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Merit Scholarships for First-Time Students from Ohio for Fall 2025

Eligibility

You will be considered for first-year student merit scholarships if you are admitted to Kent State University by July 3, 2025. You must apply and be admitted to Kent State University by December 1, 2024 to be considered for an invitation to apply to the Honors College.

You must be classified as an Ohio resident for tuition, be a U.S. citizen, declare a bachelor’s degree-granting major, and plan to enroll full-time at the Kent Campus.

Allowances

If you will be the recipient of a Kent State University Employee Tuition Benefit Waiver or NEOMED employee tuition benefit, your tuition scholarship offer will be reduced or cancelled.

Test-Optional Scores & Test Score Impact on Scholarships

Kent State is test-optional, meaning students are not required to submit standardized test scores (SAT and/or ACT). If you have test scores, you can request that your scores not be used in your admission decision. If submitted, the latest test scores that will be accepted for scholarship purposes is December 2024. Test scores taken after December 2024 will not be considered in the scholarship review process.

Kent State will provide you with our best scholarship offer, regardless of whether test scores are used in your admission decision.

Each of the scholarship programs listed below are competitive. Awards are not guaranteed.

FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS | OHIO RESIDENTS | AUTOMATIC RENEWABLE SCHOLARSHIPS

Honors Distinction Award

Ohio residents and out-of-state students
Awarded in addition to the Academic Achievement Award/President’s Achievement Award
Must apply and be admitted to the Honors College to be considered
Must participate in the Honors College program
Minimum 3.7 cumulative high school GPA to be invited to apply to the Honors College
- For Spring 2025 admission, students must be admitted to Kent State and apply to the Honors College by December 1, 2024, to be considered.
- For Fall 2025 admission, students must be admitted to Kent State and apply to the Honors College by January 15, 2025, to be considered.
- Honors application – 2 short answer questions for the student to choose between.
Annual Award $2,000
Students will be notified by the Honors College

OTHER SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Choose Ohio First

The Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program provides scholarship support to Ohio residents who wish to pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or medicine (STEMM). The state of Ohio, recognizing that a workforce trained in these areas is essential for strengthening our economy, has created this program to provide tuition support to Ohio residents pursuing STEMM degrees.

KENT STATE UNIVERSITY HAS BEEN AWARDED TWO CHOOSE OHIO FIRST PROGRAMS:

21st Century Computer Science Workplace for Ohio (undergraduate and graduate scholarships in Computer Sciences)
Kent State Choose Ohio First Program (see here for a complete list programs)

Eligible students for the Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program will be sent a link to apply via email.

An essential part of the Choose Ohio First experience at Kent State is engagement in internships with our business partners in Ohio and/or in our research laboratories. Students who accept the scholarship are expected to participate in these internship and research opportunities. In addition, students will participate in seminars and speaker events and present their research and internship experiences during annual research days.

Learn more about Choose Ohio First

Steps for Starting your Scholarship Search

Check Out Kent State’s Scholarship Opportunities

ScholarshipUniverse is our scholarship-matching tool for admitted and current Kent State students. It connects Flashes to millions of dollars in external scholarships.

Many departments have special scholarships for students in their majors. You can also access scholarships that might not yet be in ScholarshipUniverse from the departmental listing, which appears alongside our ScholarshipUniverse login on this same web page.

Search for Scholarships Now

Kent State University makes every effort to provide accurate, timely and current information. However, the University reserves the right to change without notice any statement due to federal, state or institutional changes in policies, procedures or regulations.