Scholarships

Overview

Raoul Teilhet Scholarships
Bringing the benefit of union membership to your family

student recipients collage

Through this benefit of membership, the CFT has helped hundreds of students reach their higher education goals by awarding them Raoul Teilhet Scholarships.

Applications are now open for the 2025 high school student application. 

The CFT offers scholarships to high school seniors and continuing college students who are children or dependents of CFT members in good standing. Students enrolled in four-year courses of study are eligible for $3000 scholarships; those enrolled in two-year programs are eligible for $1000.

The Raoul Teilhet Scholarship program began in 1997 when delegates to the CFT Convention voted to establish scholarships to assist children and dependents of members with the cost of higher education. The program was named after inspirational CFT President Raoul Teilhet, who served the organization as president from 1968 to 1985. Convention delegates extended eligibility to continuing college students in 2003.

Post

Student Application Portal
Applications will soon be open for continuing college students

Welcome student applicants! Here you will find information about scholarship eligibility and the link to our online application portal. Please read each section carefully and plan ahead to allow enough time to complete your application. The application period for each CFT Raoul Teilhet Scholarship is open for six months.

APPLICATIONS & DEADLINES

When you click on the application link below, you will be asked you to create a log-in for our application portal. Please keep track of your username and password. Once you have a log-in, you may work on your application at any time until you complete it and submit it.

We recommend that you allow four weeks to complete your application. It requires you to complete several sections and write an essay. In addition, the application requires other individuals to respond to your requests and you cannot control the timeliness of their responses. Please start your application early and plan your time accordingly to allow for successful completion. 

APPLY HERE

High school students

Application opens: June 15, 2025
Deadline to apply: December 15, 2025

Continuing college students

Application opens: December 15, 2025
Deadline to apply:  June 15, 2026

ELIGIBILITY

  • A High School applicant must be a high school senior applying, and a Continuing College applicant must have graduated high school and completed on full semester of college with 12 units of credit 
  • The applicant’s parent or guardian must be a member in good standing of an AFT local union in California.
  • The applicant must be listed as a dependent on their parent’s or guardian’s tax return.
  • Award selection is based on academic achievement, special talents and skills, participation in extracurricular activities, community service, financial need, and a 500-word essay on a social issue of the applicant’s choice.
  • Scholarships are awarded for any one year of higher education: High school seniors who received Raoul Teilhet Scholarships are not eligible for another scholarship as continuing college students. Continuing college students who received a Raoul Teilhet Scholarships are not eligible to apply again.
  • The CFT accepts only online applications.

PLANNING AHEAD

Requirements for each scholarship are detailed in our application portal. However, knowing in advance what documentation and other information you will need may speed your application. Here’s what to have ready when you apply for a CFT scholarship.

  • Transcript: You will need your most recent transcript. High school seniors are asked to provide an official transcript. 
  • Parent/Guardian Federal Tax Return: The first two pages of your parent’s or guardian’s signed federal tax return are required.
  • Member Verification by Parent/Guardian: You will need your parent’s email address.
  • Member Verification by AFT Local Union President: You will need the name and email address of your parent’s AFT local union president.
  • Letters of Recommendation: Three recommendations are required are required for high school senior applicants, and two recommendations are required for continuing college student applicants. You will need the email addresses of your recommenders.
  • Essay: A titled essay on a social issue of the applicant’s choice, not to exceed 500 words.

We recommend that you allow four weeks to complete your application. The application requires you to complete several sections and write an essay, In addition, it requires other individuals to respond to your requests and you cannot control the timeliness of their responses. Please start your application as early as possible and plan your time accordingly to allow for successful completion.