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Scholarships

General Information

Scholarships are a type of gift aid that are offered based on a variety of criteria such as academic merit, financial need, leadership, and service. Gift aid usually does not need repaid.

West Virginia University offers numerous academic scholarships to incoming students. West Virginia resident students may also be eligible for the Promise Scholarship which is offered by the state of West Virginia. Around 1,400 students in the current freshman class are Promise scholars. More than 2,500 Promise scholars are also returning for their sophomore, junior, and senior years.

Below is a reflection of increases in scholarships disbursed (or paid toward student balances) over the last few years from institutional, state and private resources for the Morgantown campus. Please note that values are not available yet for 2025-2026, because we are only partially through the year, and there are more disbursements that will still occur.

Financial Aid Year Scholarship Amounts
2022-2023 $158.5 million
2023-2024 $162.4 million
2024-2025 $165.9 million

Top Facts

  1. Scholarship offers are made on an ongoing basis beginning approximately by December for the upcoming academic year. For first-time transfer students, scholarship offers usually begin in March.
  2. Scholarship amounts may be affected if students are receiving additional financial aid or assistance. Visit our All About WVU Scholarship Offers webpage for information on receiving multiple scholarships and/or aid (also known as "stacking").
  3. You may also qualify for other financial resources to assist with educational expenses. For priority consideration, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) prior to March 1. To receive a complete financial aid and scholarship offer from WVU as quickly as possible, we encourage students to submit the FAFSA when it becomes available each year on October 1.

Students may review our Renewal Requirements webpage for information that institutional scholarship/grant recipients need to know about maintaining their scholarship for future academic years as well as deferral and leave of absence information.

Applying for Scholarships

Applying for scholarships depends on the type. There are multiple scholarship opportunities for students — from WVU (institutional), departments from within the University (departmental), and from sources outside the University.

For most institutional scholarships, no separate application is required. Students are automatically considered for eligibility if they are admitted by the required deadlines listed for the scholarship. Please note that for scholarships that list grade point average (GPA) and test score requirements, both criteria must be met.

Some scholarships — such as departmental, Leadership, and Dependent Employee - do require additional information. In most cases, students receiving in-state tuition rates through equivalency are not eligible for merit scholarships — including, but not limited to, programs such as Ohio Reciprocity.

GPA Submission for Institutional Scholarships

Incoming First-Time Freshmen

  • Your high school GPA used to determine scholarship eligibility is based on information from your official high school transcript submitted with your admission application.
  • The most recent overall/cumulative GPA on your official transcript is used when determining initial scholarship eligibility.
  • WVU does not recalculate the GPA and will utilize a weighted GPA if it is provided on your official transcript. Percentage scales, including international transcripts, are converted to a 4.0 scale using the WVU Admissions GPA calculator.
  • High school GPAs are not automatically updated by WVU Undergraduate Admissions upon receipt of any updated transcript, including mid-year transcripts, unless a request is made by following the GPA Update Request Change Instructions.

Incoming First-Time Transfer Undergraduate

  • Your transfer grade point average (GPA) used to assess scholarship eligibility is determined by WVU Undergraduate Admissions and is based on an overall GPA that includes all institutions attended.
  • Scholarships may be adjusted or canceled as additional transcripts are evaluated by WVU Undergraduate Admissions, based on the updated transfer GPA.

Test Scores and Institutional Scholarships

WVU provides institutional scholarships for applicants who submit test scores as well as those who choose test optional. Submit your ACT or SAT scores to WVU Undergraduate Admissions. Only official test scores submitted by the testing agency are accepted. Self-reported scores reported on the Common App (for admission) are not accepted.

  • Not all institutional scholarships require test scores. For scholarships that list GPA and test score, both criteria must be met.
  • WVU “ superscores” for institutional scholarship consideration, so be sure to submit all scores. Please note that superscores are obtained from multiple submissions of the ACT or multiple submissions of the SAT — not a crossover of ACT and SAT.

Submitting Updated GPA and Test Scores

Students who have an increased GPA or ACT/SAT score may submit that information to WVU Undergraduate Admissions.

Online and International Students

WVU has programs that allow students to get their degree completely online. Incoming students majoring in a degree program offered by WVU Online are not eligible for institutional scholarships. Students beginning in on-campus majors will lose their institutional scholarship eligibility if they switch to an online program of study at any point. Students who are in traditional, on-campus programs who are taking one or more classes online are not in an online program of study. This refers only to students in a degree program offered by WVU Online.

For international students receiving full sponsorship from a government, corporation, or any other agency, scholarships will not disburse to you. Instead, we bill your sponsor a discounted tuition amount, if applicable.

Which Campus Are You Attending?

Select your campus below to view available scholarships.

Morgantown Campus Student Scholarships

West Virginia University

Beckley Campus Student Scholarships

WVU Tech

Keyser Campus Student Scholarships

Potomac State College

Scholarship Resources


All About WVU Scholarship Offers

Information about scholarship offers, next steps, and renewal criteria.

All About WVU Scholarship Offers webpage

Renewal Requirements

Renewal criteria for all institutional scholarships.

Renewal Requirements webpage

Tips on Applying for Scholarships

Helpful information, options, and tips about applying for various types of scholarships.

Tips on Applying for Scholarships webpage

Departmental and College Scholarships

Learn more about scholarships available from WVU colleges and departments.

Departmental or College Scholarships webpage

Study Abroad Scholarships

Review scholarship opportunities and resources available for study abroad trips.

Study Abroad Scholarships webpage

Scholarship Exception Requests

Students who wish to appeal or defer their scholarship eligibility may submit an Exception Request.

Scholarship Exception Requests webpage