Chicago ACS Scholarships: TWO Types

Chicago ACS High School Scholarships

The Chicago Section offers several scholarships to high school students in support of their college education. Every year in May, the High School Education Committee administers an exam to students nominated by their teachers, and scholarships are awarded based on their ranking in the results:

$5000 for First place
$3000 for Second place
$2500 for Third place
$1500 for Fourth place
$1250 for Fifth place

In addition, we give scholarships for special purposes (please note that as of 2023, we have increased the Smoler and Schaar awards to $1000 each):

The Marie Ann Lishka Memorial Scholarship is awarded to the female student who scores the highest: $2000

The Marshall S. Smoler Award is given to the top-scoring student from Chicago Public Schools: $1000

The Bernard E. Schaar Award, from the Chicago Chemists' Club, is given to the highest-scoring student from the City of Chicago: $1000

How to Claim Your Scholarship 

·         Enroll in a college or university within 3 years of your high school graduation (if this is delayed for extenuating circumstances you must notify the Section at [email protected].

·         (SEED recipients only) You must enroll in a science class each year and the award is evenly split up over four years.

·         Notify the proper officer at the college or university (usually the bursar or registrar) verifying to them that the conditions have been met.

·         The college/university officer can then notify the Chicago Section of the ACS ([email protected]) and they should indicate the amount due and on what date(s) they should be paid.

2026 SEVENTIETH ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP EXAMINATION IN CHEMISTRY

We are pleased to announce that our 2026 Chicago ACS Scholarship exam was offered on May 16, 2026, 9:30 am at 3 locations:  Glenbrook South high school, Whitney Young high school, and Benedictine University.  More complete information is available here.

The exam includes questions that are both concept-oriented and problem-solving in nature. Questions and problems will be representative of a challenging first-year high school chemistry course. Programmable calculators will not be permitted.  Non-programmable calculators, pencils, and scratch paper will be available to all students taking the exam, as well as a periodic table and values of select useful physical constants. Instances of dishonesty will warrant immediate disqualification from the exam competition plus referral to the appropriate high school principal. All exams will be graded as soon as possible

 Please see the document below that has the announcement of our 2026 winners!

AWARDS:

• Funds are contributed by the chemical industry and by individuals.

• Teachers of a prize-winning student(s) will receive a one-year membership in the American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT). 

NOMINATIONS:  are closed for 2026.  For 2027, we will begin accepting nominations beginning in Feb 2027.

To register student(s) for the Scholarship Exam:

1. Teachers may nominate up to 2 students here.

  2.  Obtain a copy of the most recent official transcript (stamped by school registrar) and official schedule (showing the nominating chemistry teacher’s name) for each student. We recognize that schools may not be able to supply these in a timely fashion, so we will accept screenshots or pdfs of student copies in order to sit for the exam and can be sent by email to [email protected].  

Official transcripts and schedules are required to win any scholarship.

 3.  Mail official transcript(s) and official schedule(s) to:

2026 Scholarship Exam
Chicago Section ACS
Krasa 035B and C, 5700 College Road
Lisle, IL 60532.

We suggest sending forms by delivery confirmation.  All forms must be received by Tuesday, May 5, 2026.

High School Scholarship Materials