National Merit Semi-Finalist & Finalist Scholarships

$48,000 over four years

Award Information

National Merit Semi-Finalist Scholarship 

Approximately $48,000 over four years for Residents and Approximately $117,000 over 4 years for Non-Residents

• Awarded to students who have been named semi-finalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation

• The scholarship is worth approximately $48,000 over four years

• Non-resident students may also receive approximately $17,435 annually to cover 100% of the out-of-state portion of tuition

• National Merit Semi-finalist Scholarships are awarded in lieu of Freshman Academic and Colvard Future Leader Scholarship(s)

National Merit Finalist Scholarship 

• In addition to the base scholarship value, finalists who list MSU as their first choice will also be awarded a Housing Scholarship to cover the cost of on-campus, double-occupancy housing for the first through the fourth year, with an option to live in College View, the university housing apartment community, for the third and fourth year. More details regarding the housing scholarship can be found here: Housing Scholarship (Scroll to bottom of webpage for more information.)

• Non-resident students may also receive approximately $17,435 annually to cover 100% of the out-of-state portion of tuition

• National Merit Scholarships are awarded in lieu of Freshman Academic and Colvard Future Leader Scholarship(s)

• National Merit Scholars enrolled in the Shackouls Honors College may be eligible for a $2,000 Stewart Bridgforth Honors Scholarship, which may be used for study abroad, internships, or faculty-sponsored undergraduate research support after a student's freshman year. To be considered for this scholarship, students must be active participants in the Shackouls Honors College, maintain a minimum 3.4 GPA, and participate in the Stewart Bridgforth Honors Scholars Program.

**Fully covers cost of double-occupancy on-campus residence hall space for up to four years. Additional details about maintaining the housing scholarship and options for the third and fourth year are available at housing.msstate.edu/current-residents/scholarships.