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Winston-Salem State (WSSU) scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$19,728per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

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.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
5 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

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The award collection

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.

Where does your student land?

  1. WSSU Merit / Institutional Scholarships (via Scholarship Universe)Amount not publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    WSSU Merit / Institutional Scholarships (via Scholarship Universe)

    Amount not published

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Not published on an opened official page (a search snippet referenced a 3.75 minimum GPA for new freshman merit applicants — unconfirmed)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for WSSU Merit / Institutional Scholarships (via Scholarship Universe)

    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.

    Worth knowing

    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.

  2. Next NC ScholarshipFull tuition and fees (and more)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Next NC Scholarship

    Full tuition and fees (and more)

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Next NC Scholarship

    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.

    Worth knowing

    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).

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  • “it told me what to ask and what the renewal GPA looked like, which I was not going to find on my own”Melissa

What makes Winston-Salem State (WSSU) different

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.

Merit tiers2See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

Selection beyond grades and scores

Start with the selection process.

These awards are not recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read each award's selection rules, application steps and dates. Meeting a minimum is not an award offer.

  1. Read the selection rules

    Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Winston-Salem State (WSSU)'s decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Families earning up to $80,000 can have tuition, fees, and more covered — but you must complete the FAFSA to qualify.

  4. Awarding is limited based on available funding and requires the Scholarship Universe application; being admitted is not the same as being awarded.

  5. 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 incomeAverage 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%
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.

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityQualified students based on academic criteria and financial need

Listed under External Scholarships; deadlines noted as approaching

Source

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.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Winston-Salem State (WSSU) merit aid

The next chapter

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