MUS Honor Scholarship

General Information

The MUS Honor Scholarship (MUSHS) is a 4-year renewable scholarship, which waives the recipient’s tuition when used at an eligible campus. Its average value at a 4-year Montana campus is $5,000 a year or $20,000 for four years. The scholarship does not cover mandatory or class fees. Students should ask the college for a list of fees that are not covered by the scholarship. The Board of Regents intends to offer up to 200 scholarships (contingent upon continued funding of the program) annually. This scholarship will be awarded in accordance with the MUSHS Eligibility and Criteria Procedures.

IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE:
Information regarding scholarships awarded by our office is subject to change based on final budget approvals. Funding for these scholarships is not guaranteed and final approval for scholarship awards may be determined after the application period has ended.

In addition, criteria noted for each scholarship is used as a minimum starting point for consideration, the final number of scholarships may be limited. Meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee selection.

MUSHS APPLICATIONS WILL OPEN DECEMBER 1, 2024

2024 MUS Honor Scholarship Recipients

Student Eligibility Requirements

To apply students must:

• Must apply the year they graduate from a high school accredited by the Montana Board of Public Education list of eligible schools
• Must have been enrolled full-time at a high school accredited by the Montana Board of Public Education for at least three years (any combination of three years but must include senior year)
• Must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.4 at the end of the 7th semester
• Must be on track to meet the Board of Regents Rigorous Core Requirements OR receive an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma by graduation
• Must take the ACT or SAT test by February of the year the student graduates
• Must be a resident of the State of Montana
• Must be accepted by an eligible campus

MUS Honor Scholarships may be used at the following campuses:

Application Process

Applying for the MUS Honor Scholarship is a multi-step process. Students must complete each of the following steps by the deadline for their application to be considered complete;

      1. Take the ACT or SAT test by February 2025**

      2. Apply to and be accepted by one of the eligible campuses

      3. Apply online AwardMontana.mus.edu (applications open December 1)

      4. Print the Rigorous Core/IB/Attendance Certification page from your application, have your High School                            Counselor/Designee sign it

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS THAT MUST BE UPLOADED TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION IN THE PORTAL

• Copy of official 7th semester transcript reflecting all classes from freshman through the first semester of senior year and cumulative GPA. To count Algebra I taken in middle school to meet the Rigorous Core Requirements, students must also upload their middle school transcript, ALL other courses must be reflected on their high school transcript
• Copy of College Acceptance Letter or Acceptance email
• Proof/certification of ACT/SAT score taken by February 2025 (print out from ACT/SAT OR listed as part of high school transcript)  Students can submit ACT Superscores, as long as they only include tests taken by February the year they graduate
• Rigorous Core/IB/Attendance Certification page, signed by your High School Counselor/Designee

How are the scholarships awarded?

Students from each high school will be ranked in GPA order. The individual(s) with the highest GPA will be awarded 30 points, the next highest will be given 29, and so forth, until all students with at least a 3.4 GPA are ranked. Once the GPA score has been determined, this score will be added to the student’s ACT or SAT* score (taken by February the year they graduate**), whichever is higher, to create a composite score. The students with the highest composite scores in the state will be offered the MUS Honor Scholarship.

*SAT scores are converted to equivalent ACT scores

**Students can submit ACT Superscores, as long as they only include tests taken by February of the year they graduate

UN-WEIGHTED example GPA Ranking For MUSHS Scoring Purposes  (GPAs will be rounded to the nearest tenth)

WEIGHTED example GPA Ranking For MUSHS Scoring Purposes  (GPAs will be rounded to the nearest tenth)

A high school which uses weighted grade point averages must use weighted averages for all students.

Scholarship Award Process

• Once awards are announced High School Counselors/Designees will be notified, in addition, ALL recipients of these scholarships will be notified by email.
• If awarded, each recipient must accept or decline the offered scholarship, please be sure to return the information promptly.

Scholarship Retention

This scholarship may be retained for a maximum of 8 semesters. Students must:

1. Utilize the scholarship within 9 months after high school graduation;
2. Maintain a 3.4 cumulative grade point average (GPA) per academic year;
3. Complete a minimum of 30 credits after two semesters, 60 credit hours after four semesters, and 90 credit hours after six semesters;
4. Abide by the student conduct code of the home campus; and
5. Remain enrolled full-time (12+ credits) continuously each fall/spring semester for the life of the scholarship.

Transferring MUS Honor Scholarships

With proper notification, MUS Scholarships may be transferred to other eligible campuses. Please sign into the Award Montana Portal to fill in the Campus Change form on the top tab

Contact Award Montana

Do you have questions about scholarship applications or need help getting started? Don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Email: AwardMontana@montana.edu

Phone: 1-800-537-7508 press 2