A freshman student may qualify for one award from this category. To receive this award, a student must be enrolled for 12 or more credit hours each semester. Scholarships are disbursed over two semesters in an academic year.
Award
Southwestern Award of Excellence $8,000 Trustee $7,000 Presidential $6,000 Academic Dean $4,000 Achievement $3,000, Admission $2,000
These awards include $1,000 credited to tuition costs if the student lives in the residence hall. These awards are determined through a combination of the senior mid-year high school cumulative GPA + SAT/ACT scores.
Students can receive a renewal scholarship for three years provided they meet these criteria. Students must have at least one semester during consecutive fall and spring semesters with the following GPA's:
- 3.5 or greater for the Southwestern Award of Excellence; Trustee Award
- 3.25 or greater for the Presidential Award
- 3.0 or greater for the Academic Dean Award
- 2.5 or greater for the Achievement Award
- 2.0 or greater for the Admission Award
Students increase their renewal scholarship up to the Presidential Award level by improving their GPA. The scholarship increases to the next higher scholarship level when the student:
- Reaches the minimum GPA requirement of a higher scholarship during consecutive fall and spring semesters in a single academic year, and
- Completes 12 or more hours of coursework each of these two semesters.
Likewise, if a student has consecutive fall and spring semesters in an academic year below the expected minimum, the student will drop to the next lower scholarship.
Students who begin attending Southwestern in their first year of college but do not earn a scholarship for their freshman year, have a second chance for a scholarship based on their college GPA following the guidelines stated above.
A break in residency to attend another college or university may affect the renewal of these scholarships.