Guaranteed Scholarships in Texas

Texas is a big state, and it has more than its fair share of Texas guaranteed scholarships. While some states have a single college or maybe a couple universities which provide funding through the National Merit Scholarship awards, Texas has at least four. On top these four public universities which offer National Merit Scholarships, there are at least two other private universities which provide the same fantastic opportunities.

Students who may not know what National Merit Scholarships are should take a moment to understand exactly how these programs can benefit them. In essence, National Merit programs are basically considered to be guaranteed scholarships giving students who hit certain eligibility requirements exceptional amounts of financial aid. These student aid awards can be anything from a full ride to a chosen college to partial ride scholarships which pay for a good chunk of their overall tuition. Unfortunately not every college in the United States participate in the national program, but those schools which do are generally pretty great places for students to attend school. The program is funded privately by the non-profit company National Merit Scholarship Corporation in cooperation with the various schools which participate in its programs. All students interested in getting access to a National Merit Scholarship will need to take the PSAT to qualify for the initial screening process.

The University of Texas at Tyler provides national merit guaranteed scholarships to students as they apply to the university. They provide funding not only to National Merit Scholarship finalists but semi-finalists as well. Finalists will need to be taking 12 credit hours at the university and maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average in order to keep the scholarship active after initially being accepting. The same applies for semi-finalists. Students who are finalists will have the entirety of their tuition funded, all related fees, books and rooming covered. Semi-finalists will only have their tuition, books and fees paid for, still a fantastic funding opportunity.

Students interested in attending Texas Tech University will have access to National Merit scholarships as well. The program at Texas Tech only covers program finalists, but gives out full rides to any student who wins an award and marks Texas Tech as their school of choice. Overall this Texas guaranteed scholarship awards students $12,700 a year for up to five years covering the vast majority of their costs, though room and board may still need separate funds in order to be effectively covered. In order to keep the scholarship students will need to maintain a 3.5 grade point average and be considered full time.

If a student is interested in going to school at the University of Texas at Dallas they will find National Merit guaranteed scholarships available to applicable students. This particular program provides not only the full cost of tuition and various fees but also gives students $1,000 towards housing along with $2,500 for the cost of books and other various supplies. In order to be eligible for the National Merit Scholarship at the University of Texas at Dallas students must be finalists and list the school as their top pick.

At the University of North Texas students will find a handy National Merit guaranteed scholarship. Like at other Texas college, it covers the full cost of tuition and fees related to attending school there. It goes on to cover on campus living and provides up to $500 for a student’s additional supplies. Students applying to this program will be able to renew it for up to three years or until they graduate. Interested students will need to be merit finalists, enroll in an honors course at the university and have listed the school as their top pick for colleges. Applicants are also expected to maintain a 3.25 grade point average while attending school for at least 12 credit hours a semester.

It should be pretty clear that students who get access to a Texas National Merit guaranteed scholarship and want to attend school in Texas should have a few places they may be able to attend. Students should really check with the schools they have available to attend – as many of the programs require that students list them as their school of choice in order to get access to the award, they will want to make their picks carefully. More on guaranteed college scholarships.