Navigating UMD Presidential Scholarships: A Comprehensive Guide

The University of Maryland (UMD) offers a variety of merit-based scholarships to attract and support academically talented students. Among these, the Presidential Scholarship stands out as a highly respected program. This article provides a detailed overview of the UMD Presidential Scholarship, including its requirements, benefits, and related scholarship opportunities.

Merit Scholarships for Freshmen

The University of Maryland offers freshman merit scholarships to academically talented incoming students. Freshman applicants who submit their admission application and all required materials by the November 1 early action deadline are automatically considered for freshman merit scholarships. No additional application is necessary.

Banneker/Key Scholarship

The Banneker/Key Scholarship is the most prestigious merit scholarship offered to incoming UMD freshmen. Scholarship recipients are also admitted to the Honors College. It can cover up to the full cost of tuition, mandatory fees, housing and food, a book allowance, and includes admission to the Honors College. All freshman applicants who are admitted to the Honors College are considered for the Banneker/Key Scholarship. To be considered for the Banneker/Key Scholarship, students must submit a completed admission application and all required application materials by the November 1 early action deadline. Selected semifinalists are invited to an interview conducted by the Banneker/Key Selection Committee. Factors such as a candidate's involvement in community service, talents or skills, leadership, and character all play a part in the final awards. No additional application materials are required.

President's Scholarship

The President’s Scholarship provides a four-year scholarship ranging from $2,000 to $20,000 per year. This award provides talented prospective freshmen with scholarship support for eight consecutive undergraduate semesters. Both in-state and out-of-state applicants are eligible to receive the President’s Scholarship. Students are selected through the admission process, with primary consideration given to academic achievement, extracurricular activities, awards, honors, recommendations, and the essay. Recipients are identified through evaluation of admission application materials including academic achievement, extracurricular activities, awards, honors and an essay.

The President's Scholarship at the University of Maryland is a highly respected scholarship program. It's one of the school's largest merit-based awards and is certainly prestigious given that it's typically offered to top-performing students. Scholarship recipients are generally among the top 10% of their high school class, with strong involvements in extracurricular activities. Because only a limited number of these scholarships are awarded each year, the competition to be selected is indeed quite rigorous.

As for the benefits, the scholarship award covers up to $12,000 annually (so about $48,000 over four years), which can provide a significant relief from tuition and living expenses. Additionally, being a recipient of such a prominent scholarship could also bolster your resume, demonstrating to future employers or graduate school admissions committees your academic prowess and dedication.

Dean’s Scholarship

The Dean’s Scholarship offers an annual merit scholarship of $1,500 for freshman year or $4,500 per year for both freshman and sophomore years. This award provides talented prospective freshmen with scholarship support for two to four consecutive undergraduate semesters. The Dean’s Scholarship is not renewable, and only in-state applicants are eligible. Recipients are identified through evaluation of admission application materials including academic achievement, extracurricular activities, awards, honors and an essay. Each fall, roughly 400 new recipients of the Dean’s Scholarship are welcomed to the incoming class.

Merit Scholarships for Transfer Students

Merit scholarships are offered to some of the University of Maryland’s most academically talented transfer students. Transfer applicants that apply by the March 1 fall early action deadline are automatically reviewed for some of these merit scholarships, while others require a separate application. To be considered for merit scholarships, transfer students must submit a completed undergraduate admission application for the fall semester by the March 1 early action deadline. Students are only eligible to receive one merit scholarship. All merit scholarship decisions are based on academic and applicant information at the time of applying, not current or ongoing work. Students cannot appeal their merit scholarship decisions, and the university does not match scholarship offers from other institutions.

Frederick Douglass Scholarship

The Frederick Douglass Scholarship is a prestigious University of Maryland scholarship for academically talented transfer students from a Maryland community college. The Frederick Douglass Scholarship is a prestigious UMD award for academically talented transfer students from a Maryland community college. The award covers in-state tuition for four consecutive undergraduate semesters. Only in-state students transferring to the University of Maryland from a two-year or four-year institution are eligible. To be eligible, students must have completed a minimum of 56 credits (or have an associate degree) and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Students who have previously attended UMD are ineligible for this scholarship. Students must apply for admission by the March 1 early action deadline and must submit the 2026-27 FAFSA by the priority deadline of March 1, 2026. No separate application is needed for consideration as recipients are identified on the basis of academic talent and demonstrated financial need. To maintain the scholarship, students must be enrolled full time beginning in the fall academic semester and maintain a cumulative grade point average of a 3.20.

President’s Transfer Scholarship

The President’s Transfer Scholarship is a two-year, $5,000 per year scholarship for transfer students. The President’s Transfer Scholarship provides funding for a maximum of two years to out-of-state transfer students enrolled at the University of Maryland. The annual award is in the amount of $5,000 and is determined through a competitive process based on academic talent. The scholarship will be awarded to the most competitive transfer students with excellent academic records and college grade point averages. Only out-of-state applicants are eligible to receive the President’s Transfer Scholarship. No separate application is required for consideration. Recipients are identified through the evaluation of admission application materials. Students awarded the scholarship will receive notification a few weeks after receiving their admission decision letter.

Maryland Transfer Scholarship

The Maryland Transfer Scholarship provides partial-tuition awards ranging from $5,000 distributed equally over two semesters to $10,000 distributed equally over four consecutive semesters. To be eligible, students must be Maryland residents transferring to the University of Maryland from a two-year or four-year institution, have applied for admission by the early action deadline, and submitted the FAFSA by the priority deadline of January 1. No separate application is required for consideration. Recipients are identified through the evaluation of admission application materials. Students awarded the scholarship will receive notification a few weeks after receiving their admission decision letter.

Additional Scholarship Opportunities

Talent-Based Scholarships

These are competitive scholarships that are awarded annually. Primary consideration will be given to incoming freshmen and transfer students from community colleges with outstanding art, dance, music or theater talent. The scholarships cover in-state tuition and mandatory fees. They are renewable for up to three years based upon an acceptable level of performance as defined by the respective departments.

Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) Scholarships

The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) awards need-based and merit-based scholarships to Maryland residents. Many different programs are available, including the Guaranteed Access (GA) Grant, Educational Assistance (EA) Grant, and Legislative Scholarships (Delegate and Senatorial). Filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) annually by the March 1 deadline is sufficient to apply for most Maryland State Scholarships at UMD. However, some may require additional application forms. The application deadline for most programs is March 1. Several states have reciprocal agreements with Maryland. Students who are residents of these states may receive funds for study in eligible post-secondary institutions in Maryland.

Private Scholarships and Departmental Awards

A wide range of scholarships and state and university programs are available from private sources. However, they are not publicized. UMD encourages students to conduct their own scholarship search. Many of the academic departments at UMD offer merit-based scholarships. Some departmental scholarships can be applied to using Scholarship Universe. Students admitted to UMD have the ability to find and apply for external scholarships through our scholarship matching tool, Scholarship Universe.Additionally, several academic departments offer merit scholarships to their most promising students.

Maintaining the President’s Scholarship

The President’s Scholarship is an undergraduate merit scholarship awarded to a group of selected students for up to a maximum of eight (8) consecutive semesters. The academic year begins with the fall semester, followed by the winter term, followed by the spring semester and concluding with summer terms.

GPA Requirement

The student must maintain a minimum 3.20 cumulative GPA. The GPA used for this review is not rounded. Therefore, a 3.199 does not equal a 3.20 cumulative GPA. In the event the student fails to maintain a 3.20 cumulative GPA, the student will have one probationary semester to raise their GPA. The student may take courses on campus during the winter and summer terms to bring up their cumulative GPA, but the scholarship does not cover the cost of winter and summer courses. If the scholarship was canceled, and the student subsequently raises their GPA to a 3.20 or higher, the student may submit a request for reinstatement of the scholarship.

Credit Requirements

The student must successfully complete 30 credits per academic year. Although a student may retake courses under the University's repeat policy, credits earned for a repeated course may only be counted once toward the annual 30 credit requirement. Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and other pre-college credits are not counted towards the 30 credit requirement. The student may take courses on or off-campus during the winter and summer terms to make up any necessary credits, but the scholarship does not cover the cost of these courses. The academic year is defined as beginning with the fall semester, followed by the winter term, followed by the spring semester and concludes with the summer terms.

Additional Conditions

These scholarships may not be combined with one another. The total of all aid a student receives cannot exceed the cost of attendance. Should a student receive funds above the cost of attendance, as determined by the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA), their President’s Scholarship will be reduced. The President’s Scholarship is a partial tuition scholarship with varying awards amounts. The President's Scholarship is a merit award. Refunds will not be available until the student has registered for a minimum of 12 credits (waitlisted courses do not count), and all university charges incurred on their student account have been paid. Each academic year, OSFA will notify the student of the type(s) of scholarships they are receiving and the amount disbursed from each account fund. OSFA reserves the right to modify financial assistance at any time. A student who fully withdraws and receives a refund for tuition, mandatory fees, room or board may have their scholarship adjusted during the semester of the withdrawal. If a student plans to participate in a university-sponsored Study Abroad Program, Co-op or any other non-standard academic program, they must obtain prior approval from their program advisor and submit that approval to OSFA. With prior approval, the student may receive the President’s Scholarship during the university-sponsored Study Abroad Program. For approved Co-op programs, the student may defer receipt of the President’s Scholarship.

Tax Information

Scholarship and grant awards that a student receives for tuition and university-wide mandatory fees are tax-free. Scholarship money that a student receives for books, supplies, equipment and other fees may be tax-free if they are required of all students in the course. Scholarship money received for room and board is considered taxable income. This is a general statement of the tax rules. The student's own tax liability may vary depending on their personal situation.

tags: #umd #presidential #scholarship #requirements