Scholarship Opportunity

Youngstown State Freshman Scholarships for Excellence

Offered by Youngstown State University / YSU Foundation

One admission-based merit route awards qualifying new YSU freshmen at the First Opportunity, Red and White, Deans', President's or Trustees' level.

EssayNot required
RenewableYes
Grade LevelHigh School Senior

Eligibility

  • Be a new high school graduate admitted as a beginning first-year student and enroll full time for disbursement.
  • First Opportunity: 3.0 GPA with ACT19 or SAT990; test-optional GPA3.0–3.49. Red and White: 3.0 GPA with ACT22 or SAT1110; test-optional GPA3.5–3.89.
  • Deans': 3.5 GPA with ACT25 or SAT1220; test-optional GPA3.9+. President's: 3.5 GPA with ACT27 or SAT1290 and no test-optional route.
  • Trustees': valedictorian status; the table says test-optional is unavailable without giving a separate numeric score cutoff. Confirm all route-specific criteria with Admissions.

Requirements

  • Submit YSU undergraduate admission and transcripts by the annual February15 deadline; February15,2027 is the next occurrence. No separate Excellence application is required.
  • Renewal requires at least 24 credits per academic year, at least12 per term and a3.0 overall GPA.
  • The published standing table gives FirstOpportunity$1,000, RedandWhite$2,000, Deans'$3,000, President's$4,000 and Trustees'$5,000 annually; confirm the applicable entering-cohort offer.
  • SAT/ACT are alternatives for score-based routes and are not mandatory for all award levels. The restricted-school MLK award is a separate named option, not automatically added to these amounts.

How to Apply

  1. 1Apply for YSU freshman admission with transcripts by the annual deadline.
  2. 2Choose whether to provide an accepted test score based on the desired level and consult the current table.
  3. 3Review the single level awarded and its renewal conditions.