The Presidential Scholarship Competition is an opportunity for achieving high school seniors to earn full-ride scholarships at NMU and will run from Nov. 3 to 4 and from Nov. 10 to 11.

Students from Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and various other states come to Northern each  year to participate and vie for the coveted scholarships.

In order to register for the competition, the high school seniors must have a minimum GPA of 3.50, a minimum SAT score of 1160 or an ACT of 24. 

Of the 430 seniors that participated in 2018, 93 of the students had a minimum SAT score of 1390 or a 30 on the ACT, and 165 students participating had a GPA of 4.0 or above.

Executive Head of Admissions Gerri Daniels said he is excited for the competition to open.

“The competition is to recognize a student’s achievements while they are in high school. Part of it to help fill up financial need, although these scholarships are not financial-need dependent,” Daniels said. “The other part is to have students recognize Northern as a place where they might want to consider for their college education.”

Scholarships are awarded based on an interview with a staff member, small group problem-solving activities and intensive evaluation of the applicant’s GPA, ACT or SAT score.

Biochemistry and French double major Bridget Verdon is a Harden Scholarship recipient for the class of 2019. Verdan will be among the volunteers running the class of 2020 scholarship competition this year.

“I had a lot of fun during the competition last year and I made a lot of friends. I’m actually still friends with the people I met at the competition,” Verdon said.

NMU awarded 222 scholarships in the Presidential Scholars Competition last year: 10 Harden Scholarships (including tuition & room and board), 10 Presidential Scholarships (including tuition and most required fees), 62 Waldo Scholarships (of $2,000 per year), 140 Kaye-Munson Scholarships (of $1,000 per year). 

In addition to these scholarships, the Center for Student Enrichment awarded 10 Leadership Scholarships, worth $2,000 per year.