Frequently Asked Questions

No. All incoming students need to apply in order to be considered for our LSA Four-Year Renewable Scholarships. 

U.S.Citizens or students that have permanent resident status should fill out the Four Year Renewable Scholarship application. 

International Students (who are not Non-U.S. Citizens or permanent residents) should fill out the International Student Scholarship application. 

Incoming students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents should apply to the Four-Year Renewable Scholarships. Incoming International students should apply to the International Student Scholarship. These scholarships are only for newly-admitted, first-year, incoming LSA students and are renewable for four years of undergraduate study. More information about these scholarships, including links to apply, can be found on their corresponding webpage. Students who complete the application 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.

Please note: there is an additional applications for students who wish to be considered for the Bell Scholarship. For more information on 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. 

Each year, the College of LSA admits roughly 6,000 students. The LSA Scholarships Office offers approximately 200 scholarships to those admitted 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 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.

Students who fill out either of the renewable LSA scholarship applications will be considered for all of the scholarships to which they are eligible.

No. Students must be admitted to 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 award notifications to 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 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 Admisstions or International Scholarships 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. 

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.

No, you only need to complete our application questions to be considered. 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 anyway, they will not be read nor considered in our selection process.

No. We understand the cost of attending the University of Michigan, especially out-of-state and international students, is a major factor for many families. Even if UM is a student's first choice, they may have other financial offers that are more desirable. Unfortunately, the University of Michigan does not match scholarship or financial aid offers from other universities. All first-year incoming LSA students can apply for our Four-Year Renewable Scholarships. Students should apply for financial aid through the university to see if they qualify for need-based support. International Student Scholarship opportunities will be available through the application. 

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 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 determine if you may qualify for any grants, scholarships, or loans. 

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 you toward external foundations and organizations with available scholarship opportunities.