Scholarship FAQs

INCOMING FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS:

Students who will attend the Kent Campus should complete the Undergraduate Application for Admission and be admitted to the Kent Campus of Kent State University no later than February 1, to ensure that you are considered for incoming first-year student scholarships awarded by the Admissions Office, Honors College, and the Student Financial Aid Office.

Incoming first-year student scholarship awards are based on academic credentials (cumulative high school GPA and test scores).

In addition to scholarships awarded by the Admissions Office, Honors College and Student Financial Aid Office, students can also apply for scholarships awarded by Colleges and other departments at Kent State University.

Students who will attend a Regional Campus should contact that campus for more information regarding scholarship opportunities and deadline dates.

Visit the Kent State Online Scholarship Search

CONTINUING STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS

Scholarship awards are based on academic performance (cumulative Kent State University GPA) and in some cases the student’s academic major, talent, financial need, extracurricular activities and demonstrated leadership.

In addition to scholarships awarded by the Student Financial Aid Office, students can also apply for scholarships awarded by various departments at Kent State University.

Students who will attend a Regional Campus should contact that campus for more information regarding scholarship opportunities and deadline dates.

Visit the Kent State Online Scholarship Search

INCOMING TRANSFER STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS

Students who will attend the Kent Campus should apply and be admitted to Kent State University no later than July 1 for the fall semester and December 1 for the spring semester, in order to be considered for incoming transfer student scholarships awarded by the Admissions Office and the Student Financial Aid Office.

Scholarship awards are based on academic cumulative GPA from all prior colleges attended and the number of credit hours earned.

In addition to scholarships awarded by the Admissions Office, Honors College and Student Financial Aid Office, students can also apply for scholarships awarded by Colleges and other departments at Kent State University.

Visit the Kent State Online Scholarship Search

If your scholarship application is received late, you will be placed on a waiting list. If additional awards become available, on-time applicants will be reviewed first. If awards are still available, we will then look at all scholarship applicants.

Enrolling in an online degree program is different from taking all online courses in a given semester.    You will be considered for Kent Campus new first-year student scholarships and incoming transfer student scholarships, if you are admitted to an online degree offered by the Kent Campus.  If you are not a resident of Ohio, you will be considered for scholarships offered to Ohio residents only.  This is because out-of-state online students are not charged the full nonresident tuition surcharge. 

If you change your bachelor’s degree program to an online program, your scholarships may be adjusted.

Regional Campus students need to reach out to the Financial Aid Office at their campus to inquire an online degree program may affect their scholarship offer. If your scholarship was awarded by another department, you will need to reach out to that office with your question.

For Kent Campus scholarships, as long as the student has at least 12 credit hours in Kent Campus courses, they will be permitted to use their tuition scholarship, regardless of whether the courses are online or in person. Scholarships may be adjusted if the total of your scholarships exceed tuition. Regional Campus students need to reach out to the Financial Aid Office at their campus to inquire how enrolling online may affect their scholarship offer. If your scholarship was awarded by another department, you will need to reach out to that office with your question.

Your room scholarship will be deferred to the spring semester. You will receive a one-semester scholarship allocation and spring will be counted as your first semester of eligibility.

For Kent Campus scholarships, if you choose to defer your admission to Kent State University to the spring semester, your incoming first-year student four-year renewable scholarship offer will also be deferred to the spring semester. You will receive a one-semester scholarship allocation and spring will be counted as your first semester of eligibility. Regional Campus students need to reach out to the Financial Aid Office at their campus to inquire how deferring to spring may affect their scholarship offer. If your scholarship was awarded by another department, you will need to reach out to that office with your question.

For Kent Campus scholarships, if you make the choice to defer your admission to Kent State University until the fall, your current incoming first-year student scholarship offer will no longer be available to you. You will be evaluated for scholarships based on Kent State’s scholarship eligibility criteria for the upcoming year. This criteria will not be available until the fall. Regional Campus students need to reach out to the Financial Aid Office at their campus to inquire how deferring to fall may affect their scholarship offer.

For Kent Campus scholarships, if you attend another college or university after graduating from high school and prior to coming to Kent State, you will no longer be considered an incoming first-year student and will not be eligible to receive your incoming first-year student scholarship offer. Instead, you will be considered an incoming transfer student and will be considered for one of our transfer scholarship awards. Information on transfer scholarships is available at https://www.kent.edu/financialaid/scholarships-transfer-students. Regional Campus students need to reach out to the Financial Aid Office at their campus to inquire how attending another college may affect their scholarship offer.

If you leave campus or if the campus shuts down, prior to the end of the semester, your housing and dining plan charges may be prorated. If that happens, your room and board scholarships will be prorated by the same amount.

Kent Campus incoming first-year student scholarships cannot be used at a Regional Campus. If you begin full-time enrollment at a Regional Campus, you will forfeit you Kent Campus incoming first-year student scholarships and they cannot be reinstated at a future date.

Many Kent Campus scholarships require that you enroll a minimum of 12 credit hours in Kent Campus designated courses each semester. Please refer to the stipulations associated with your specific scholarship award. This information is often available on your FlashLine account by following the directions below. You can also contact the One Stop for Student Services for more information.

• Login to your FlashLine Account at www.kent.edu
• Select Student
• Under Finances, choose Financial Aid
• Select Financial Aid Awards
• Choose the current Award Year from the drop-down menu and click the Submit button
• Click on Award Overview tab
• Click on the name of each scholarship and carefully read the fund message for that award

If the scholarship is a non-renewable scholarship, you will have to reapply to be considered for the scholarship during the upcoming year. If your scholarship is a renewable scholarship, then the scholarship will be renewed automatically, if you meet the renewal criteria.

You should never stop looking for scholarships  Visit the Kent State Online Scholarship Search often to make sure you don't miss a new scholarship opportunity.

For scholarship awards made by the Student Financial Aid Office, Admissions Office, and Honors College the renewal and eligibility criteria are available on your FlashLine account. Please follow the directions below to review the details. For scholarships awarded by Colleges and other departments, please contact the appropriate office for more information.

• Login to your FlashLine Account at www.kent.edu
• Select Student
• Under Finances, choose Financial Aid
• Select Financial Aid Awards
• Select Aid for Award Year
• Choose the current Award Year from the drop-down menu and click the Submit button
• Click on the Award Overview tab
• Click on the name of each scholarship and carefully read the Eligibility and Renewal Criteria for that award

Students who did not meet their scholarship renewal criteria for the awards listed below can request an appeal if they have extenuating circumstances.  

• Academic Achievement Award
• Flash Transfer Scholarship
• Founders Scholarship
• Oscar Richie Memorial Scholarship
• President's Achievement Award
• President's Award
• President's Scholarship
• Transfer2Kent Scholarship
• Trustee Scholarship
• University Award

Extenuating circumstances include illness, death in family, family crisis, etc.  The appeal must include supporting documentation.  Students cannot request a scholarship appeal form until after they have been notified that the scholarship was cancelled for the upcoming year or semester.

You are welcome to bring any scholarship you receive from an external source (such as your high school, church, employers) to Kent State University, provided the donor will allow the use of the scholarship at Kent State.  Scholarship checks should be mailed to:

Kent State University
Bursar's Office
P.O. Box 5190
Kent, Ohio 44242

Make sure that the student's name and Kent State ID number are included.

All external scholarships must be reported to the Student Financial Aid Office, even if the organization gave the student a check made out to them personally.  Students can self-report external scholarships in FlashLine by following these steps:

• Login to your FlashLine Account at www.kent.edu
• Select Student
• Under Finances, choose Financial Aid
• Select Financial Aid Resource & Additional Information
• Choose the current Award Year from the drop-down menu and click the Submit button
• Click on Resources/Additional Information tab
• Fill out the External Resource Reporting Information and click Submit information

Your Kent State University scholarship may be adjusted if you receive another scholarship and/or benefit that covers the same fees. For example, if the student will have a University Tuition Fee Waiver, then they will not be permitted to receive a tuition scholarship.

Kent State University scholarships are limited to direct University costs. A combination of Kent State University scholarships, grants, and outside scholarships cannot exceed the Cost of Attendance Budget established for each student by Kent State University.

Many Kent State scholarships can be applied only to tuition instructional and general fees.  Therefore, if the student will use a Tuition Waiver Benefit, these types of scholarships will be cancelled.  Affected scholarships include, but are not limited to, the following incoming first-year student and incoming transfer student scholarships awarded by Admissions, Student Financial Aid and the Honors College:

• Academic Achievement Award
• Founders Scholarship
• Honors Distinction Award
• Oscar Richie Memorial Scholarship
• President Achievement Award
• Transfer2Kent Scholarship
• Transfer in a Flash Scholarship

If cancelled due to a Tuition Waiver Benefit, these awards will NOT be replaced with funding to be used towards living expenses, books, or other educational-related expenses.

Room scholarships can only be used to pay room charges incurred from living in University-owned housing during the semester in question. If the student chooses to live off-campus, they will forfeit their room scholarship.

Board scholarships can only be used to pay charges incurred from selecting a University board (dining) plan. Off-campus students can register for a dining plan and therefore retain their board scholarship. If the student chooses not to select a board plan, they will forfeit their board scholarship.