Is the Presidential Scholarship automatic?

Yes. There is no separate application — your admission application and transcripts determine eligibility. Just be sure all official transcripts are received by the 20th day of your start semester.

What's the scholarship deadline?

Complete your application by December 1 to be eligible for the most scholarship opportunities. Honors College scholarship renewals are due to the Honors College each spring (the Honors page states an April 15 renewal deadline).

How do I keep the Presidential Scholarship?

Maintain a 3.0 or higher cumulative ESU GPA and complete at least 24 ESU credit hours each year. Freshmen can renew for three additional years; transfers with 24+ transfer hours can renew for one additional year (four total semesters).

Emporia State· Renewal Rules

Keeping Emporia State’s Merit Aid for Four Years

What the financial-aid office actually requires after freshman year: minimum GPA, credit-hour pace, and the cliffs that quietly downgrade families mid-degree.

Verified Jun 20268 days ago· CC

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 4 of 4
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 4
Renewal risk profile: moderate

Renewal risk profile

Emporia State's renewal bar is achievable for steady students but isn't generous. Most awards require a cumulative GPA in the 3.0–3.4 band plus full-time enrollment. Audit the strictest tier on this school's list before assuming the four-year value is locked in.

Freshman Presidential Scholarship: See notes
Transfer Presidential Scholarship: See notes
Honors Scholarship: See notes
Legacy Scholarship: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

Freshman Presidential Scholarship
$1,250-$3,000 per year
Entry requirements: 3.0+ (tiered: 3.0-3.24 up to 3.95+) GPA · 21+ (tiered: 21-22 up to 30+) ACT
To keep it: Renewable for three years after the first academic year when the student maintains a 3.0 or higher ESU GPA and completes 24 ESU credit hours each year. Spring-entry freshmen get half the award in spring and may renew for seven additional semesters.
Source: https://www.emporia.edu/admissions-costs/admissions-and-costs/scholarships/presidential-scholarships/
Transfer Presidential Scholarship
$1,250-$3,000 per year
Entry requirements: 3.0+ (tiered: 3.0-3.24 up to 3.95+) GPA
To keep it: Incoming transfers with 24+ transferable credit hours beginning in the fall can renew for one year after the first academic year (four total semesters) when they maintain a 3.0 or higher ESU GPA and complete 24 ESU credit hours. Transfers with fewer than 24 hours may defer to freshman requirements.
Source: https://www.emporia.edu/admissions-costs/admissions-and-costs/scholarships/presidential-scholarships/
Honors Scholarship
$1,000 per year
To keep it: Annual renewable scholarship; after the first year an annual scholarship renewal application must be submitted to the Honors College each spring (the Honors page also states an April 15 renewal deadline). Awards are based on member activity and GPA; amounts are based on available funding.
Source: https://www.emporia.edu/honors-college/what-we-do/
Legacy Scholarship
$1,000 per year
To keep it: Renewable; total scholarship award is available for eight semesters throughout all undergraduate degrees pursued. (A 2024 ESU news release describes it as 'renewable for up to four years.')
Source: https://www.emporia.edu/admissions-costs/admissions-and-costs/scholarships/

How families lose this aid

Thinking you must apply separately for the Presidential Scholarship.
It is automatic — 'It is not necessary to complete a separate application if you qualify.' Your admission application and transcripts determine the award. But transcripts must arrive by the 20th day of your start semester.
Assuming a strong ACT can't help if your GPA is borderline (or vice versa).
The freshman grid awards on GPA OR ACT — whichever band is higher. A 30 ACT earns the top $3,000 tier even without a 3.95 GPA. (Transfers qualify on GPA only.)
Reading ESU's posted cost figures as an annual price.
The official 2026-2027 Cost of Attendance is published PER SEMESTER ($12,038 full-time in-state; $16,236 full-time out-of-state). Double it for a rough academic-year figure; the official page does not state an annual total.
Letting your ESU GPA slip below 3.0 after year one.
Renewal of the Presidential Scholarship requires a 3.0 cumulative ESU GPA AND 24 completed ESU credit hours every year — your high-school GPA only sets the initial award.

Renewal questions families ask

Is the Presidential Scholarship automatic?: Yes. There is no separate application — your admission application and transcripts determine eligibility. Just be sure all official transcripts are received by the 20th day of your start semester.
What's the scholarship deadline?: Complete your application by December 1 to be eligible for the most scholarship opportunities. Honors College scholarship renewals are due to the Honors College each spring (the Honors page states an April 15 renewal deadline).
How do I keep the Presidential Scholarship?: Maintain a 3.0 or higher cumulative ESU GPA and complete at least 24 ESU credit hours each year. Freshmen can renew for three additional years; transfers with 24+ transfer hours can renew for one additional year (four total semesters).

How Emporia State compares across our verified dataset

669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Emporia State is one of them. The cohort minority (82 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

Sources used on this page

Every renewal claim is checked against Emporia State’s own published materials.