Merit scholarships are a type of gift aid that help pay for college by rewarding talent. Most merit based scholarships go to students who stand out with strong academics.
Recipients of a merit scholarship may be high academic achievers or have strong athletic, artistic or other skills and values. Eligible students must also show a desire to serve the community or leadership skills.
Some merit scholarships also may look at financial need. But most of the time accomplishments and academic excellence are the primary factors to win a merit scholarship.
How Do You Get a Merit Scholarship?
Merit awards are different from needs based scholarships. A need-based scholarship uses family income to make decisions. Instead, the merit scholarship sponsors usually start out with a goal or reason why they offer it. This might be to develop their industry with smart minds or invest in the future of their community and college.
There are various criteria to qualify for a merit scholarship. Sometimes you need to be a member of a specific association or enrolled in the university. Other scholarship providers may specifically offer it to minority students, female students or for certain majors like STEM.
Either way, you’ll need to see if you qualify. One example is the Women Techmakers Scholarship. It is an academic merit scholarship. In order to be eligible, eligible students must show strong academic performance, leadership, and impact on the community of women in tech. You may fit the bill as an upstanding male student, but this one is for girls.
What is Merit?
That stated, what ‘merit’ means generally depends on the organization granting the scholarship. Some merit scholarships look at academic performance, test scores, and your recommendations. Others may only look at your SAT/ACT test scores.
Still others focus on your dedication to and performance in a specific field of study. This can be anything from music to math and others.
Many private companies, groups and nonprofits fund merit scholarships. There are no federal funds for merit-based scholarships.
Some merit scholarship providers are from local communities such as churches and cultural groups. Companies such as Google, Gates Foundation or Coca Cola also offer merit scholarships.
Most colleges also award merit scholarships. Often alumni endow funds to use for these awards. Merit based awards may thus carry the name of a person so that their legacy continues. You’ll also find charitable foundations offering merit aid which sometimes look at financial need.
What GPA do You Need to Get a Merit Scholarship?
An academic merit scholarship often requires a strong GPA. But the actual grade point average you need to get a merit scholarship varies.
For instance, you need a cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale to qualify for the SHRM Foundation’s Graduate Scholarships. This awards $5,000 to a graduate student pursuing an HR degree related program.
The Voice of Democracy Scholarship awards $30,000 to one national first place winner. Most high school students as well as military students may apply.
How Much is a Merit Scholarship?
The U.S. Department of Education tracks the aid schools award to undergraduates. According to the NCES study, they looked at the amount of money high-merit students received. It found that those in selective schools got about 58% of their tuition. Those in less selective schools received about 46% of their tuition amounts.
What Qualifies You to be a National Merit Scholar?
National Merit Scholars have the highest PSAT/NMSQT® Selection Index scores. About 1.6 million enter to compete. But about 50,000 qualify for recognition in the National Merit® Scholarship Program.
Each September, the sponsor colleges notify the recipients. They let them know if they have qualified as either a Commended Student or Semifinalist. Then about 15,000 semifinalists move to finalist standing.
About 7,600 winners of Merit Scholarship® awards (Merit Scholar® designees) may be notified. Part of the decision making process looks at students’ abilities, skills, and accomplishments.
How Do You Get the Most Money for Merit Scholarships?
Many scholarship providers factor in both need and merit. There are at least six things that may help you get the most merit aid for college.
Don’t forget to fill out the FAFSA. Depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible for federal aid too. This might be useful if the amount of your merit scholarship is not enough to pay tuition, fees, housing etc.
Apply to schools where your grades put you ahead. Many college admissions look at the entire pool of applicants. You may be ahead of the student body in some colleges and not in others.
Check whether the merit scholarship is renewable. If so, abiding by the terms may help pay your entire four years at college.
Make sure you understand the net cost of attending each school you apply to. Then assess the amount of merit aid you can get and see what makes the most sense to you.
Figure out where your talents lie and use them when you search for scholarships. It doesn’t have to be high marks. The Doodle for Google Scholarship rewards creativity.
When applying to a college or university, look at their financial aid section and scan for merit scholarships to see if you qualify.
The Vincent Bennett, Jr. Memorial scholarship is awarded annually to an incoming freshman who is the child of a law enforcement officer or firefighter who was killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty.
This award recognizes financial need, academic achievement, and the candidate must show a strong commitment to service in the community. A declared major is not required, but preference will be given to eligible candidates who are majoring in engineering. For more information or to apply, please visit the scholarship provider’s website.
The First Responders Children’s Foundation awards scholarships to children of first responders annually. Awards are based on financial need as well as academic merit and other achievements, such as demonstrated leadership, outstanding performance in the arts or sports, and/or volunteer activities benefiting the community. This scholarship may be renewed annually (for up to a maximum of four years) depending on the availability of funds and the financial need and the academic record of the awardee.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is seeking submissions for its essay contest. The contest is open to all students currently in grades 9 through 12 from Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Students are invited to consider and share their thoughts on the question: “Is the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause sufficient to secure the rights of all citizens, or is the ERA necessary to promote gender equality?
The prize was established in 1995. It is entirely endowed by a gift from Mrs. Frank (Brennie) Morgan. It is made jointly by the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
The current prize amount is $1,200, awarded annually.
Changing the world for the better, one nurse at a time. Our mission is to promote and provide programs for professional and educational advancement of nursing so that better nursing care may be provided to all people.
The Howard L. Aslinger Memorial Scholarship Foundation is an organization to encourage individuals with disabilities to further their education. The Howard Aslinger Foundation will award scholarships to candidates each year based on applications received. Funds may be used for any type of education from university to vocational training or for special needs education and equipment. For more information or to apply, please visit the scholarship provider’s website.
The Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) is pleased to announce the Thirty-Second Annual RADM Fred Lewis Postgraduate Scholarships and Gollobin Award. The Lewis Scholarships are being offered at a Masters level in the amount $5,000, and at a Doctoral level in the amount of $10,000. From the pool of applicants to the RADM Fred Lewis I/ITSEC Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients, one will be selected for the Gollobin Award. The scholarships are being offered to stimulate student interest and university participation in preparing individuals for leadership in the Modeling & Simulation, Training and Education communities. By investing in our future workforce, the Lewis Scholarships and Gollobin Award encourage expansion of the I/ITSEC community and promote innovation through direct investment in our community’s future leaders.
The KMF Ninja Professional Development Scholarship Program is in its third full year of operation and provides up to $15,000 per recipient, over two years, to support them in achieving their full potential.
We are on the lookout for exceptional college juniors and seniors who come from low income, less-privileged families but are mature, ambitious, high-achieving, and have an entrepreneurial mindset.
The Program is performance-based and limited to students with intended careers in business, finance, computer science and/or data science.
Our ultimate goal is to help these young people, whom we affectionately refer to as “KMF Ninjas,” achieve top 1% performance in their professional careers, thereby contributing to happy, fulfilling lives and the ability to significantly help their families, communities, and fellow Ninjas.
To achieve this goal, KMF offers a practical, powerful, experience-based curriculum designed to provide Ninjas with a rock solid foundation for early, middle and later career success.
Reading Hospital announced it will provide up to 10 full tuition scholarships for the incoming class of Surgical Technology students at Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences (RHSHS). If selected for the scholarship, students will be asked to commit to providing three years of Surgical Technology employment to Reading Hospital. Accepted students will receive a scholarship of approximately $17,800 to cover the tuition of the program. The student will be responsible to cover the program fees estimated at $2,500. In addition, the current class of four students were also provided a prorated two-year scholarship.
The RUTH SCHOLARSHIP is designed to be awarded for women ages 16-25, who have overcome adversity whether it be by breaking with their past, or have found themselves in a situation not unlike the young woman of the Old Testament story. The book of Ruth provides a wonderful picture of a young woman giving up all that is familiar to honor her mother-in-law—and ultimately God. Her sacrifice eventually placed her in the lineage of Christ and gave her a permanent place in history.
