Fall 2025 Automatic First-year Student Merit Awards
Start by applying for admission, and you will be considered for our special awards!
For qualified students, the Generations Award requires an application. Students who receive a full tuition scholarship are not eligible for these merit awards from the Office of Admissions.
We have an exceptional opportunity in store for high-achieving and highly motivated students like you! Explore your scholarship opportunities now.
Select your state below to review all of the awards available to you through the Office of Admissions.
NOTE: The minimum cumulative high school GPA must be met to earn the corresponding award amount for each level of the Academic Achievement Award. The Generations Award can be combined with the Academic Achievement Award. We accept weighted GPA.
Important Scholarship Information
Iowa State offers recognition awards to out-of-state students who fulfill specific academic requirements. The awards are automatically awarded to out-of-state students who have been offered admission to Iowa State.
- Grade Point Average (GPA): Minimum cumulative high school GPA (4-point scale) rounded to the nearest hundredth or second decimal place. We accept weighted GPA, provided the school’s weighted grading system does not award more than one additional quality point to the grade earned in weighted courses. Use our GPA Calculator to convert a GPA to a 4-point scale.
- Deadline: Students must be admitted by March 1, 2025, as a first-year student entering directly from high school. Awards may be made after March 1 contingent upon the availability of funds. These awards are specifically available to students enrolling for the Fall of 2025. Scholarships are reviewed annually and are subject to change for future enrolling classes.
- Final Transcript: Awards are offered based on preliminary or self-reported academic information, but all awards are contingent upon receipt of the official, final high school transcript verifying the requirements have been met. The award will be withdrawn if all requirements have not been fulfilled. Students will be offered the highest award value they qualify to receive based on their cumulative high school GPA to the second decimal. Awards can be updated during the year if their GPA improves. An award will be adjusted if the final GPA changes from the GPA reported at the time of admission/application. Awards could be increased or decreased.
- First-year Student Status: A student must enroll at Iowa State University for the fall semester immediately following high school graduation to qualify for a first-year student award; a student who has attempted college coursework following high school graduation (with the exception of the summer term) is not eligible for first-year student awards. Students enrolling for spring term can be eligible as long as they have not taken college courses after high school graduation. A student must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, refugee, or asylee to qualify.
- Eligibility for other awards: These awards are not tuition specific. They can be used toward a student’s total University bill and be combined with scholarships offered by an undergraduate college, department, or the Office of Student Financial Aid. Awards may be reduced or eliminated if the total award amount from all sources of aid exceeds the cost of attendance. Students who receive a full tuition scholarship like the George Washington Carver Scholastic Leadership Award, First Cyclones Program Scholarship, or Science Bound Tuition Scholarship are not eligible for other merit awards from the Office of Admissions including the Academic Achievement Award.
Renewal Requirements:
To renew these awards the student must remain continuously enrolled at Iowa State University on a full-time basis in good academic standing with a minimum of 12 credits per semester, be assessed nonresident tuition without establishing residency for tuition purposes, and maintain a minimum 2.50 cumulative grade point average. These awards are available during fall and spring semesters only, not during the summer term. The value of the award(s) is fixed and will not change for the student in future terms.
Expedition Award:
To qualify for the Expedition Award, the student must be a resident of California, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, or Nebraska.
Generations Award:
The Generations Award is awarded to students who are nonresident children or grandchildren, or
great-grandchildren of Iowa State graduates. A graduate is defined as any person who has been awarded a
bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree from Iowa State. In order to be considered for this scholarship,
students must provide information so the graduation of the parent, step-parent, legal guardian, or
grandparent may be verified. Students may complete the scholarship application form available online.
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