Scholarships

The scholarship application has a General Application section and an Opportunities section. After you submit your general scholarship application, the program will automatically apply to those scholarships for which your information is a perfect match. You will not need to take any further steps.

More than half of the scholarships have this “auto apply” feature. Some scholarships require additional information. If you meet the criteria for these scholarships based on answers entered on your application and/or academic information uploaded from Worcester State’s campus records database, the system will recommend them to you.

To maximize the number of scholarships for which you will be considered, it is important to apply to these recommended scholarships. To apply for these additional scholarships, you must click on the scholarship listed and follow the instructions to be considered for it.

If corrections need to be made after your scholarship application has been submitted, you can log in and update your information as long as it is before the application deadline passes.

You will be asked to provide 2 brief short answers designed to help Scholarship Review Committee members learn more about you. This gives you the chance to describe yourself as a Worcester State student, your post-graduation plans, and your financial situation.

You can cut and paste your information into the short answer portion of the application from any word processor program. Do not use special text formatting such as bold, italic, colors, etc., as these will not appear.

Pay special attention to spelling, grammar, and content as your application will be carefully reviewed by the Scholarship Committee.

You will be asked to write:

1. A personal statement
2. Your financial situation

Your answer for each question should be between 250 and 300 words. Ideally, your response should be 2 or 3 short paragraphs. Below are some ideas to get you started.

Personal Statement/Future Goals

• What are three words you would use to describe yourself? Why? (For instance, if you would describe yourself as determined, describe a time when you showed determination.)
• Why did you choose the major(s)/minor(s) that you did?
• What inspires you?
• Have you done any volunteer work? Where?
• Are you involved in any student clubs or organizations on campus?
• Where do you hope to be in five years? In ten?
• Are you planning to attend graduate school? If so, what do you plan on studying?
• Are you planning to enter the workforce after you graduate from Worcester State? What kind of jobs will you be looking for?
• What do you hope your career trajectory will be?
• What personal accomplishments do you hope to achieve? Start a family? Live in a foreign country? Write a book?
• How will a scholarship help you achieve your goals?

Financial Situation

• How are you paying for your education? Are you getting help from anyone? If so, how much help?
• Are you working to help pay for your education? If so, what are you doing?
• Are you trying to save money for any other expenses, like graduate school or a more reliable car?
• Have you ever had any trouble making ends meet? What happened? What did you do?
• Are you supporting anyone else?

All scholarship applicants must use Worcester State login usernames and passwords to log in to the scholarship application. If you are a newly admitted student, please make sure you have received a Worcester State student ID number and have activated your Blackboard account with a valid email address before you attempt to apply for scholarships.

You can use your Worcester State login credentials as you log in and out to complete and update your application without having to create and remember a different password.

If you need help with your Worcester State ID or password, please visit the University Technology Services Help Desk.

Worcester State is committed to providing the latest security and data encryption services for your protection. The university does not collect personal information on the Worcester State website to sell, rent, share, or otherwise disclose to outside organizations.

You can review the opportunities page for a comprehensive list of hundreds of academic scholarships when you log in to the scholarship application portal. Since scholarships are offered by various donors, departments, and organizations to students who meet specific criteria, you are encouraged to apply regardless of your accomplishments, field of study, class level, or GPA.

Please note there may be different deadline dates for the various scholarship opportunities. Since these deadline dates can change without notice, please do not procrastinate on finishing the application process.

Worcester State University’s scholarship donors give unselfishly to support the educational endeavors of students like you. They typically ask for nothing in return, but receiving a well-written thank-you letter from a student is always special and lets them know their scholarship is greatly appreciated.

As a student who just received a scholarship, the following tips should help you compose and edit a thoughtful thank-you letter:

• Write clearly and concisely.
• Express enthusiasm.
• Be sincere.
• Double-check for typos and grammatical errors.

Recipient Thank You Letter Guidelines

Scholarship applications are being accepted from February 15, 2025. However, several scholarship opportunities will remain open beyond that deadline for specific majors, programs, or student groups. Therefore, it is encouraged to occasionally log in to check your application status and to see if there are any new scholarship opportunities available.

Please note there may be different deadline dates for the various scholarship opportunities. Since these deadline dates can change without notice, do not procrastinate on finishing the scholarship application process.

It can. Most of the undergraduate scholarships, unless otherwise noted, require full-time enrollment for both semesters for the academic year in which they are to be awarded.

In most cases, yes. A FASFA is required for need-based scholarships. It is best to always file a FASFA if you are eligible to do so. Not all scholarships are need based so if you are not eligible to file one that does not immediately disqualify you from applying for scholarships.

Most of the scholarships that are available are between $500.00 and $1,000.00 annually. This amount is split evenly between the first and second semester.

They system will automatically match you to as many scholarships as you are eligible for. There is no need to “apply” for more than one. The system does that for you.

You must first apply for admission to Worcester State University, be accepted and pay your deposit. Once your deposit is processed you will receive information from the Admissions Office that will enable you to set up your online account including a username and ID number. Current students should use their current Worcester State login credentials. Students who have not been accepted for admission or who have not paid their deposit indicating their intention to enroll are not eligible to apply for scholarships.

Scholarships are available to all matriculated students who are continuing or transfer students, undergraduate and graduate students, and incoming first-year students and incoming transfer students who have paid their deposit to attend Worcester State for the academic year. Most scholarships require full-time attendance.

Scholarship eligibility is administered by Worcester State, and qualifications vary according to stipulations of individual donors who funded the scholarship.

The awarding of scholarships starts at the middle to end of June and usually concludes by the end of August. Most students who have been selected to receive a scholarship will receive notification on or before July 15 and the award amount will appear on the Fall Semester Invoice.

After the application deadline has closed, you will need to monitor your Worcester State email to see if you have been awarded a scholarship. If you are awarded a scholarship, a congratulatory email will be sent to you stating the name and amount of the scholarship.

Typically around the end of August after all awards are processed, students who were NOT selected are also notified.

As a scholarship recipient, you are required to send a thank-you letter to the donor(s) of your scholarship and to attend a donor event which is generally held in the early part of the fall semester. Failure to provide the note of thanks or attend the event may be cause for revocation of the scholarship award. The process for submitting the note of thanks is all through the online scholarship system. Notes can be typed directly into the scholarship portal or created as a word document and copied and pasted.

Invitations to the scholarship donor event are sent via email from the Office of University Advancement.