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.
This scholarship is open to U.S. high school seniors who attend a high school in one of the following counties: California – Kern, Los Angeles; Ohio – Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, Warren; Texas – Tom Green, Dallas, Denton, Collin. Students must demonstrate financial need and plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study.
Ninety percent of college takes place outside of the classroom. It’s in this part of the college experience — the unplanned, unstructured hours — that students discover their passions and plan their futures. For our brothers, much of this time is spent with their chapters — it’s where they build close bonds of friendship and learn how to communicate and work with others, to lead, and to speak in front of a crowd. Our brothers accomplish all of this through the Balanced Man Program.
The Balanced Man Scholarship – University of Oregon rewards students who have shown academic excellence, leadership skills, and a commitment to their health and well-being. Eligible applicants must have a 3.2 GPA and be enrolled full-time. For more information or to apply, please visit the scholarship provider’s website.
Elite Lawyer is a directory and rating service that awards and recognizes attorneys who have displayed a high level of competence in their practice and received acknowledgment from their peers, community, bar, and committees. The overall objective is to provide a credible and comprehensive resource for attorneys, and an easy-to-use directory for consumers that are looking to hire a highly respected lawyer in their area.
The mission of the Florida State Elks Association HOPE Scholarship is to provide financial support for the educational needs of Florida high school seniors without which they would not be able to achieve their educational goals. The scholarship targets students who demonstrated leadership through participation in school activities, community service, and citizenship. Consideration is given to those students who have shouldered extra responsibility such as working throughout their high school careers to help provide support of siblings or family.
The CITe Incoming Student Tuition Scholarship was established to recruit outstanding students to the college’s Information Systems program. Applicant must be an incoming freshman with a high school GPA of at least 3.0 and an ACT score of at least 22 or SAT score of at least 1010. Must be an Information Systems major. Recipients of the scholarship will be selected by the CITe Scholarship Committee, on the basis of academic merit. For more information or to apply, please visit the scholarship provider’s website.
Ryan Orsatti Law is offering the community a $1,000 Positive Influence Scholarship! Students are asked to reflect on someone who was a positive influence in their life. The deadline to apply is April 30, 2023. To learn more about this opportunity, please visit their scholarship page.
Ryan Orsatti Law is offering the community a $1,000 Positive Influence Scholarship! Students are asked to reflect on someone who was a positive influence in their life. The deadline to apply is April 30, 2023. To learn more about this opportunity, please visit their scholarship page.
Catch A Break! Scholarship program will be celebrating its 10th year in 2024. CAB! has awarded $1.6 million in scholarships to date. CAB! awards $11,000 per year/renewable for 4 years 15 scholarships available each year
CAB! is also more than just financial support: scholarship recipients receive community support throughout their college years. Each CAB! scholar receives an individual mentor, and there are 3 community events per year to foster social support and networking. Earning a scholarship through CAB! comes with an built-in community.
This award is available for undergraduate students who plan to pursue a career in broadcasting. Preference will be given to students who are enrolled at, or have graduated from, two-year colleges that have a departmental membership with the Broadcast Education Association.
This award is available to Wisconsin resident undergraduate and graduate students who are attending a Wisconsin college or university which offers teaching degrees. The student must be a minority, be enrolled in a program leading to teaching licensure, and have a grade point average of 2.5 or higher.
