How do I apply for WSSU scholarships?

Through the WSSU Scholarship Universe portal — one application matches you to 200+ scholarships. It is open March 1–31, 2026 for the Fall 2026 semester (admitted students only).

Does WSSU publish a merit scholarship GPA/test chart?

No automatic stat-based merit dollar grid is published on WSSU's official pages; awards are matched through Scholarship Universe and limited by available funding.

What is the Next NC Scholarship?

A program for North Carolina families earning up to $80,000 that covers tuition, fees, and more at NC public universities; complete the FAFSA to qualify.

How does the Honors Program relate to scholarships?

Incoming freshmen can enter the Honors Program as recipients of an institutional merit-based scholarship; continuing/transfer students apply with a 3.25 GPA and supporting materials.

What does it cost to attend WSSU?

The sticker cost of attendance is about $19,728 in-state and $29,975 out-of-state (tuition, room, meals, fees, health insurance); the average net cost for in-state aided students is about $12,415.

Winston-Salem State University · North Carolina

Winston-Salem State (WSSU) scholarships and merit aid

WSSU routes nearly all merit and institutional aid through a single Scholarship Universe portal (200+ awards, one application, open March 1–31, 2026) rather than a published GPA/test dollar grid — and the Next NC Scholarship covers tuition and fees for NC families earning up to $80,000.

Verified Jul 20262 months ago

The short answer

Is Winston-Salem State (WSSU) worth a closer look?

Winston-Salem State (WSSU) may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Merit tiers2See who qualifies

Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

Free Merit Check

See what Winston-Salem State (WSSU)'s published rules mean for your student. Takes 30 seconds.

Checking merit aid at Winston-Salem State (WSSU)

Unweighted GPA

Test score

State

HS graduation year

We’ll email you this result and a few short merit-aid pointers. We store score ranges only, never your student’s name. Unsubscribe anytime. See our privacy policy.

Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

Amount not published

WSSU Merit / Institutional Scholarships (via Scholarship Universe)

Apply separatelyCan continue

GPA: Not published on an opened official page (a search snippet referenced a 3.75 minimum GPA for new freshman merit applicants — unconfirmed)

See who qualifies and how to keep it

Who qualifies

Admitted students enrolled in degree-granting programs; submit one Scholarship Universe application to be matched to 200+ scholarships; portal open March 1–31, 2026 for Fall 2026

How to keep it

Renewal terms not published on these pages.

Notes

WSSU does not publish an automatic GPA/test merit dollar grid on its official pages; institutional/merit awards are applied for and matched through the Scholarship Universe portal. Awarding is limited based on available funding.

Source

Full tuition and fees (and more)

Next NC Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue

See who qualifies

Who qualifies

North Carolina families earning up to $80,000; complete the FAFSA

How to keep it

Renewal terms not detailed on this page; requires FAFSA.

Notes

State/federal need-based program for NC residents that covers tuition, fees, and more at NC public universities. Income-gated (up to $80,000 family income).

Source

See what could change an award

Straight from the aid office

What Winston-Salem State (WSSU)'s aid office says

Per the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, Winston-Salem State University, August 2026. How we verify

Final say on scholarship recipients

Does meeting the published eligibility requirements guarantee the scholarship award?

Meeting the published eligibility requirements does not guarantee the award; the Honors Department makes the final decision on recipients based on who applies.

“Those are the eligibility requirements for the scholarship; however, the Honors Department makes the final determination regarding scholarship recipients based on the applicant pool.”

Scholarship Universe funding sources

What funds the scholarships listed in Scholarship Universe?

Scholarship Universe lists opportunities funded by the Advancement Department as well as other university-funded scholarships.

“Scholarship Universe includes funding opportunities supported by the Advancement Department, as well as other university-funded scholarships.”

What families often miss

Waiting too long to apply through Scholarship Universe
The institutional/merit scholarship portal is only open March 1–31, 2026 for Fall 2026 — miss the window and you miss matching to the 200+ awards.
Expecting a published GPA/test award chart
WSSU does not publish an automatic stat-based merit dollar grid; merit and institutional awards are matched through one Scholarship Universe application and are limited by available funding.
NC students overlooking the Next NC Scholarship
Families earning up to $80,000 can have tuition, fees, and more covered — but you must complete the FAFSA to qualify.
Assuming a merit award is guaranteed by stats alone
Awarding is limited based on available funding and requires the Scholarship Universe application; being admitted is not the same as being awarded.
Confusing net price with cost of attendance
WSSU advertises a low average annual (net) cost of about $12,415 for in-state aided students, but the sticker cost of attendance is about $19,728 in-state ($29,975 out-of-state) before aid.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Admitted WSSU students — especially North Carolina residents (Next NC covers tuition and fees up to $80k income) — who apply through Scholarship Universe during the March application window; strong students who receive an institutional merit award also gain Honors Program entry.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $19,728 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Winston-Salem State (WSSU), what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Winston-Salem State (WSSU), academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family income	Average net price paid
$0–$30,000	$11,463
$30,001–$48,000	$12,412
$48,001–$75,000	$14,681
$75,001–$110,000	$18,813
$110,001+	$21,405
All income levels (average)	$13,479

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23: $6,126
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23: $16,782
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22: $13,479

That works out to roughly a 42% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $23,147 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Winston-Salem State (WSSU) is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort: 47%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort: 77%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers: $25,000 (~$265/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21): $45,344
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22: 80%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22: 77%

How to read these numbers

Net price reflects only first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students who received federal Title IV financial aid — not Winston-Salem State (WSSU)'s full student body.
Published tuition is the catalog sticker price for all students, not a Title IV-only figure.
Graduation rate reflects the entire first-time, full-time, degree-seeking cohort — not only students who received Title IV aid.
Retention rate reflects all first-time, full-time, bachelor's-seeking students — not only Title IV aid recipients.
Median debt reflects only completers who took out federal student loans — not Winston-Salem State (WSSU)'s full graduating class, and not limited to first-time, full-time students.
Median earnings reflect Title IV aid recipients who entered college and were working (not enrolled) roughly a decade later — not necessarily the graduating cohort, and not a recent graduate's paycheck.
Pell grant and federal loan participation covers first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students only.
Net price blends need-based aid and merit aid together — it is not a merit-specific estimate. It shows what similar-income families actually paid on average after every kind of aid, not what a strong-stats student could win in merit dollars alone. Treat it as cost context, not a merit forecast — a MeritPlaybook models merit aid specifically for your student’s own stats, which this net-price figure cannot do.

None of this is current-year data — the U.S. Department of Education reports it on a delay, and different figures below come from different reporting years. Net price is an academic year 2021-22 figure. Published tuition reflects the 2022-23 academic year. Graduation rate reflects the Fall 2016 entering, full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking cohort; completion measured within 150% of normal time (~6 years for a bachelor's degree). IPEDS Graduation Rates component (C150_4). Retention reflects the Fall 2021 full-time, first-time, bachelor's-seeking cohort retained into the following fall. IPEDS Fall Enrollment component (RET_FT4). Median debt reflects the NSLDS FY2020 and FY2021 pooled completer cohorts (GRAD_DEBT_MDN, GRAD_DEBT_MDN10YR_SUPP). Median earnings reflect the Treasury-matched cohort entering college in AY2009-10 or AY2010-11, earnings measured 10 years later in calendar years 2020 and 2021, inflation-adjusted to 2022 dollars (MD_EARN_WNE_P10).

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard.

See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

WSSU states an outside scholarship generally reduces the loan amount a student is eligible to receive, and notes that in some cases grants may be reduced as well; the published policy does not specify a strict order, a protective over-award gate, or any effect on work-study.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): What is an outside scholarship? A scholarship from any organization or agency other than WSSU, such as a community or civic group, or a religious organization is considered an outside scholarship. I am getting an outside scholarship; will this affect my other financial aid? In some cases, an outside scholarship can affect your other financial aid, generally by reducing the loan amount that you are eligible to receive. However, in some cases grants may be reduced as well. Separately, the school's own award-stacking rules: Merit and institutional awards are applied for and matched through one Scholarship Universe application; awarding is limited based on available funding. (per https://www.wssu.edu/admissions/scholarships-and-financial-aid/scholarships/scholarship-universe.html)

Source

Other Winston-Salem State (WSSU) scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

WSSU National Alumni Association Scholarships

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityQualified students based on academic criteria and financial need

Listed under External Scholarships; deadlines noted as approaching

Source

External Scholarships (curated list)

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityVarious third-party opportunities

WSSU maintains a list of external opportunities

Source

Winston-Salem State (WSSU) merit aid FAQ

How do I apply for WSSU scholarships?
Through the WSSU Scholarship Universe portal — one application matches you to 200+ scholarships. It is open March 1–31, 2026 for the Fall 2026 semester (admitted students only).
Does WSSU publish a merit scholarship GPA/test chart?
No automatic stat-based merit dollar grid is published on WSSU's official pages; awards are matched through Scholarship Universe and limited by available funding.
What is the Next NC Scholarship?
A program for North Carolina families earning up to $80,000 that covers tuition, fees, and more at NC public universities; complete the FAFSA to qualify.
How does the Honors Program relate to scholarships?
Incoming freshmen can enter the Honors Program as recipients of an institutional merit-based scholarship; continuing/transfer students apply with a 3.25 GPA and supporting materials.
What does it cost to attend WSSU?
The sticker cost of attendance is about $19,728 in-state and $29,975 out-of-state (tuition, room, meals, fees, health insurance); the average net cost for in-state aided students is about $12,415.

See sources and other schools

How Winston-Salem State (WSSU) compares

145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
Winston-Salem State (WSSU) is in a recognizable cluster (145 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Winston-Salem State (WSSU) is one of them. The cohort minority (84 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 claim is checked against Winston-Salem State (WSSU)’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Policy pageWinston-Salem State (WSSU) stacking policy
Cost of attendanceWinston-Salem State (WSSU) cost-of-attendance worksheet
Merit tiersWSSU Merit / Institutional Scholarships (via Scholarship Universe)
Merit tiersNext NC Scholarship
Scholarship pageWSSU National Alumni Association Scholarships

Compare with similar schools

Western Carolina merit aid. North Carolina public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
UNC Chapel Hill merit aid. North Carolina public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
NC State merit aid. North Carolina public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
Appalachian State merit aid. North Carolina public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

Keep exploring Winston-Salem State (WSSU) merit aid

Winston-Salem State (WSSU) scholarship stacking. Whether outside awards land as upside or quietly displace institutional aid.
Does Winston-Salem State (WSSU) displace outside scholarships?. The dollar math on a $5,000 outside award, plus peer schools that handle it differently.
Winston-Salem State (WSSU) four-year renewal rules. GPA floors, credit-hour pace, and the renewal cliffs that knock awards out by sophomore year.