Many students are out of the reach of college education due to high levels of expenses. To deal with this situation, various options are available such as loans, grants, and scholarships. You can qualify for more than one scholarship at a time and this can help you in offsetting your tuition fees, book expenses, and room and board expenses. Here, we will discuss the merit scholarships and the colleges that offer the best merit scholarships.
The institutions and colleges offer scholarships based on need and merit. The merit scholarships are provided to those candidates who have good academic skills, artistic skills, athletic skills, leadership skills, community service certification, and any extracurricular activity certification. Some merit-based scholarships also take financial needs into account while selecting the candidate. The need-based scholarships are awarded after assessing the student’s ability to pay for school. Some merit scholarships are renewable and some are only one-time prizes. The scholarships are renewed based on outstanding achievements in multiple areas.
How much GPA is good for Merit Scholarships?
Some merit scholarships consider high GPAs and some consider test scores, essays, and extracurriculars, rather than GPAs. The best way of getting merit scholarships is to focus on the strengths means candidates have to include their strengths in the essay while applying. If you are getting scores near 4.0, then you may easily get selected for the merit scholarships. So, try to maintain a good GPA nearest 4.0 in your high school.
Which Colleges offer the best Merit Scholarships?
There are various colleges and universities available that offer merit scholarships to help students. Before applying, you should check and research the current scholarship programs because scholarship offerings change over time. Some of the best and most prestigious colleges that offer merit scholarships in the United States are mentioned below.
- University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois): It offers a Stamps Scholarship that offers the amount for junior and senior years of cost $10,000 and also covers the cost of tuition fees, room, and board. It only offers to those students who have great leadership skills, innovative minds, etc.
- University of California (Los Angeles): It offers merit scholarships that cover full tuition costs and also offers an enrichment fund of $12,000. There are around 10 scholarships offered every year by them. They consider academic scores, leadership qualities, and extracurricular interests for the scholarship.
- University of Virginia (Charlottesville): It offers Jefferson Scholarship who have attended the eligible school as per the rules. In this scholarship students and nominated by their schools directly for this scholarship and it covers the full tuition cost, room and board, books, and personal expenses. There are around 36 scholarships awarded by this university every year.
- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor): It offers Stamp Scholarships and the selection is dependent upon the academic score, leadership qualities, exceptional talent, and community involvement. It covers the full tuition cost of the program.
- Georgia University of Technology (Atlanta): This university offers the Stamps President’s Scholars Program. It covers the full cost of attendance including books, supplies, room and board, and laptop. Students can apply for this scholarship by the early application deadline and that is 15th October.
- Boston University (Massachusetts): This university’s Trustee Scholarship Program to students who have exceptional academic credentials, and intellectual and creative minds. Every year, around 20 students are selected by them for this merit scholarship and students have to submit a short essay at the time of application. The application deadline is 1st December.
- Stanford University: This university offers a wide range of merit scholarships and one of them is Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program. This program covers the full cost of attendance, including the cost of room and board. It applies to all graduate students from any major.
- Duke University (Durham, North Carolina): It offers Robertson Scholars Leadership Program. This merit program covers the full tuition cost and is eligible for candidates who have leadership abilities, intellectual skills, and strong academics.
This university also offers Angier B. Duke Scholars Program. This program applies to all undergraduate students.
- Harvard University: This university offers various merit scholarships and one of the best scholarships is Harvard College Scholarship which applies to undergraduate students. It offers to those who have good academic achievements. The financial need is also considered by the providers. So, you have to submit all the documents carefully while applying.
- University of Norte Dame: This University offers the Stamps Scholarship. In this program, students get a mentorship facility with professional faculty. The selection process is based on academic scores, leadership qualities, innovative minds, etc. Every year 5 scholarships are awarded to eligible candidates. The candidates are nominated by the admission department after verification of the applications.
- Emory University (Atlanta): It offers the merit scholarship program named Emory Scholars Program and it covers the full tuition cost of College and is only awarded to the top students based on academics. The deadline for application is 15th November.
- Boston College: This college offers the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program. This program is offered to early applicants and covers the full cost of attendance. The application deadline is 1st November but students are invited in late January or early February for the interview process. After taking an interview this scholarship is given to the eligible Candidate.
- University of Rochester: This university offers scholarships with the combination of need and merit. The scholarship name is Alan and Jane Handler Endowed Scholarship. The selection for the scholarship is based on academic excellence, leadership qualities, financial need, and interest in extracurricular activities. It also offers $5000 for academic enrichment and covers the full tuition course. The best part is that it also provides a mentoring facility for the students.
- Barry University (Miami Shores, Florida): It offers the Stamps Scholarship that covers the full cost of attendance, books, and transportation. To get eligible for this program, candidates have to maintain a GPA of 3.5 or more than that. It also offers $6,000 to the winners of the scholarship to go abroad for further education experience. The application deadline is February 1st.
Therefore, these are the best colleges that offer merit scholarships to students after assessing their academic and other relevant skills.
Conclusion
The merit scholarships are offered based on academics and GPA scores. Students have to maintain a GPA of 4.0 or close to it. Pure merit scholarships are fully based on academic scores rather than financial needs. Some providers consider both need and merit for providing scholarships. The students who have a strong academic profile and significant financial needs are considered best by the providers for the scholarship. Candidates also have to apply with all the required documents and essays and must have to adhere the deadlines. To get eligible, they have to apply as early as possible.