Presidential Scholarship

The Presidential Scholarships are Montana State University’s most distinguished academic awards, recognizing scholastic achievement, demonstrated leadership and unique personal qualities. Scholarship recipients receive annual tuition waivers, a generous stipend and priority registration. Recent Presidential Scholars have gone on to receive such renowned awards as the Goldwater, Truman, Rhodes, Marshall and Mitchell scholarships. As Ambassadors of the university, they reflect its highest ideals through demonstrated leadership and public service, and are in the process of leaving a unique fingerprint on their world.

The Presidential Scholarship is a rigorous, competitive application. Recipients of the scholarship routinely have a 3.9 GPA or higher and are ranked in the top 3% of their class. Please review our Frequently Asked Questions to determine if you are a competitive candidate for the scholarship.

The Presidential Scholarship application is open to incoming freshmen with a high school GPA of 3.7+. Students must first complete the General Scholarship Application before they are eligible to access the Presidential Scholarship application. If you do not have a 3.7+ GPA, but feel you would be competitive for this scholarship, please contact the Honors College office at honors@montana.edu.

Award
Varies
Deadline
02/01/2027
Supplemental Questions
  1. Please provide the name and email address of your high school counselor.
  2. Please provide the name and email address of two other people who can give a letter of recommendation for the Presidential Scholarship.
    • Recommender 1 Information
    • Recommender 2 Information
  3. Parent/Guardian 1 Information
    • 1. Parent/Guardian 1 -- First Name
    • 2. Parent/Guardian 1 -- Last Name
    • 3. Parent/Guardian 1 -- Mailing Address
    • 4. Parent/Guardian 1 -- City
    • 5. Parent/Guardian 1 -- State
    • 6. Parent/Guardian 1 -- Zip Code
  4. Parent/Guardian 2 Information
    • 1. Parent/Guardian 2 -- First Name
    • 2. Parent/Guardian 2 -- Last Name
    • 3. Parent/Guardian 2 -- Mailing Address
    • 4. Parent/Guardian 2 -- City
    • 5. Parent/Guardian 2 -- State
    • 6. Parent/Guardian 2 -- Zip Code
  5. Academic Background
    • 1. Are you a National Merit Semi-Finalist?
    • 2. Current unweighted high school GPA:
    • 3. Current weighted high school GPA (if your school does not calculate weighted GPA, write “N/A”)::
    • 4. Current class rank/percentage rank (if your school does not rank or make this information available, write “N/A”):
    • 5. Senior Year class schedule -- Fall semester
    • 6. Senior Year class schedule -- Spring semester
  6. Presidential Scholarship Essays
    • Essay 1: Honors College Alignment - After carefully reviewing the Honors College Website, describe how the Honors College’s approach to learning inside and outside the classroom aligns with your hopes and goals for your next four years at Montana State University. (500 words maximum)
    • Essay 2: Academic Excellence - Writer Will Durant once summarized Aristotle’s philosophy this way: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Write an essay that explores your relationship with academic excellence in high school in light of this statement. (500 words maximum)
    • Essay 3: Leadership and Service - Writer Toni Morrison once observed, “If you are free, you need to free somebody else...if you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.” Write an essay that uses an example from your own leadership or service experience to agree or disagree with Morrison’s claim. (500 words maximum)
  7. I certify that the information provided above is accurate and true and that the essays are my own work.
  8. Show 2 more