Are you a Chick-fil-A Team Member looking for help paying for college or trade school? The Chick-fil-A Remarkable Futures Scholarship awards between $1,000 and $25,000 to eligible Team Members every year. But there is one thing most people get wrong about it: it does not pay for your GED. It pays for what comes after.
If you do not have a high school diploma or GED yet, that credential is what you need first — without it, you cannot enroll in the accredited programs this scholarship is designed to fund. The good news is that once you have your GED, this scholarship goes from feeling out of reach to being within your grasp. This guide breaks down who qualifies, how much you can get, the GPA requirements, how to apply, and exactly where your GED fits.
The Chick-fil-A Remarkable Futures Scholarship is an annual award designed exclusively for Chick-fil-A restaurant Team Members pursuing higher education. This is not a public scholarship anyone can apply for — working at an eligible Chick-fil-A location is the entry point. In 2026, Chick-fil-A awarded more than $29 million to over 16,000 Team Members across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, its highest annual education investment in more than 50 years of scholarship giving, bringing its total to more than $245 million to date. It is one of the most consistent employer education investments in the quick-service restaurant industry.
No. The Chick-fil-A Remarkable Futures Scholarship does not cover GED preparation or high school equivalency programs. Every official Chick-fil-A and Scholarship America page is consistent: the award funds post-secondary tuition at accredited colleges, universities, and vocational-technical schools, with no mention of GED prep anywhere. People assume it might because the program name sounds like broad educational support, but it does not work that way.
Your GED score still matters more than you think, because it determines whether you can enroll in the programs the scholarship pays for. According to GED Testing Service, you need at least 145 on each of the four subject tests to earn your credential — and the GED passing score breakdown explains why scoring above 165 (College Ready) can waive placement tests and remedial courses, saving you money and getting you into credit-bearing classes faster.
That passing credential is what opens the door to accredited enrollment, and no enrollment means no scholarship to apply for. There is also a strategic reason to aim higher than a bare pass: skipping remedial coursework keeps your scholarship dollars going toward credit-bearing classes instead of catch-up requirements, which matters when you are balancing a Chick-fil-A shift schedule with an academic deadline. With more than 150,000 people taking the GED each year, the credential is a well-worn on-ramp into exactly the accredited programs this award is built to fund.
To qualify, you must be employed at a franchised or company-owned Chick-fil-A restaurant at the time of application and when the award is announced. Both full-time and part-time Team Members in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico are eligible. One thing that surprises most applicants: there is no requirement for hours worked or length of service — the moment you are an active Team Member, you can apply. (One aggregator site claims a one-year rule; that conflicts with Chick-fil-A's official language, so always confirm current-cycle rules on the official portal.)
On the academic side, you must be a current or prospective student planning to enroll at an accredited two-year or four-year college, university, or vocational-technical school for the following academic year. GPA minimums depend on the tier you are pursuing.
Award | Minimum GPA (U.S.) | Extra benefit |
|---|
$1,000 | 2.5 | None — applied directly to tuition, fees, and books |
$2,500 | 2.5 | Same as above |
$25,000 | 3.0 | 12-month leadership development program with mentoring |
Scholarships are awarded upfront and applied directly to tuition — no reimbursement process, and the money goes to your school. The award works at any qualifying institution, including online programs and vocational-technical schools, so trade school with a GED is a fully valid path. The $25,000 award goes to a small number of recipients each year; most receive the $1,000 or $2,500 award. Do not let that discourage you — even $1,000 shifts the picture meaningfully when combined with Pell Grant funding and other aid you become eligible for once you hold a GED.
The top tier is worth aiming for if your GPA qualifies, because the $25,000 award is not just money. It pairs the funding with a 12-month leadership development program that adds mentoring and professional development on top of tuition — a combination of financial support and structured career investment that few employer scholarships in the quick-service industry match. Whichever tier you pursue, the award is paid upfront and applied straight to your school, so you never front the cost and wait for reimbursement.
Visit the official Remarkable Futures page and read the current eligibility requirements, which update each cycle.
Select your restaurant location from the locator — this attaches your Operator or manager, who provides your recommendation. Speak with them first so the request is not a surprise.
Click Apply Now and register on the Scholarship America platform (cfa.scholarsapply.org). Complete your applicant profile carefully — errors can delay processing.
Submit all four components: a transcript showing your GPA, a manager recommendation, a community-service response covering the prior 12 months, and (for the $25,000 tier) a demonstration of financial need.
Team Member applications typically open in the fall, and deadlines shift every cycle — confirm the exact dates on the official portal. Do not wait for the portal to open before starting your GED. The fall window comes faster than most people expect, and arriving with your GED already in hand removes the single biggest barrier between you and this award.
Three Chick-fil-A programs share a name but serve different purposes, and confusing them is a common mistake. The Remarkable Futures Scholarship ($1,000–$25,000) is for Team Members pursuing post-secondary tuition. Remarkable Futures Education (through InStride) offers upfront tuition coverage and discounts on degree and certificate programs at participating Operator locations. Community Scholars is for non-employees only (13 awards of $25,000 per year). None of the three fund your GED — all three assume you already hold that credential.
This is the step most guides skip. Your GED does not just qualify you for college — it activates a stack of financial opportunities that would otherwise stay closed. Once you earn it, you can enroll in accredited programs (making this scholarship a real option), and you become eligible for the Federal Pell Grant, which awards up to $7,395 per year to eligible students who complete the FAFSA. One credential opens multiple funding doors at once.
Twigera is a dedicated online GED prep platform covering all four subject tests — Mathematical Reasoning, Reasoning Through Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies — with credentialed teachers available seven days a week. You get video lessons, 1,500-plus practice questions, full-length practice exams, and a built-in TI-30XS calculator mini-course (the only calculator permitted on the real GED Math test). Plans run $59 (Starter, 3 months), $99 (Standard, 6 months), and $159 (Pro, 12 months) with a full Pass Guarantee. A Twigera Pro plan costs $159; the minimum scholarship award is $1,000, and Pell can add up to $7,395 — the return on that credential is immediate. Twigera is not affiliated with or endorsed by Chick-fil-A; it is simply the most direct path to the credential that makes the scholarship accessible. If you are weighing the cost of testing, our how much the GED costs guide breaks down the fees.
What makes the platform work for Team Members specifically is that it fits around restaurant hours rather than fighting them. Twigera reports a 94% pass rate across more than 12,400 graduates, and about 45 minutes a day is enough to make steady, measurable progress toward a test date — no rearranging shifts and no commuting to a classroom. The curriculum is aligned to the latest GED standards and updated continuously, with 284 video lessons and a diagnostic that matches you to a personalized study plan so your time goes toward real gaps instead of material you already know. Every plan also includes a 7-day money-back guarantee and access across mobile, tablet, and desktop, so you can study between the lunch and dinner rushes.
The Chick-fil-A Remarkable Futures Scholarship funds college and trade school, not your GED. It awards $1,000 to $25,000 to eligible Team Members pursuing accredited post-secondary programs, with GPA minimums of 2.5 for the lower tiers and 3.0 for the top award, and both full-time and part-time employees qualify with no length-of-service requirement. If you are a Team Member without your GED yet, the sequence is fixed: earn the credential first, enroll in an accredited program, then apply. Not sure where you stand? A free GED diagnostic test shows you exactly which subjects need work before you commit. Every financial opportunity in this guide — from the Remarkable Futures Scholarship to Pell Grant aid — becomes available the moment you hold that credential, so the single highest-leverage move you can make today is closing the distance to your GED.
