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The Peggy Ruhlin Wealth is Women's Work CFP® Exam Scholarship

 

ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP

As a single mother for many years, Peggy Ruhlin, CFP® struggled with balancing her accounting career and parenting duties. This led her to pursue financial planning, which gave her greater career satisfaction and work-life balance while continuing to deepen her relationships with clients. Peggy earned her CFP® marks in 1986 and eventually co-founded Budros, Ruhlin & Roe ($3.5B), a wealth management firm in Columbus, Ohio. Now, in partnership with CFP Board Center for Financial Planning, Peggy hopes to inspire that dream for other women on the path to CFP® certification.

The Peggy Ruhlin Wealth is Women’s Work CFP® Exam Scholarship awards $625 toward the early registration rate of $825 for the CFP® exam. This means a scholarship awardee will assume financial responsibility for $200 of the CFP® exam.

To qualify for the scholarship, applicants must not be registered to take the July 2025 CFP® exam, meet eligibility criteria below and successfully complete this application form. CFP Board will award scholarships on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible applicants.

CFP Board will notify awardees that they received the scholarship and will work with them to register for the July 2025 exam with a $625 discount code. Only register for the exam after being notified of the award, or you will forfeit the scholarship. This scholarship does not retroactively reimburse exam registrations already paid for before receiving the scholarship.

Awardees will also receive a free copy of Peggy Ruhlin’s book, Wealth is Women’s Work: How Women Can Make a Long-Term Impact with a Career in Wealth Management.

ELIGIBILITY POLICY REQUIREMENTS

  • Must not be a prior recipient of The Peggy Ruhlin Wealth is Women’s Work CFP® Exam Scholarship
  • Must not be registered for the July 2025 CFP® exam prior to being notified of the award.
  • After being notified of the scholarship award, the awardee must register for the July 2025 CFP® exam by May 6.
  • After receiving the scholarship, must take the complimentary Practice Exam by June 26 and provide proof of Practice Exam completion to [email protected], or else forfeit the award. Please email your diagnostic score report, provided after the practice exam is done, as proof of completion.
  • Upon registering for the exam, the awardee will have until June 26 to secure an exam seat with Prometric. Failure to secure an exam with Prometric will result in de-registration and postponement of the exam, including a postponement fee of $500 that is not refundable under this scholarship.
  • Must be a U.S. resident.
  • Must identify as a woman.
  • Must be under the age of 40.
  • Must not receive any other scholarships or financial aid toward the July 2025 CFP® exam (including but not limited to employer funding).
  • Must pass a background check conducted by CFP Board.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Applications will only be accepted through the application form below. Please do not attempt to submit application materials via mail, fax, or email. Pay close attention to the requirements when submitting the application.

AWARD PROCESS

Following the application review, awards will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis to applicants who meet the eligibility requirements and successfully complete the application. After receiving the award, recipients will be provided with instructions for registering for the exam at a discounted rate.

As a contingency of the award, candidates agree to take the complimentary Practice Exam provided at exam registration by June 26 and provide proof of Practice Exam completion to [email protected] by June 26 or else forfeit the award. Please email your diagnostic score report, provided after the practice exam is done, as proof of completion.

AWARD POLICIES

Upon registering for the exam, an awardee will have until June 26 to secure an exam seat with Prometric. Failure to secure an exam with Prometric will result in de-registration and postponement of the exam, including a postponement fee of $500 that is not refundable under this scholarship.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

The next application window will be open until March 18, 2025.

AWARD DECISION

Scholarship applicants will be notified of the award decision via email on March 28, 2025. If you have a question about the status of your application, please contact us at [email protected].

Application

CFP Board Account Number (if you don’t have a CFP Board account, click here to create one)

CFP® Exam
You must not be already registered for the July 2025 CFP® exam.

Are you currently registered for the July 2025 CFP® Exam?
Gender:
Ethnicity (select all that apply):

Other Financial Aid

You must not be receiving any other scholarships or financial aid toward the July 2025 CFP® exam (including but not limited to employer funding).

Have you received any other scholarships or financial aid to cover any portion of the cost of the July 2025 CFP® exam?

Exam Registration Acknowledgement
By submitting this form, I certify that I understand I must register for the CFP® exam by May 6, 2025 by connecting with CFP Board staff. If I decide not to register, I certify that I will notify CFP Board staff by May 6, 2025. If I decide not to register or fail to communicate with the CFP Board staff by the deadline, I understand that I forfeit the scholarship award.

Practice Exam Acknowledgement
By submitting this form, I certify that I will take a Practice Exam and provide proof of Practice Exam completion to [email protected] by June 26, 2025 or else forfeit the award.

Prometric Exam Seat Acknowledgement
By submitting this form, I certify that I will secure an exam seat with Prometric by June 26, 2025. I understand that failure to secure an exam with Prometric will result in de-registration and postponement of the exam, including a postponement fee of $500 that is not refundable under this scholarship.

Background Check Acknowledgment

By submitting this form, I acknowledge that CFP Board will run a background check during the scholarship selection process and, if I am awarded a scholarship, then during the term of the scholarship. CFP Board will evaluate scholarship applicants (and those who are awarded scholarships) against the Fitness Standards that apply to those who are applying for CFP® certification. CFP Board will conduct this evaluation pursuant to the same process that CFP Board follows when reviewing applications for CFP® certification. If CFP Board obtains information that would subject the scholarship applicant (or scholarship awardee) to an investigation if the scholarship applicant or scholarship awardee were an applicant for CFP® certification, then CFP Board (a) in the case of an applicant, will deny the scholarship application, or (b) in the case of a scholarship awardee, have the right, in CFP Board’s sole discretion, (1) to terminate the scholarship and discontinue scholarship payments, or (2) to suspend the scholarship and scholarship payments pending further CFP Board action. As part of an application for CFP® certification, applications and scholarship awardees must demonstrate ethical fitness in accordance with CFP Board’s Fitness Standards. The fact that an individual receives a scholarship (or continues receiving scholarship payments) is not a representation, promise, or guarantee that the individual will satisfy CFP Board’s Fitness Standards when the individual applies for CFP® certification.

Sharing of Information with Sponsor Acknowledgement

By submitting this form, you acknowledge that CFP Board shares your contact information with the sponsor for potential outreach.