Merit-Based Scholarships
Learn About Merit-Based Scholarships
Merit Scholarships are offered to WA high school graduates who are first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students and transfers at CWU.
Select the quarter or academic year you will start attending CWU:
Fall quarter 2026 / 2026-27 academic year
WA residents starting Fall quarter 2026 or during the 2026-27 academic year
These awards are offered to eligible students based on admissions data. There is no separate application!
The Crimson and Transfer scholarships can apply to standard CWU tuition only. If tuition is paid by other sources, or there are non-standard charges (examples: FlexIT program, education abroad) they may be reduced or canceled.
The Wildcat Promise requires awardees to live on campus. See below for more details.
Merit scholarships are not available summer quarter.
Automatic scholarships
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Crimson Scholarship
$2,000 per year for two consecutive years ($4,000 total)
Eligibility requirements
- First time as a college student (not including Running Start or College in the High School)
- Starting quarter: Fall 2026
- 3.0 HS Cumulative GPA, 2.75 CWU cumulative GPA to renew
- Enrolled in minimum of 12 credits per quarter
- Live in campus housing both years
- Confirm admissions by May 1, 2026
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Transfer Scholarship
$2,000 per year, up to three years ($6,000 total)
Eligibility requirements:
- Transfer Student
- Starting at CWU during the 2026-27 academic year
- 3.0 Transfer Cumulative GPA, 2.75 CWU cumulative GPA to renew
- Enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits per quarter
- Ellensburg campus
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Wildcat Promise
$5,000 per year, up to four years ($20,000 total)
Eligibility requirements:
- First time in college student
- WA resident of Grant, Douglas, Chelan, Benton County, or attended a Lower Yakima Valley high school
- Starting quarter: Fall 2026
- 3.0 HS Cumulative GPA, 2.75 CWU GPA to renew
- Enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits per quarter
- Live in residence hall for the first two years, on campus housing for remaining two years
- Confirm admissions by May 1, 2026
- Must have a housing contract on file by Sept 1, 2026
Fall quarter 2025 / 2025-26 academic year
WA residents starting Fall quarter 2025 or during the 2025-26 academic year
Automatic Scholarships - high school merit
Eligible students must start fall quarter 2025.
- Presidential Scholarship: $2,000 for first year, $1,000 for second year, $3,000 total
- Trustee’s Scholarship: $1,500 for first year only
- Wellington Scholarship: $1,000 for first year only
Automatic Scholarship - transfer
- Transfer tuition award: $1,000 per year for up to three years
- can start any quarter during the 2025-26 academic year
Selected Scholarships
Selected students must start fall quarter 2025.
- Wildcat Promise: $5,000 per academic year for four years, up to $20,000
- Crimson Scholarship: $1,000-$10,000 per academic year for four years, up to $4,000-$40,000
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Automatic Scholarship Details
- Amount: $2,000 for first year, $1,000 for second year, $3,000 total
- GPA: 3.8-4.0 unweighted high school GPA
- Must have cumulative CWU GPA of 3.0 to renew for second year
- Type: Automatic merit for first year students who graduated high school in Spring 2025.
- Requires 12 credit minimum per quarter
- Must be used consecutively (Fall/Winter/Spring)
- May not be combined with Wildcat Promise or Crimson Scholarship
- Amount: $1,500 for first year only
- GPA: 3.5-3.79 unweighted high school GPA
- Type: Automatic merit for first year students who graduated high school in Spring 2025.
- Requires 12 credit minimum per quarter
- Must be used consecutively (Fall/Winter/Spring)
- May not be combined with Wildcat Promise or Crimson Scholarship
- Amount: $1,000 for first year only
- GPA: 3.0-3.49 unweighted high school GPA
- Type: Automatic merit for first year students who graduated high school in Spring 2025.
- Requires 12 credit minimum per quarter
- Must be used consecutively (Fall/Winter/Spring)
- May not be combined with Wildcat Promise or Crimson Scholarship
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Selected Scholarship Details
Wildcat Promise
- Amount: $5,000 per academic year for four years, $20,000 total
- GPA: 3.0-4.0 unweighted high school GPA
- Must have cumulative CWU GPA of 2.75 to renew each year
- Type: Selected merit for first year students who graduated high school in Spring 2025.
- Student Aid Index (SAI) of $0 or below as determined by the FAFSA or WASFA
- Must have at least $5,000 in financial need each year after all Federal and State grants
- Requires 12 credit minimum per quarter
- Requires students to complete at least 36 credits per academic year to renew
- If a student is graduating and does not need 12 credits that term, they may still receive full scholarship amount.
- Requires student to live on Ellensburg campus in a residence hall with a meal plan for first two years. The remaining two years must be in CWU Housing, but do not require a meal plan.
- Must be used consecutively
- May not be combined with Presidential, Trustees, Wellington, or Crimson scholarship
- May not be combined with GI Bill, Staff dependent waivers, or athletic waivers
- If the student does not complete any credits for one term, 50% of the award will be returned to CWU, and future terms will be canceled.
Crimson Scholarship
- Amount: $1,000 - $10,000 per year for four years, $4,000 - $40,000 total
- GPA: 3.0-4.0 unweighted high school GPA
- Must have cumulative CWU GPA of 2.75 to renew each year
- Type: Selected merit for first year students who graduated high school in Spring 2025.
- Requires 12 credit minimum per quarter
- Requires students to complete at least 36 credits per academic year to renew
- If a student is graduating and does not need 12 credits that term, they may still receive full scholarship amount with a confirmed graduation date on file.
- Requires student to live on Ellensburg campus in a residence hall with a meal plan for first two years. The remaining two years must be in CWU Housing, but a meal plan is not required.
- Must be used consecutively
- May not be combined with Presidential, Trustees, Wellington, or Wildcat Promise
- May not be combined with GI Bill, Staff dependent waivers, or athletic waivers
- If the student does not complete any credits for one term, 50% of the award will be returned to CWU, and future terms will be canceled.
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Selected Scholarship Conditions
- Student may not receive multiple merit awards.
- All merit scholarships require students to be enrolled in 12 credits at census (the 5th day of the quarter). The scholarship will disburse on the student’s account.
- Students must be enrolled in 12+ credits per quarter. However, students are strongly encouraged to complete enough CWU credits each academic year to remain on track to graduate within four years, the maximum period for selected scholarships.
- If a student does not complete any credits for the quarter, 50% of the merit scholarship will be returned to CWU.
- If the student does not attend one quarter, the scholarship will be forfeited for all additional terms and/or academic years following.
- If the student is graduating and does not require full time for their last quarter, they may receive the scholarship for that term. Student must have a graduation date on record and contact [email protected] to request this adjustment.
- Students must meet the standard, minimum renewal requirements by the conclusion of the academic year (fall, winter, spring and summer quarters if attended) to be eligible to receive the scholarship for the following academic year.
- Selected Scholarships cannot be combined with ROTC tuition awards, the GI Bill, and some departmental tuition awards depending on type and amount.
- Selected Scholarships cannot be combined with CWU Dependent waivers. Students offered multiple awards designated for base tuition, cannot receive more than 80% of base tuition.
- This scholarship is applied to undergraduate charges and cannot be refunded. If your program does not charge tuition through the student account, you are ineligible to use this award.
- The total award amount is for the academic year which is evenly split between the fall, winter, and spring terms. Students who graduate in December are not eligible to receive the full academic year amount in one quarter. Merit scholarships are not available for summer quarter.
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General Information and Requirements
Merit Scholarships are offered to WA high school graduates who are first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students (i.e. students who did not attend any higher education institution including Community Colleges or Universities).
- Applicants with GEDs or High School Equivalency tests are not eligible for first-year awards.
- Incoming first-year students who are homeschooled will be evaluated for merit aid based on portfolio/course work submitted by the admission deadline.
- Applicants who attend high school that do not utilize grades (ex. Mastery Transcript) may be eligible for first-year awards upon additional review. Review may require additional information.
- Students must be pursuing their first bachelor’s degree for Undergraduate studies.
- Eligibility must be confirmed by final high school transcript.
- Submitting a completed Central Washington University Application for Fall 2025 application serves as the application for automatic merit aid scholarships.
- The Free Application of Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Washington Application of State Financial Aid (WASFA) is required to be considered for the Wildcat Promise.
- Students selected for Wildcat Promise or Crimson scholarships will receive an offer letter once they have completed all required admissions and financial aid applications.
- Offers are non-negotiable and are not increased to match offers from other institutions.
- Awards are not offered to students admitted winter or spring.
- The award must be used beginning Fall 2025 quarter.
- Summer enrollment immediately before attending fall quarter at CWU does not impact eligibility. Dual enrollment (college enrollment during high school) and/or participation in non-credit bearing programs during and post high school do not impact eligibility. All attempted post-secondary credit at accredited and non-accredited institutions post-high school does impact eligibility.
- Applicants with GEDs or High School Equivalency tests are not eligible for first-year awards.
Disclaimer
These terms and conditions apply to awards initially offered to students for the listed academic year.
Each scholarship has specific eligibility criteria, including residency classification, campus, location and/or modality. Eligibility varies per scholarship and all scholarships are subject to the availability of funds. Automatic scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to qualifying admitted students. Selected scholarships may have additional eligibility requirements, but do not require a separate scholarship application.
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