President’s Scholarship Information & Competition Frequently Asked Questions

The President’s Scholarship is Saginaw Valley State University’s most prestigious scholarship. This competitive award covers 100% of tuition up to 120 credit hours toward your first degree. To be eligible to be invited to compete for this scholarship, a student must have a 3.95+ cumulative high school GPA (weighted is accepted) and must apply to SVSU by December 1st of their senior year and be admitted by December 15th. If a student meets this eligibility, they will be mailed an invitation to register for a competition date. The top 30 competitors will be offered this award. This competition includes the Presidents Scholarship Questionnaire (PSQ) which can be completed at home, a timed essay which is to be completed on-campus at a competition event, and the competitor's cumulative high school GPA. The combination of these scores will determine our finalists. More details below.

To be eligible to be invited to compete for the President’s Scholarship, a student must have a 3.95+ cumulative high school GPA (weighted is accepted) and must apply to SVSU by December 1st of their senior year and be admitted by December 15th. If a student meets this eligibility, they will be mailed an invitation to register for a competition date. Registration for the competitions will be available for admitted, eligible students in their SVSU admitted student portal. Space for events has limited capacity and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Once registered, students will be able to access and complete the Presidential Scholarship Questionnaire (PSQ) which is to be completed and submitted no later than midnight two days before the student’s registered competition date. The PSQ can only be accessed once and will not save if the student closes it before submitting. More details below

Yes! Competing for the President’s Scholarship does NOT commit a student to SVSU. During the event, students will complete the essay and will also have an opportunity to tour SVSU’s beautiful campus and meet with professors from their academic program of interest and more. We hope this will help students decide if SVSU is the place for them.

To be considered for the President’s Scholarship, competitors must complete each phase of the competition within the established timeframe. Unfortunately, if a student does not complete and submit their PSQ by midnight two days before their registered competition date, they will not be fully considered for this scholarship.

Each year, 30 President’s Scholarships are awarded to the top competitors. The 30 recipients will be decided based on the combined results of their timed essay, their Presidential Scholarship Questionnaire, and their cumulative GPA.

Letters notifying students if they were awarded the President's Scholarship will be mailed out in March.

Students who are not awarded the President's Scholarship will retain their Founder’s Scholarship for $6,500/year for up to four years and if they plan to live on campus, they will also retain their Valley Housing Scholarship for $1,500/year for their first two years. We also encourage all admitted students, regardless if they were awarded the President’s Scholarship, to complete the Donor-funded Scholarship Application which opens November 1st and has a priority consideration deadline of February 1.

At this time, there is no waitlist for the President’s Scholarship. Recipients of the award and those who did not receive the award will be notified by mail in March.

Absolutely! We welcome parents, family, and significant others to join students at this event. However, please note that students are allowed to bring a maximum of two guests with them. While competitors are completing the essay portion of the event, we will be presenting information about scholarships and financial aid, housing, honors programs, and more to students’ guests. After the essay is completed, students will rejoin their guests for the rest of the event including free lunch in our dining hall and a campus tour.

We are more than happy to help you with any additional questions you may have. Please feel free to email us at admissions@svsu.edu. We also have a phone and textline: (989) 342-1033. If you would like to meet with us to get your questions answered, please follow this link to set up a virtual appointment with an SVSU Admissions Representative.