Honors College Scholarships
The FHSU Honors College offers several scholarships that can cover major portions – or even all – of your educational expenses. The Regents, Tier 1, and Tier 2 scholarships are competitively offered to eligible applicants upon admission to the Honors College.
Applicants interested in these scholarships should apply early!
The priority application deadline for Honors College scholarship consideration, for the following spring or fall semester, is November 15th.
Students who wish to be considered for an Honors College scholarship may submit an optional 2-3 minute video with their application and are encouraged to provide any additional details they wish on the space provided on the application. Eligible applicants will be evaluated by the Admissions Committee for the Regents, Tier 1, and Tier 2 scholarships, when they apply. Once awarded, these scholarships are renewable for three additional consecutive years for first-year freshmen, 2 additional consecutive years for transfer sophomores, or 1 additional year for transfer/KAMS juniors.
Unfortunately, we are not able to offer Honors College scholarships to students already at FHSU or FHSU Online students at this time. KAMS/AMS students may be considered for Honors College scholarships but typically they are automatically awarded FHSU scholarships that meet or exceed what the Honors College could offer. These are considered year by year, as scholarship eligibility and opportunities change.
In order to retain scholarships, students generally must be registered full-time, meet all minimum program expectations, and maintain a 3.5 cumulative GPA. If a student fails to meet the minimum expectations they are granted at least one grace semester in which to improve, with no impact to their scholarship. Students are not required to reapply each year.
Each year the Honors College receives more applications than scholarships we have available. Possessing the minimum requirements needed for an Honors College Scholarship does not guarantee that the applicant will receive the scholarship. Applying early will give the student the best chance at being awarded a scholarship.
All applications should include a resume that describes educational achievements, employment, community engagement, experience with leadership and responsibilities, and any other significant experiences that are not addressed elsewhere in the application.
Strong applications will display attention to quality writing, as well as thoughtful, reflective, and creative approaches to the essay prompts.
Regents Scholarship: Available to on-campus first-time freshmen only. Covers full-time tuition and fees (up to 18 credit hours), complete room and board costs, and includes $450 per semester for additional costs. Applicants are expected to have:
- Minimum high school GPA of 3.7
- Minimum 32 ACT Composite or Superscore, or 1430 SAT
- Students awarded the Regents scholarship are not able to accept any other FHSU awards, but external scholarships are allowed.
- Minimum 31 ACT Composite or Superscore, or 1400 SAT (Transfer students may submit a score for reference only.)
- Students awarded the Tier 1 scholarship are not able to accept the FHSU automatic scholarship awards in addition to their Tier 1; other FHSU scholarships may be allowed with approval, and other external scholarships are allowed.
- Minimum 30 ACT Composite or Superscore, or 1370 SAT (Transfer students may submit a score for reference only.)
- Students awarded the Tier 2 scholarship are not able to accept the FHSU automatic scholarship awards in addition to their Tier 2; other FHSU scholarships may be allowed with approval, and other external scholarships are allowed.
Other FHSU Scholarship opportunities, supported by generous donors, can be found here. Students must apply for these by signing in and completing the general scholarship application. Eligibility will vary by scholarship, so read the descriptions carefully. Hint: Search for any keywords that may be related to your major or hometown/county/region!
Nationally Competitive Scholarships
Students can get support finding and submitting applications for a wide range of nationally competitive grants, scholarships, fellowships, and similar funding opportunities. Typically, these awards fund study, research, or teaching in the U.S. or abroad, often with the aim of helping develop students' potential to contribute to the public good.
You may have heard of some programs like the Rhodes Scholarship, the Truman Scholarship, or the Fulbright Student Grant, but there are many programs out there suited to a wide range of career and study goals.
Kevin Amidon, the Director of the Honors College, is available to assist all FHSU students who are interested in nationally competitive scholarships, faculty interested in nominating a student, or faculty writing referrals.
Some Frequently Asked Questions
When Can I Apply?
The answer to this question varies by the opportunity you are applying for, but there are awards for students at every stage of their academic careers (even freshmen and sophomores), and some you can even apply for after you graduate. If you are a freshman or sophomore, you can get started building your resume and looking for opportunities that fit your goals or that will help you build up to more competitive awards, and if you are a junior, senior, or graduate student, you can get help connecting your experiences to the best opportunities to help you achieve your goals.
What Makes a Competitive Candidate for Scholarship Programs?
Again, the answer to this varies by the program you are applying for, but generally speaking, competitive students are energetic and high achieving, with the potential to make significant contributions for the public good. Such students may have some of these assets:
- High GPAs;
- Service-learning courses or meaningful volunteer experience;
- Honors courses (and other rigorous coursework);
- Research experience;
- Studying abroad (preferably for a full term, not just during a break between semesters);
- Leadership and participation in campus and community activities.
But please don't exclude yourself if you don't have all of these on your resume! What committees for different awards are looking for in candidates really does vary, and if you are in your first or second year of college, you can apply for opportunities to build your resume in some of these areas and can actively think about how to get involved in ways that will prepare you for later applications.
What Should I Do Next?
Read the information on the Student Services and Resources or Faculty Support and Resources page and contact Dr. Amidon at any time at ksamidon@fhsu.edu.
The Honors College expresses its gratitude to Dr. Lexey Bartlett of English Programs for her continued support and assembling the extensive resources on these pages.