Merit Scholarships

Merit scholarships are awarded to incoming undergraduate students and are based on outstanding academic achievement in secondary school or college, if a transfer student. Scholarships are renewable for up to four years for full-time students who maintain a specific cumulative grade-point average. Merit scholarships may include:

Academic Merit Scholarships – Based on weighted, cumulative grade-point average, and are renewable (see chart).

First-Year Student Merit Scholarships – At the point of admission to Wilson College, first-year students who meet all academic requirements for merit scholarship eligibility are offered one of these awards. Eligibility is based on being enrolled in a college preparatory curriculum that demonstrates a minimum of 15 units that include (1) four units of English; (2) four units of social studies/history; (3) algebra I, algebra II and geometry; (4) two laboratory sciences; and (5) two years of a foreign language. The secondary school attended must be regionally accredited. These tuition scholarships are renewed for a maximum of four years, provided the student continues to enroll full time and maintains the required cumulative grade-point average for the level of merit scholarship.

Note: Transfer students who transfer in at least four college courses completed after graduating from high school are eligible for a tuition merit scholarship based on college cumulative GPA. Students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 from a regionally accredited institution. Phi Theta Kappa members automatically will be eligible for the Presidential Merit Scholarship. Students who transfer in fewer than four courses will be considered for the First-Year Merit Scholarship. Students must maintain the required cumulative GPA for scholarship renewal for the level of merit scholarship. Students with previously earned bachelor’s degrees are not eligible for merit scholarships.

Hagop Bogigian Scholarships – Established from the estate of Hagop Bogigian, two full-tuition scholarships are awarded to students of Armenian descent with a preference for citizens of Armenia. These awards are renewable for up to four years.

Class of 1952 Scholarship – Recognizes an outstanding incoming student who plans to major in education or one of the liberal arts and sciences. This competitive scholarship is renewable for up to four years. Scholarship applications, available from the admissions office, are due March 1.

Curran Scholarships – Established in 1936 as a trust under the will of the late William Curran, M.D., and supplemented by gifts from former Curran Scholarship recipients. Preference is given to new students admitted as traditional undergraduate students with a proven history of service to community and/or church. First-year students receive $4,000 and upper-class students receive $4,000 to $7,500, depending on the amount of eligibility from need-based work-study and student loans. Curran Scholars complete a 260-hour volunteer service requirement each academic year and take two classes in religion and/or philosophy while at Wilson College. Recipients must maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative grade-point average after their first year and at least a 2.5 cumulative grade-point average every year thereafter. Applications, due no later than March 1, are available from the admissions office.