Gettysburg College Merit Scholarships: A Comprehensive Guide
Gettysburg College is committed to recognizing and rewarding the academic excellence of incoming freshmen, both domestic and international, by offering a range of merit-based scholarships. These scholarships aim to make education at Gettysburg accessible and affordable for talented students. Recipients of these scholarships represent the top-ranking applicants, demonstrating outstanding scholarly achievement and grade point averages.
Automatic Consideration for Merit Scholarships
Gettysburg College automatically considers all applicants for merit scholarships upon submission of their Common Application. There is no separate application required for the Lincoln, Presidential, David Wills, and Founders scholarships. Decisions regarding merit scholarship recipients are integrated into the admissions review process, simplifying the application process for prospective students.
Types and Values of Gettysburg College Merit Scholarships
Gettysburg College offers several merit-based scholarships, each with its own criteria and value. These scholarships include:
- The Gettysburg Merit Scholarships: These scholarships range in value from $30,000 to $53,000 annually.
- The Eisenhower Scholarship: Gettysburg College’s most selective scholarship, the Eisenhower Scholarship, awards $53,000 per year, totaling $212,000 for four years of full-time study.
Criteria for Selection
While there are no explicitly defined criteria, past recipients of Gettysburg College merit scholarships typically ranked in the top 25% of the applicant pool. The college seeks motivated and talented students who aspire to become leaders, scientists, entrepreneurs, diplomats, and policymakers. Selection is based on scholarly achievement and grade point average.
Specialty Scholarships Requiring Separate Applications
While most merit scholarships are awarded automatically, Gettysburg College offers several specialty scholarships that require a separate application. These include scholarships for students with a demonstrated passion for leadership, civic engagement, and public service, as well as those interested in the study of history. The Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College also offers competitive scholarships for talented musicians, requiring auditions for consideration. Additionally, Gettysburg’s STEM Scholarship program is offered to first-generation college students with an interest in a STEM field.
Read also: Scholarships and Athletics Guide
The Eisenhower Scholarship: A Closer Look
The Eisenhower Scholarship is Gettysburg College’s most selective scholarship, recognizing outstanding first-year applicants who have demonstrated achievement in civic engagement, leadership, and change agency. Recipients of the Eisenhower Scholarship receive $53,000 per year, totaling $212,000 for four years of full-time study at Gettysburg College.
Eisenhower Scholars benefit from exclusive opportunities focused on cohort-building, community engagement, experiential learning, and professional growth. They are encouraged to spark curiosity and new ideas by building community with like-minded students and meeting innovative leaders who are improving lives and transforming communities. The program also encourages scholars to create a personal roadmap to determine how they will impact the world around them and become the change agent they want to be.
Financial Aid Statistics at Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is dedicated to making education affordable for all students. A significant 92% of freshmen receive financial aid, with the main type being grants and scholarships. The average financial aid package for first-year students at Gettysburg College is $37,000.
In a recent year, 89% of incoming freshmen (609 total) were awarded scholarships at Gettysburg College, averaging $35,383.00 a piece. Additionally, 21% of first-year students (145 total) received a federal grant, for about $5,571.00 per person.
Financial Aid by Income Level
The following table illustrates grant and scholarship distributions by income for first-year students receiving any form of federally-funded Title IV aid:
Read also: Paying for Gettysburg College
| Income Level | Percent of Freshman | Average Assistance |
|---|---|---|
| Income 0-30k | 9.25% | $57,645.00 |
| Income 30k-48k | 6.17% | $58,051.00 |
| Income 48k-75k | 8.08% | $53,459.00 |
| Income 75k-110k | 8.66% | $40,344.00 |
| Income 110k + | 20.12% | $31,513.00 |
Combining Merit Scholarships with Other Forms of Aid
Gettysburg’s merit scholarships can be combined with need-based grants, federal and state grants, college loans, and work-study for eligible students. This allows students to create a comprehensive financial aid package that meets their individual needs.
Understanding Institutional Scholarships and Grants
Institutional scholarships and grants refer to financial aid provided directly by a college or university to support students in covering their educational expenses. These awards can be either merit-based or need-based and do not require repayment. Merit-based institutional scholarships reward students who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievements, talents, or skills in specific areas. Need-based institutional grants are allocated to students who exhibit financial need. The amount awarded is usually determined by the student’s family’s financial circumstances and aims to cover the difference between the cost of attendance and the family’s capacity to pay.
The Role of Financial Aid in Achieving Diversity
Scholarships help to ensure that a Gettysburg education is available to ALL students who have the potential to make the most of it. When students of various backgrounds come together in a college community, opportunities for learning multiply. Achieving greater diversity requires resources. With increased financial aid, Gettysburg can enroll more students from a wider range of socioeconomic, ethnic, racial, and geographic backgrounds.
Funding a Gettysburg Education: A Partnership
Gettysburg College views financing a Gettysburg education as a partnership between the College and the family, including the student. Student loans are one of the ways in which students can invest in their educational costs. At Gettysburg, the college does not consider the value of retirement accounts, a family’s consumer debt level, and secondary or graduate school expenses for other siblings. Both the FAFSA and PROFILE calculations provide an allowance for a portion of parent assets in case of emergencies or other significant financial expenses.
Named Scholarship Opportunities
Gettysburg College offers donors the opportunity to create named scholarships with varying levels of funding:
Read also: Working at Gettysburg College
- $1 million required minimum: Permanently and fully funds the financial package of one Eisenhower Scholarship, the College’s most prestigious merit-based award.
- $250,000 required minimum: At this level, donors may place a preference on how the College awards the scholarship.
- $100,000 required minimum: Supporting Gettysburg students in perpetuity, this permanent fund provides approximately $5,000 in annual support once it is fully funded.
- $50,000 required minimum.
- $20,000 required minimum gift to the Gettysburg Fund, fulfilled in $5,000 increments over a period of four years. The Gettysburg Fund Named Scholarship is a term-of-years scholarship, ending after four years.
Outcomes for Gettysburg Graduates
Within one year after graduation, 98% of new alums are employed or in graduate school, demonstrating the value of a Gettysburg College education.
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