FAQ

All LSA Scholarships require that a student be admitted to or enrolled in a degree program through the College of LSA. Specific eligibility requirements vary depending on the scholarship program. Details about the eligibility requirements for a specific scholarship program can be found on its corresponding page here on our site. You may also find them listed at the top of the associated conditional application in our scholarship portal.

To reduce barriers for students, we are eliminating the necessity to apply for a Four-Year Renewable LSA Scholarship. As of January 26, 2024 All new, first-year LSA admits who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents will automatically be considered for all LSA Four-Year Renewable Scholarships. Incoming students may still complete an application in our current system, but it is not a necessary step to be considered for a scholarship.

All of our scholarships are housed within a single application portal that current students access using their U-M uniqname and password. Admitted students should access the portal using their Friend Account ID and password. Details about Friend Accounts can be found below in the Prospective Student section of this FAQ. 

The first step in the application process is to complete the general application that appears when you first log in. This general application will set up your profile in the system and allow you to select the scholarship program(s) to which you are interested in applying.

In your general application, you will find a question asking which scholarship program(s) you are interested in applying for and a list of available programs. You must check the boxes next to the scholarships that you are interested in to access the second portion of your applications.

Once you have made your selections and submitted your general application, the system will grant you access to what are called conditional applications. These are the secondary applications that are tied to each of the checkboxes you selected. For example, if you checked the box for "Returning Student Scholarship" on your general application and clicked submit, you will see the Returning Student Scholarship conditional application appear on your dashboard. These conditional applications are what our team uses to make a decision on your scholarship applications as each conditional application is uniquely tailored to its associated program. Submit conditional applications by their deadlines for full consideration.

You can make updates to your general application at any time, including checking new boxes if you decide to apply for another scholarship program and wish to complete its associated conditional application. Just be sure to hit the "update your application" button at the bottom of the page to submit your changes and gain access to those new conditional applications. 

Some of our scholarship opportunities have very specific criteria and require students to complete an additional set of questions for consideration. These show up on all applicants’ dashboards as “recommended opportunities.” Please note that you are only eligible to apply for one of these additional opportunities if you see a blue “apply” button next to it.

It's important to remember that some scholarships are only awarded certain times of year. If you have clicked the checkbox next to a scholarship program, submitted your general application, and still do not see a conditional application, check that program's dates listed in the application and on our website. When that scholarship's application window opens, you will be able to complete the conditional application. 

Some scholarships are only for newly-admitted students or for transfer students. If you do not fit the eligibility criteria for a given scholarship program, you will not be able to access the associated conditional application, even after clicking the checkbox and submitting your general application. If the program's dates show that the application should be open but you are unable to access it, double check the program page on our website to make sure you meet the eligibility criteria. 

If you are still encountering issues, please reach out to us and we can help troubleshoot. 

For more information about scholarships and taxes, please visit the university's finance website. Our team is not qualified to speak on tax matters, and any questions about your tax situation should be directed to a certified tax professional.

The University of Michigan Library has compiled a comprehensive list of funding sources both internal and external to U-M. This resource can help you find additional funding opportunities available to Michigan students.

Students who have declared a major should also reach out to their home department to inquire about any funding options they may offer. 

No. Scholarships are only available for students pursuing a major in an LSA degree program. 

Only students who have officially declared a Multiple Dependent Degree Program (MDDP) with LSA can receive an LSA scholarship.

MDDP students who receive an LSA scholarship will be required to complete their LSA degree or forfeit their scholarship. If the LSA degree is not going to be completed for any reason, please contact us immediately so that we can work with you to minimize negative impacts to your financial aid. Dual degree students who drop their LSA degree without informing us may be billed for the full scholarship amount, beginning from the first semester that the MDDP began. And non-payment of this bill may result in a hold on the student’s diploma, or a block on the request for an official transcript until the amount due is paid. Our team can help you avoid these issues, so please don't hesitate to reach out if you are considering a change in academic plans. 

Congratulations! Please send two emails: one to notify us and another to notify the Office of Financial Aid as soon as possible. We will work with OFA to ensure your financial aid package reflects the change for any outside scholarships you receive. 

Remember, you do not need to report your LSA Scholarship to the Office of Financial Aid as our team will take care of that process for you. 

Unfortunately, no. LSA Scholarships are funded by generous gifts to the college from donors who wish to support students pursuing an LSA degree. If you accept an LSA scholarship, it will only remain effective during the time you are enrolled in a degree program within the College of LSA. If you transfer to another school or college, you must contact us prior to the beginning of the academic term the transfer will be in effect. If you do not contact our office to remove the scholarship, you may be billed retroactively for each semester you accept funds while not enrolled in a degree-seeking LSA program.

Some schools and colleges may have funding available to match or help offset the loss of your LSA Scholarship, so be sure to explore your options with their respective scholarship office.

LSA scholarship funds will not disburse to a student enrolled in less than 12 credits for fall or winter term. Some exceptions can be made, especially for graduating seniors who require less than 12 credit hours to graduate. Please contact us if that's the case for you, and we'll help sort out the details. 

Students who drop below full-time (12 credit hours for fall and winter) will typically have their scholarship amounts reduced. If you are considering a drop to part-time, please send us an email explaining your unique situation so we can help assist you. 

If you are a scholarship student and considering the option to take time off of school for any reason, please contact us as soon as possible to set up an appointment to discuss your plans. Unless you are taking a leave from school because of a medical condition, scholarships typically will not carry forward, and scholarship eligibility for the term when you are not enrolled could be forfeit. The decision to continue a student's scholarship after a leave of absence is determined on a case-by-case basis. That's why it's important to reach out to us before you make any big decisions. 

YES. A new FAFSA must be completed each year by students who have been awarded a need-based scholarship.

However, students who have been awarded a merit-based scholarship are not required to submit a FAFSA. 

Students who qualify for need-based support should apply for financial aid through the Office of Financial Aid. Even if you are not sure, the Office of Financial Aid can help you determine any grants, scholarships, or loans that you qualify for. 

All current LSA students can apply for our Returning Student Scholarship each year to be considered for one-year scholarships for fall/winter tuition support. Please keep in mind that these scholarships are awarded only to students who qualify for need-based support from the Office of Financial Aid. For students already on a renewable scholarship, our team will determine if there is room on your financial aid package for an additional one-year award. 

For opportunities outside of our office, the University of Michigan Library has compiled a list of funding sources both internal and external to U-M.

Students transferring into the College of LSA from another university or from U-M's Flint or Dearborn campuses should complete our Two-Year Renewable Scholarship application to be considered for all scholarship opportunities available to them. Students transferring into LSA from another college within U-M's Ann Arbor Campus (Ross, College of Engineering, etc.) can apply for our current student scholarship programs, including the Returning Student Scholarship.

Once admitted and enrolled in LSA, all transfer students can apply for additional scholarships to cover a wide range of educational interests. In particular, we encourage transfer students to explore our spring/summer, study abroad, and internship scholarships.

If not selected for a Two-Year Renewable Scholarship the year they are admitted, transfer students should apply for our Returning Student Scholarship every year to be considered for fall/winter scholarships. 

All of the scholarships available through LSA Scholarships are funded by generous donors to the college who want to help future communities of students succeed. When donors give to the college, they may request that the funds go to support students meeting specific criteria. Our office follows this criteria closely when selecting students for scholarship awards. All of our transfer student scholarships are designated to help students with demonstrated financial need, so our awards go to students who receive need-based support from the Office of Financial Aid.

Additionally, some awards may require that we support students who meet certain academic or geographic requirements. For example, if a scholarship must go to a student transferring into LSA from a specific community college, we will look for an applicant who meets that requirement. If scholarship criteria requires us to award a student who shows a demonstrated interest in creative writing, we’ll look for applicants who show a passion for writing, whether through formal studies or community engagement. 

Transfer students admitted to LSA from another university (including U-M's Flint or Dearborn campuses) do not need to be enrolled to apply for Two-Year Renewable Scholarships. These students are encouraged to complete their scholarship application as soon as they receive notification of their admission. Two-Year Renewable Scholarships are awarded ahead of the university’s enrollment deadline to help students make an informed financial decision.

Transfer students coming to LSA from another college on U-M's Ann Arbor campus (Ross, College of Engineering, etc.) do need to be enrolled in a degree program within LSA to be eligible for the Returning Student Scholarship and all other scholarship opportunities for current LSA students. Visit our Current Students tab for more information about these scholarship opportunities. 

No, not at this time. All of our scholarship opportunities for transfer students require that a student receive need-based support from the Office of Financial Aid. To be eligible for a Two-Year Renewable Scholarship or a Returning Student Scholarship through the College of LSA, students must complete a FAFSA and a CSS profile with the Office of Financial Aid and must update their FAFSA annually.  

Unfortunately, at this time no. Two-Year Renewable Scholarships are only awarded to students admitted for fall. Students who are beginning their LSA degree program during winter term should apply for the Returning Student Scholarship during the application window to be considered for scholarship support for their next fall and winter terms. We also encourage students to explore the other scholarship program available to current LSA students. 

First, please know that the scholarship decision in no way diminishes your incredible accomplishments. Our office has very limited funding to share across a large incoming class and must decline thousands of exceptional scholarship applicants every year. 

Students who qualify for need-based support should apply for financial aid through the Office of Financial Aid. Even if you are not sure, the Office of Financial Aid can help you determine any grants, scholarships, or loans that you qualify for. Transfer students who make the decision to enroll can apply for a Returning Student Scholarship every year to be considered for one-year scholarships for fall/winter tuition support.

In addition, the University of Michigan Library has compiled a list of funding sources both internal and external to U-M. This resource can give you a good sense of the types of funding opportunities available to Michigan students and can point you toward external foundations and organizations with available scholarship opportunities. 

All newly admitted first year LSA students will be automatically considered for our Four-Year Renewable Scholarship. The application process is no longer necessary to be considered for an award. 

Our International Student Scholarship still requires an application for the 2024-25 academic year.

Please note that there is a separate application for students who wish to be considered for the Bell Scholarship. For more information about applying for this scholarship, please visit the Bell Scholarship website. The Bell Scholarship application process is administered outside of our office, so any questions about this application or the review process should be directed to the contact information provided on their website. 

Newly-admitted LSA students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents are automatically eligible for a Four-Year Renewable Scholarship. Students will be considered for all scholarships available to them through the College of LSA—whether they qualify for need-based awards, merit awards, or both. 

Each year we offer a small number of Four-Year Renewable Scholarships for International Students. At this time, it is still necessary to fill out an application. 

All Four-Year scholarships are only available to first-year incoming students and are renewable for four years of undergraduate study. More information about these scholarships can be found on their corresponding webpages. 

Each year, the LSA Scholarships office awards approximately 200 scholarships to incoming students. The majority of these scholarships require that a student demonstrates financial need as reflected on their FAFSA and CSS profile. There are approximately 40 scholarships that are sometimes referred to as "merit" scholarships. This simply means that they can be awarded to students who do not have financial need. We also award a limited number of International Student Scholarships each year.

First-year admitted students and International applicants will be considered for all of the scholarships to which they are eligible.

No. Students must be admitted to qualify or apply, but they do not have to be enrolled. We know that financial considerations can be a significant factor in choosing which school to attend. Regardless of the decision on their application, we send scholarship offeres to all students by April 15, before the enrollment deadline, allowing them to make an informed financial decision.

All of the scholarships available through the College of LSA are funded by generous donors to the college who want to help future communities of students succeed. When donors give to the college, they may request that the funds go to support students from a particular location, with specific academic interests, or in a challenging financial situation. We take this criteria into account for every scholarship we award. For example, if a donor wishes for their scholarship to go to a student from Saginaw, we will look for an applicant from Saginaw. If a donor prefers a student who has a demonstrated interest in creative writing, we’ll look for applicants who express a passion for writing. 

In addition to this donor criteria, our team matches students to scholarships based on their admissions materials, and an evaluation of their financial need, if applicable.

In LSA, merit scholarships are a bit of a misnomer. Our scholarships are entirely funded by donors to the college, and we must follow their criteria for awarding. Additionally, all students admitted to the University of Michigan are excellent students who demonstrate merit, regardless of their financial circumstances. 

That being said, we award approximately 40 scholarships each year that are not strictly need-based. For these awards, there are no minimum required SAT/ACT scores, and we typically consider any incoming student with a 3.5 GPA or greater for these scholarships. Most importantly, we match students to the scholarships that fit our donors’ preferences based on the information students provide in their applications. For example, if a donor prefers to support a student planning to study astronomy, that is the criteria we will use to award.

No. Students who are only interested in merit scholarships do not need to submit a FAFSA or a CSS profile. A FAFSA and CSS profile are only required for students who wish to be considered for both need-based scholarships and merit scholarships. 

While we have no doubt that the materials you wish to provide will demonstrate your many accomplishments and talents, we are unable to accept any supplemental materials. Should you choose to send them to our office anyway, they will not be read nor considered in your award decision.

For admitted students who have not yet enrolled at the university, a Friend Account is required to access all university systems, including the LSA Scholarships application portal.

If you do not have a Friend Account, you can request one here.

Once you have created your Friend Account, you will also need to get it authorized to use university systems. This step is required to access our application portal. To authorize your account, go to Wolverine Access. Click on the Students tab, then on New & Prospective Student Business, and log in using your newly created Friend Account ID and password. Verify your personal information, including your eight-digit UMID, which was emailed to you, as well as your birth date.

Once you have requested your friend account and authorized it, you will have access to our application system, plus a number of other university systems.

We understand that the cost of attending Michigan, especially for out-of-state students, can be a big consideration for many families. Even if Michigan is a student's first choice, they may have other offers that are more financially desirable. Unfortunately, the University of Michigan does not match offers students receive from other universities. Incoming LSA students should apply for our Four-Year Renewable Scholarship or International Student Scholarship opportunities to be considered for scholarships, and they should apply for financial aid through the university to see if they qualify for need-based support. 

First, please know that the scholarship decision in no way diminishes your incredible accomplishments. Our office has very limited funding to share across a large incoming class and must decline thousands of exceptional scholarship candidates every year. 

Students who are U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents, and believe they may qualify for need-based support, should apply for financial aid through the Office of Financial Aid. Even if you are not sure, the Office of Financial Aid can help you determine any grants, loans, or additional scholarships that you qualify for. 

Students who enroll can apply for our Returning Student Scholarship every year, starting at the end of their freshman year, to be considered for one-year scholarships for fall/winter tuition support. Please keep in mind that these scholarships are awarded only to students who qualify for need-based support from the Office of Financial Aid. 

The University of Michigan Library has compiled a list of funding sources both internal and external to U-M. This resource can give you a good sense of the types of funding opportunities available to Michigan students and can point your toward external foundations and organizations with available scholarship opportunities. 

The following are external, non-University scholarship opportunities that may be of interest to University/College students. Inclusion of an external scholarship opportunity is intended only as a resource for students and does not express or imply any University involvement with, or endorsement of, the external program.

The University of Michigan Library has created this funding guide for international students. Their guide links to a variety of internal and external sources to help fund your studies here in the United States.