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 CCD Law Spokane Community Scholarship is available to high school seniors who reside in Washington and will be attending college in the fall.
CCD Law has a Privacy Policy for all applicants’ submissions. These submissions will be for our office use only. No third party will be granted access to any information that we collect during this process. At the time of the submission deadline, we will evaluate all submissions and contact the winning applicant or FA dept. of the university. Students awarded scholarships will be featured on this website if they choose to have their photo taken.
Blossom Law provides valuable and compassionate legal services to families who are often juggling bills and struggling with debt. Charlotte bankruptcy attorney Rashad Blossom personally understands the integral role that a family can play in times of hardship, and he appreciates the strong foundation that family members can provide, especially when they provide care for their loved ones.
In honor of his mother, Bobbie Blossom, who was a caregiver for his father, Rashad established The Blossom Law Caregiver Scholarship in 2022 to offer financial relief to students who have a parent who has been the primary caregiver for a loved one or who have served as caregivers themselves. Twice a year, Blossom Law offers college students the opportunity to receive $1,000 through the Blossom Law Caregiver Scholarship. The award may be used to supplement the costs of tuition, room and board, and other educational expenses.
To reach our scholarship team with questions or concerns, please contact us at scholarships@blossomlaw.com.
The Chicago family law firm NextLevel Law believes in making a positive impact in its community. Founding attorney Daniel R. Hernandez built his legal practice on the values of accessibility, integrity, respect, and transparency. NextLevel Law brings justice to our clients and makes high quality legal services accessible to all members of the communities we serve.
Attorney Hernandez and his legal team also believe in accessible education. Through the NextLevel Student Scholarship, NextLevel Law hopes to make higher education more accessible to college students who demonstrate academic excellence.
The $1,000 NextLevel Student Scholarship is available to students each semester who are pursuing a career in law, compliance, or public policy.
Students may contact our team via email at scholarships@nextlevel.law.
Our skilled personal injury attorneys have more than two decades of combined legal experience. We regularly handle serious personal injury claims for clients throughout the region.
Undergraduate students may apply for our scholarship. Our scholarship is available for those who are currently enrolled in an undergraduate program and who plan to pursue graduate degrees in specific fields of study. Students must have a grade point average of at least 3.0 as of the academic semester they completed most recently, they must be at least 17 years old at the time they submit their application, and they must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States.
Attorney Terry Bryant will be awarding his firm’s annual college scholarship to one high school senior in the nation. This scholarship gives students an opportunity to help fund their college education. To apply for the Terry Bryant College Scholarship, a student must submit a short video in response to the following prompt:
If you had up to one minute with your younger self at the time you started high school, what advice would you give on how to stay safe on city streets – whether as a driver, passenger, cyclist, or pedestrian?
The accident and injury law office of Terry Bryant is proud to announce the availability of a $2,500 scholarship to be awarded to a student who has been accepted to or is currently enrolled in an ABA- or AALS-accredited law school.
We believe that attorneys can be agents of change and advocates for those who deserve a voice. We’ve centered our practice around this philosophy, and we’re hopeful that tomorrow’s lawyers will continue this mission.
At Alford & Clark Injury Attorneys, we fiercely advocate for victims of personal injuries across the state of Texas from our headquarters in San Antonio. While contending with giant insurance companies and corporations, we strive to provide compassionate and intelligent service to each of our clients. In short, we treat each case like it is our only case.
Our team spends nights and weekends working to obtain just outcomes for our clients, and we have a deep appreciation for dedication, determination, and hard work. Through our Alford & Clark Injury Attorneys Students in Need Scholarship, we aim to promote those ideals by supporting students who have overcome obstacles and demonstrated a need for financial assistance.
Therefore, we award scholarships of $2,000 in the Fall and Spring semesters to qualified students interested in a career in law who can demonstrate the need for financial assistance.
A leadership experience that lasts. There’s no experience like the Bezos Scholars Program— a transformative, year-long, no-cost leadership development program that amplifies youth voice and action so young people with passion can start making a difference today. Each year, 17 exceptional juniors, 12 from the U.S. and five from Africa, along with educators from each of their schools, are selected as Bezos Scholars.
At the center of the program are Community Change Projects—fresh, achievable, and sustainable approaches to solving urgent problems, conceived and launched by Scholars with our support. Student scholars receive leadership training from noted experts along with free college advising and $1,000 to fund their projects with the ability to reapply annually. Apply and become the leader we need.
Must apply through the Kaleidoscope link provided here: https://apply.mykaleidoscope.com/scholarships/BezosScholars2023Cohort?
Brandon Wong & Associates is a San Antonio-based family law firm founded on the principles of hard work and quality of representation. As a firm that practices exclusively in the area of family law, we have accumulated the depth of experience necessary to handle everything from a straightforward, uncontested divorce to high-conflict cases involving multiple contested issues, as well as high-asset matters where complex property division issues need to be addressed. With our experience representing clients from all walks of life, we can address unique concerns related to issues such as military divorce, spousal support, or business valuations.
Our team at the Law Office of David E. Gordon is excited to share the 2023 Nuclear Family Scholarship! This scholarship was created to help students reflect on how someone in their immediate family has helped them become the person they are today. The applicant that best answers the prompt will be awarded a $1000 scholarship to help them pursue their higher education.
To be eligible for the 2023 Nuclear Family Scholarship, applicants must submit their completed application (essay, transcript(s), and resume) by e-mail to lawofficeofdavidgordon@gmail.com. All applications must have a subject line that reads: “[Applicant’s First and Last Name] – 2023 Nuclear Family Scholarship”. Submissions without this subject line will not be considered. The deadline for all application materials is February 28th.
