Presidential Scholars Competition

Each year Northern Michigan University invites academically talented students to apply to its Presidential Scholars Competition. The program is specifically designed for top high school seniors to compete for major scholarships to NMU. One in four qualified students will receive a scholarship through this competition!

Scholarship competition dates for high school seniors graduating in 2014 who will be new freshmen in fall 2014 are below. Please be aware that there are application deadlines for these competitions.

•  November 3-4, 2013
•  November 10-11, 2013

Applications for the scholarship competition will begin in July so check back!
 

Watch a video with testimonials of three past winners.

As a result of this competition, the following scholarships will be awarded:

Harden Scholarships

• Number of awards varies. (Minimum of 15 awarded.)
• Amount of award: "full-ride" includes
  • tuition (in-state or out-of-state rates)
  • most required fees (University fee, student activity fee, one-time student athletic event fee and MacBook Pro fee for Art and Design majors)
  • room and board (living in the residence halls with the meal plan)
• *Term of award: 8 consecutive semesters total, as long as student maintains minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 at NMU.

Additional Scholarships

• Waldo Scholarships: $2000/yr (Number of awards varies.)
• Kaye Scholarships: $1000/yr (Number of awards varies.)
• Munson Scholarships: $500/yr (Number of awards varies.)
• These scholarships are in addition to the automatic merit scholarships awarded upon admission.
• *Term of awards: 8 consecutive semesters total, as long as student maintains minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 at NMU.

NMU Leadership Scholarships

• Number: 10
• Amount of award: $2000 per year
• *Term of award: 8 consecutive semesters total, as long as student maintains minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 at NMU

Who can apply to participate?

To apply for the scholarship competition, students must have an ACT composite score of 24 or higher (or an SAT combined score in math and critical reading of 1090 or higher) AND a cumulative (ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades) recomputed* high school GPA of 3.50 or higher. Students who have not taken the ACT/SAT must do so no later than October in order to be eligible for the competition. Students must be admitted to NMU prior to the competition deadlines, so please plan accordingly.

• admissions application
• competition application

*Recomputed GPA: The GPA is recomputed on a 4.00 scale by counting grades received in core subjects (English, college prep math, social studies, science, and languages). Grades in courses designated on the transcript as "honors", International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Placement (AP), and college dual enrollment receive added weight in the computation.

What does the competition consist of?

Students will receive a separate score for each of the four parts of the competition.

1. Students will take part in group activities with other participants where they will demonstrate their leadership, negotiation and interpersonal skills. These are problem solving exercises and students will be observed and scored by an NMU staff member and a current NMU student.
2. Students will have a one-on-one interview with an NMU faculty or staff member (each participant will be asked the same questions).
3. Students will be assigned points based on their recomputed* high school GPA (ninth through eleventh grades).
4. Students will be assigned points based on their ACT/SAT score (NMU will use the student's highest test score through October testing dates.)

Students participating in the Leadership Scholarships portion of the competition will also complete a brief resume of leadership experiences and complete an essay on one of their leadership activities when applying for the competition.

View the tentative schedule of events.