Scholarship awards serve two equally valuable purposes: as recognition of accomplishment and achievement and as provision of financial support. These purposes are not mutually exclusive. Many students are awarded scholarships due to both achievement and financial need.
Scholarships of $500 are the minimum given when the most important goal is to award achievement rather than to supply aid. Conversely, scholarships of $3,000 -$7,000 are generally given when the most important goal is to supply aid. Most scholarships fall within this range.
Students receiving scholarships generally demonstrate strength in two or more of the below attributes.
• Academic Performance and Achievement
Earned grades and cumulative grade point average (GPA), course selection, course rigor, credit load, academic-related activities, and research experience are reviewed.
• Creative Accomplishment
Originality and innovation in the arts, sciences, or social sciences are considered.
• Financial Need
Demonstrated financial need requires a completed FAFSA form on file with UW-Madison. Employment information and extenuating circumstances of note can be considered.
• Diversity and Lived Experience
This is defined as, and includes any of the criteria below:
- coming from a low-income family,
- being a first-generation student,
- being the first in your family seeking to graduate from a four-year college in the U.S.,
- coming from an underserved urban, rural, or farming community,
- attending a school with a limited college preparatory curriculum,
- attending a district in an area with high poverty concentration,
- or other family circumstances that have impacted educational opportunities.
• Extraordinary Force of Character
Overcoming obstacles related to health, family, social, educational or other disadvantages.
• Community and Public Service
Volunteerism, service learning, civic engagement, field-work or internships that show civic responsibility and engagement in the betterment of community. Sustained involvement over time is highly valued.
• Leadership
Demonstrated leadership experiences with significant duties or accomplishments.