
6. Get your Skype account ready. Interviews for semi-finalists are done through Skype.
7. You are in no way eligible for the offer if you are a past recipient of the Mike Rowe scholarship. You won’t be offered twice.
If after applying you’re found qualified, you’ll be notified by the platform in a matter of a few weeks. For the applicants, who were interviewed between May and June, the notification should be expected to come by July.
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Mike Rowe Scholarship Requirements

All applicants are required to ensure they meet up with the following requirements, which are as follows:
1. They should submit or fill a copy of their most recent 1040 tax form (for the assessment of their financial information), complete the school cost form, upload two well-written recommendation letters, sign the S.W.E.A.T. pledge, upload a transcript of grades (to verify applicant’s academic performance), and answer the short questions on the S.W.E.A.T. pledge.
2. They should fit into the category of eligible applicants. Eligible applicants are students (of high school, graduate, or GED equivalent) who have enrolled or are aspiring to run a two-year training course at any accredited technical school, college, or vocational institution in the United States. Your course of study has to be vocational or trade-related. This is an essential requirement, even though all requirements have to be.
How to Apply for Mike Rowe Scholarship
With relatively ten steps, you’d be done applying for the Mike Rowe Scholarship. A few things you need to get handy and what might be required of you will be discussed in this section of the article.
1. Visit the sponsor’s official site (here)
2. Enroll in one program. There are several approved programs (plumbing, HVAC, manufacturing, farming, etc) on the platform, you’re expected to have gone through the list and choose one of these programs.
3. You would be required to sign the S.W.E.A.T. pledge, it is a mandatory thing to do.
4. You’d be asked to answer between three and four questions regarding the S.W.E.A.T., to be sure you’re familiar with the concept.
5. Essay Composition. You will be required to come up with an essay on any given topic. Make sure to keep it succinct and well-written. Your artistic skills can go a long way to attracting the attention of your sponsors.
6. Upload two recommendation letters. At this point, you need at least two referees to write you a recommendation letter. These should be your boss (at work) or teacher (at school) or their equivalent.
7. You’d also be required to make a short video you’ll have to upload. Keep it as simple as it can be; follow the given instructions.
8. Verify school costs. Mike Rowe needs to know what the tuition fee of your school of choice looks like. As a result, we’d suggest you upload a form containing the complete cost of your tuition fees and other bills.
9. Upload your college/high school transcript. The transcript you’re asked to upload is a verifier of your school grades. The platform needs to know your performance at school.
10. Provide them with your financial information. The platform also wants to get an idea of what your spending is like, so you’d be required to upload a copy of your most recent 1040 tax form.
Keep these in mind and the application process will be a walk in the park for you.
How to Ace the Mike Rowe Scholarship
Are you in doubt? Let’s bring you out of it. To aid your chances of getting this scholarship offer, we’d recommend you heed every application requirement we mentioned and ensure you’re eligible before going to apply.
Should you think there may be exceptions to some of the criteria we highlighted then we’d note you must have one thing at the back of your mind; the most important of these requirements (if any) is to demonstrate you’re in pursuit of a trade-related career.
If your chosen field of study is not within the scope of trade/vocation, then you can be sure you won’t stand a chance to receive Mike’s scholarship.
Why Choose the Mike Rowe Scholarship?
Mike Rowe scholarship has been a favorable choice to many over the years. Should you still don’t know why you want to seek a grant at Mike’s scholarship program, consider the following factors:
1. Steppingstone for your future ambition. We all grow up to think we’d like to become something in life. Reaching our ambitions (even the pinnacle of them), however, is not a day journey, and as such we look over our shoulders for stepping stones.
So if you’re in the category of people that can enjoy Mike’s scholarship, you want to grab it with both hands. See your future in it.
2. Change (or improve) your work orientation. While it now appears the world has a new set of thoughts on how skilled jobs are perceived, Mike Rowe has a unique perspective of the world of work. His philosophies can guide you to the true path.
3. Free Education. Mike Rowe’s scholarship offers you education within the world of work for free, and needless to say, this is the central point of your seeking the scholarship. You don’t want to run into debts, probably adding to the outstanding over $1.5 trillion student loans.
More so, you should seek this offer because it is for your type of person! With the belief you are eligible for the offer, you can be assured your race/color, gender, or other factors won’t be a problem. The platform has, similarly, awarded over 1000+ students with about $4.2 million, since it started facilitating Work Ethic Scholarship.
Mike Rowe Scholarship Overview
Briefly, here is all you should know about the Mike Rowe scholarship this year.
- Area of Study: Vocation/Trade
- Eligible Grade: High School or Recent Graduate
- Maximum Age: Any
- Minimum GPA Required: 2.5
- Geographic Eligibility: United States
- Gender: Any
- Race/Ethnicity: Any
- Country of study: United States
- Specific School(s): Technical, college, or vocational institution
- Amount Granted: $1,000,000 (to Work Ethic Scholarship)
- Requirements: Grade Transcripts, 1040 tax form & Recommendation Letters
Conclusion
Mike Rowe Scholarship is a platform its founder uses as a medium to share his Philosophy about the work world with interested people, granting money to facilitate and grow the practice of those ideas in a world like ours. Mike Rowe grants its scholarship offers through the Work Ethic Scholarship program.