General Information Regarding Scholarships
- Grade point averages (GPA) are based on a 4.00 scale. In determining scholarship eligibility, grade point averages will be rounded to the nearest 0.01
- If your high school provides both a weighted and an un-weighted GPA, we will use the higher of the two to determine your eligibility for scholarships.
- Class percentile and GPA are based on the 6th or 7th semester transcript, whichever is higher.
- Students must have a diploma from a high school accredited by the state education agency, a regional accrediting association or a homeschool diploma with the 17 unit core curriculum requirement established by the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education.
- Students who improve their ACT score, class rank or GPA will be considered for increased scholarships up until March 1.
- SAT requirements are based on a sum of the Critical Reading and Mathematics sub scores. The Writing score is not included in evaluation.
- The February ACT is the last score accepted for most freshman scholarships (with the exception of the Presidential, the Multicultural, and the Centennial Leaders scholarships, which use an earlier date).
- The amounts of fee-based scholarships (e.g., Presidential and Board of Governors) will be adjusted annually. Fixed-dollar scholarships (e.g., Academic) will not.
- Freshman scholarships are limited to students who enter the University the calendar year they graduate from high school. Students who graduate early from high school and attend Missouri State may be considered for "entering freshmen" scholarships on an individual basis. Scholarship requirements and deadlines will still apply.
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For students in accelerated master’s programs, courses taken as mixed credit (i.e., courses for which both undergraduate and graduate credit is earned) are counted both toward the required enrollment status for the semester in which they are taken and toward the renewal requirements for scholarships. If students are receiving scholarships that cover tuition based on their actual enrollment (i.e., Presidential and Multicultural Leadership), the scholarships will cover the total tuition they are assessed, including tuition for graduate level courses, up to the maximum number of hours per semester covered by those scholarships (18). For fixed amount scholarships (e.g., Governors*, Academic, and Recognition), students receive the standard scholarship amount.
*Note: The amount of the Governors Scholarship is fixed based on the amount charged to an undergraduate student taking 16 credit hours. For example, the current (2008-09) value of the Governors Scholarship for a Missouri resident is $2,976 per semester (16 x $186). The value is updated annually based on changes in tuition. Students receive the fixed amount regardless of the number of credit hours or types of classes they take. So, a Governors Scholarship recipient taking 16 credit hours including a 3 credit hour graduate class (600 or higher) would have an “out of pocket” expense of approximately $90; however, one taking 15 credit hours including a 3 credit hour graduate class would receive enough to cover full tuition (even for the graduate class) and have some left to apply toward student services fees.
- Scholarship recipients who graduate before using their allotted semesters of scholarship eligibility can apply the remaining semester(s) toward a Missouri State University graduate program. To qualify, students must meet established renewal criteria at the completion of their last semester as an undergraduate, be admitted to the MSU graduate school and enroll for at least 9 graduate credit hours. For scholarships that cover tuition, the scholarships will cover graduate tuition up to 15 credit hours per semester. For the Governors Scholarship, students will receive a fixed amount equal to 9 hours of graduate credit. For other scholarships (e.g., Academic and Recognition), students will receive the standard amount. Students cannot receive both a scholarship and a graduate assistantship or other form of graduate fee waiver.
- Students receiving a housing waiver, such as Presidential, cannot receive the waiver in conjuction with a Resident Assistant housing waiver.
- Transfer scholarships are limited to students who enter the University having completed 24 or more hours of transferable college credit subsequent to graduation from high school.
- Current students are not eligible to apply for entering student scholarships.
- Students may accept or decline scholarship offers up until the semester begins for which they were offered.
- Unless otherwise noted, scholarships cannot be combined and are only renewable for up to three additional years (eight semesters total.)
- Transfer hours and GPA (e.g., any hours not completed through the Springfield campus of Missouri State) may not be counted toward scholarship renewal.
- Students have a full academic year (fall, spring and summer) to meet scholarship renewal criteria.
- If students do not earn the required hours or grade points by the conclusion of each academic year, their scholarship will be terminated, and they will not be able to regain that scholarship in the future.
- Credit by examination may not be counted toward scholarship renewal criteria.
- The total amount of aid received from federal, state and institutional sources may not exceed the university-established cost of attendance.
- University scholarships fall within the guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Education and the IRS, and as such may affect the amounts and types of federal, state and university financial assistance for which a student may be eligible (i.e. grants and loans).
- For tax purposes, International students receiving University scholarships must complete an online form found on the Payroll website and schedule a brief appointment with the International Payroll Specialist.