KENT STATE SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH

Kent State offers first year merit scholarships to students who apply to the Kent Campus for admission. 

No separate application needed; application deadlines apply. 

Deadlines and Eligibility Criteria

Starting Fall 2026: 

Merit Scholarships for First-Time Students from Outside Ohio

Eligibility

You will be considered for first-year student merit scholarships if you apply and are admitted to Kent State University by August 1, 2026. You must apply and be admitted to Kent State University by December 1, 2025 to be considered for an invitation to apply to the Honors College.

You must be classified as a non-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. Students admitted to an online bachelor's degree program will be considered for Ohio resident merit scholarship (Academic Achievement Award) amounts for the President's Achievement Award.

Pennsylvania residents are not eligible for the President's Achievement Award, instead, their eligibility will be reviewed for the PA Scholar of Distinction Award. 

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 2025. Test scores taken after December 2025 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.

Starting Fall 2027: 

Merit Scholarships for First-Time Students from Outside Ohio

Eligibility

You will be considered for first-year student merit scholarships if you apply and are admitted to Kent State University by January 15, 2027. You must apply and be admitted to Kent State University by December 1, 2026 to be considered for an invitation to apply to the Honors College.

You must be classified as a non-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. Students admitted to an online bachelor's degree program will be considered for Ohio resident merit scholarship (Academic Achievement Award) amounts for the President's Achievement Award.

Pennsylvania residents are not eligible for the President's Achievement Award, instead, their eligibility will be reviewed for the PA Scholar of Distinction Award. 

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 2026. Test scores taken after December 2026 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.

We want to make it affordable to finish your degree!

Merit Scholarships

The transfer scholarships listed below are merit scholarships and are awarded automatically to students after they are admitted to Kent State University and all transcripts from previous institutions have been received and evaluated.  No additional application is required to be considered for these awards. Transfer scholarships are competitive, and funding is limited. The awards are for a maximum of 4 semesters and are awarded for fall and spring only. If the student graduates early, they will forfeit any remaining semesters of eligibility.  The transfer scholarship cannot be extended beyond 4 semesters.

Eligibility

To be eligible for an award, students must have a minimum of 24 transfer credit hours, earned after high school graduation, that are accepted as credit at Kent State University, and were used in the GPA calculation at their school.