Known for its excellence in education, the Eastern Michigan University is ranked among the top universities nationwide. Being located in Ypsilanti, Michigan, the EMU (Eastern Michigan University) has a beautiful campus that is filled with hiking and jogging trails.
In addition to their wonderful scenery, the buildings themselves are filled with state-of-the-art technology that enables professors to teach more efficiently.
Types of Scholarships Offered at EMU
NOTE: Eastern Michigan University has a standard when it comes to scholarships. The applicants can only receive one academic scholarship for their entire school year, so make sure that the one (you are applying for) has the highest value!
1. Scholarships for Freshmen
Offering to incoming freshmen, this type of scholarship ranges from half-tuition to full-tuition.
A. Presidential Scholarships
Being the most prestigious scholarship offered by EMU, the Presidential Scholarship covers full-tuition for all four years. Having a value of $23,000 per year, this award is given to students who meet the following requirements:
- Be officially admitted to Eastern Michigan University
- Have at least a 3.5 cumulative high school GPA
- Scored at least 25 on composite ACT OR 1200 on SAT
- Visit the EMU Campus
- Finish EMU Official Competition Essay
The specific dates for visiting the EMU Campus and the application deadlines for EMU essay are given in the link down below. After receiving this scholarship, the only thing left is the room & board and additional mandatory fees such as insurance or book costs.
For further information, view the Presidential Scholarship.
B. 4WARD Graduation Scholarships
This scholarship is a four-year commitment that begins in your freshman year. Before talking about the values, you need to meet the following requirements:
- Have at least 3.0 on high school GPA
- Scored at least 20 on ACT OR 1030 on SAT
After meeting the initial requirements, the applicant pays for tuition + room & board for two years, and for the next two years, the EMU covers the full tuition. So, the student only has to pay for room & board for his last two years; however, the tuition rates and the room & board rates are locked-in for all four years.
If you receive this scholarship, the tuition rates and room & board fees will not change during the four years. Normally, the tuition and other costs increase due to inflation, but for the students who are in this scholarship commitment, the rates stay the same for all four years.
For further information, view 4WARD Graduation Scholarship.
C. Education First Opportunity Scholarship (EFOS)
This Scholarship acts as the same thing as the Pell Grant. This award ranges up to $12,000 per year, and the applicant must meet the following requirements to be considered:
- Have at least 3.0 on your high school GPA
- Scored at least 20 on ACT OR 1030 on SAT
- Be a Michigan OR Ohio Resident
- Completed FAFSA
- Eligible for Pell Grant
In addition to the academic requirements, the EFOS requires the applicant to fill out the FAFSA. Because the funding for this scholarship is limited, please apply for FAFSA as early as you can.
D. National Scholars Program (NSP)
Having a value of approximately $18,000 per year, the NSP is a four-year award. To be considered, the applicant must meet the following requirements:
- Have at least 2.75 on your high school GPA
- Scored at least 20 on SAT OR 950 on the ACT
- Be a Non-Resident of Michigan
In addition to this scholarship, there are more scholarships that are available to first-year students, but the ones not mentioned are the scholarships that have low values such as $1,000 per year to $8,000 per year. To see all scholarships, click on the link down below.
For further information, view the Freshmen Scholarships.
2. Scholarships for Transfers
Similar to the scholarships offered to freshmen, this type of scholarship is a merit-based scholarship that is competitive. Also, there is a general eligibility requirement in order to be considered for transfer scholarships.
- Have at least 3.0 GPA
- Be transferring at least 30 credits
- Be from a regionally accredited institution
After fulfilling the general requirements, let’s get into specific scholarships that are offered to transfer students. Going to cover this section quickly by naming the values and eligibility requirements.
A. Regents Scholarships
- Value: $3,000 per year
- Eligibility Requirements: Maintain an EMU GPA of 3.5 or higher
B. Recognition of Excellence Scholarship
- Value: $2,000 per year
- Eligibility Requirements: Maintain an EMU GPA of 3.3 or higher
C. Transfer Scholarship
- Value: $1,000 per year
- Eligibility Requirements: Be enrolled in 12 hours each semester
D. MICUP – BEAT Scholarship
E. EMU Phi Theta Kappa Alumni Scholarship
Eligibility Requirements:
- Have at least 3.5 on transfer GPA
- Be a member of PTK
- Be from PTK inducted community college
Scholarship Value: $1000 per year
F. National Scholars Program
- Value: $16,500 per year
- Requirements: Be a student admitted prior to Fall 2018
For further information, view the Transfer Scholarships.
Grants Offered by Eastern Michigan University
In addition to scholarships, the EMU offers additional sources of financial aid to incoming students, and be careful when thinking about applying for grants since there are extra requirements involved.
1. Federal Grants
People say that grants are “free money” since you do not have to pay it back, and that is true to some extent. For most grants, students who are given the grant do not have to pay it back; however, when students who are given the grant do not fulfill the requirements listed in the grant then the students have to pay back the grant plus interest.
Among the federal grants, there are Federal Pell Grant and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. For these two, after you fit the requirements and given the grant, you do not have to pay it back.
But the last federal grant, which is Federal TEACH Grant, has additional requirements and pays more money than the other two grants. In exchange for more money, the Federal TEACH Grant requires the grant recipient to teach for four years after graduation.
Please reconsider and think carefully when considering the Federal TEACH Grant. It’s fine when you get the money, and teach for four years; however, the difficulty arises when the recipient gets the money and does not or cannot teach for four years.
If this happens, the grant recipient needs to pay back the grant that he has received plus interest, and in the past, most students have failed to meet the requirements. Be sure you can fulfill all requirements before applying for Federal TEACH Grant.
For further information, view Grants.
In order to apply for federal or state grants, the first step is filling out the FAFSA. Through your Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the government knows the demonstrated need, and awards the students that show the greatest need.
2. State Grants
Funded by the state of Michigan, these state grants are offered not only to incoming freshmen but also to graduate students as well.
For further information, view Grants and Scroll Down to See State Grants.
Additional Options
In addition to scholarships and grants, there are more options for financial aid!
Work-Study
Working while studying might be the best option if you need just a little bit more money to cover your mandatory fees or if you need an allowance as well. For incoming students, the Eastern Michigan University offers jobs to work in their facilities, and the government also provides Federal Work-Study opportunities to students who filed the FAFSA.
For further information, view Student Employment.
Loans
The last and the final resort that students go to in order to pay their fees is loans. Some loans do not have to be paid back with interest while some loans come with interest attached. Make sure if you do apply for loans that you choose the one that does not have an interest or have the least interest rates.
For further information, view Loans.
Conclusion: Tip!
The tip for this post is don’t stop looking. There is always another scholarship opportunity that is available for you, so make note of the application deadlines, and apply for as many scholarships as you can and also as early as you can!
Hope this guide helped, and visit Authority Scholarships for more posts!
