The Presidential Scholarship

The 2025 Presidential Scholarship application is now closed. The application will re-open in October. 

Presidential Scholarships are Montana State University's most distinguished academic awards, recognizing scholastic achievement, demonstrated leadership, and unique personal qualities. Scholarship recipients receive annual tuition waivers, a generous stipend, and priority registration. Recent Presidential Scholars have gone on to receive renowned awards, such as the Goldwater, Truman, Rhodes, Marshall and Mitchell scholarships. As Ambassadors of the university, they reflect its highest ideals through demonstrated leadership and public service, and are in the process of leaving a unique fingerprint on their world.

The Presidential Scholarship is a rigorous and competitive application that doubles as your application to the Honors College. Recipients of the Scholarship routinely have a 3.9+ non-weighted GPA and are ranked in the top 3% of their class. Please review our Frequently Asked Questions to determine if you are a competitive candidate for the award. The Presidential Scholarship is available to incoming freshmen with high school non-weighted GPA's of 3.7 or higher. Students must apply to MSU and receive their MSU ID number before they can access the Presidential Scholarship application.

MSU has many scholarships available, and applicants must complete the general scholarship application in  Cat $cholarships before they can access to the supplemental questions for the Presidential Scholarship. If you do not receive the Presidential Scholarship, you may still be considered for other awards.

 

Apply Now

 

How To Apply:

  1. Apply & be accepted at MSU
  2. Claim your NetID. More info here
  3. Submit the General Scholarships Application as soon as possible
    1. The general application will match you with scholarship opportunities that you are eligible for across campus, and it is not specific to the presidential scholarship application. You will not gain access to the supplemental questions for the Presidential Scholarship until your general application has been submitted, but you can continue to edit any general application responses even after submission. 
    2. Complete as much information as you can.  If you come across any essay questions that you’re not ready to answer, write “I will come back to this answer” in the text box.  This way, you can keep moving and access the Presidential application.
    3. You must submit the general application to access the supplemental questions for the presidential scholarship.
  4.  Access the Presidential application and contact your recommenders
    1. Talk to your 1 high school counselor and 2 recommenders. Confirm the correct spelling of their names and emails, and they will be willing to submit the letter before the deadline.It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all materials, including letters of recommendation, are received by the deadline.
    2. Input your recommenders' names and emails into the CatScholarships portal and click “save.” This sends them a link to complete their recommendation.
    3. Check to see if your recommenders received the links and can access the portal. Contact our office ASAP to resolve any errors.
  5. Complete the Presidential Scholarship Application. We recommend working on your essays in another document and pasting them when you are finished. Remember to “save” your work as you go!
  6. Go back and complete the General Scholarship Application if you have not already done so
  7. The portal will shut off at Midnight Mountain Standard Time. Do not wait until the last minute to submit.  

For Recommenders:

It is the Student’s Responsibility to ensure that letters of recommendation are received by the Deadline. Transcripts and letters of recommendation will not be accepted by mail or email; they MUST be uploaded to the application portal via the links that counselors and recommenders receive by email. 

Having trouble?

Email honors@montana.edu or call 406-994-4110 ASAP! We cannot help you if you do not communicate with us.

 

 

A group of students standing on a stage

***If you have applied for the Presidential Scholarship, your scholarship application will also serve as your application to the Honors College****

 

Please visit the Office of Admissions for additional information regarding MSU Scholarships.  MSU also has a scholarship program for students identified as National Merit Finalists.  Information regarding the National Merit Scholars program can be found at http://www.montana.edu/admissions/scholarships/nationalmerit.html.

 

Additional information regarding Financial Aid available from Montana State University can be found on the Office of Financial Aid Services website.