Leading Scholar Award

Academically talented high school seniors with leadership experience are encouraged to apply. In general, applicants should meet the following academic guidelines:

• 3.30 or higher cumulative GPA at time of application (on a 4.00 scale)
• ACT composite score of 23 or higher or an SAT combined critical reading plus math score of 1070 or higher.

• Students must apply for admission to Michigan Tech by October 15. 
• To submit your essay response, log in to our online application page.
  • If you have already applied for admission, use the same Login ID and PIN that you created for your application for admission to access the Leading Scholar Award application. After you’ve logged in, select the Leading Scholar Award button.
  • If you haven’t submitted your application for admission, you’ll need to apply online first. After your application has been submitted, you’ll be able to submit your Leading Scholar essay by clicking on the Leading Scholar Award button
  • Forgot your login information? Give our office a call at 888-688-1885 or email mtu4u@mtu.edu and we can look it up for you. The two applications are linked so it is important that you use the same login information.
• A recommendation from a teacher or mentor is required. During the Leading Scholar application process, you will be asked to provide an email address for the one person who can speak the best of your leadership and scholarly accomplishments. Be sure to have an email address for your teacher/mentor when you begin the application process.

• October 15: Leading Scholar applications and teacher/mentor recommendations are due by 11:59 p.m. (eastern time). You must also have an application for admission on file by this date.
• November 15: Finalists are selected by the University Scholarship Committee
• December 8 and 9: On-campus competition for finalists and family members
• January 1: Award recipients are notified

The University Scholarship Committee is interested in getting to know you. Students will be evaluated on not only the leadership experiences highlighted in their essay, but in the way the information is conveyed through writing. The quality and content of the teacher/mentor nomination will also be taken into consideration. We receive over 900 applications for this award--with 40 students selected as finalists. The essay and teacher recommendation plays a large role in the selection process.

1. Do your best to think of a question and response that will best convey your leadership experiences to us. We want to know who you are, get a glimpse of your personality, and learn about the positive qualities that you will bring to Michigan Tech.
2. Don't think about what we want to read--think about what you want to write about.
3. We encourage your essay to focus not only on your accomplishments, but on the type of person you have become as a result of those achievements.
4. Try to avoid writing a resume and instead focus on how you have used the skills you have gained to positively influence a leadership outcome or experience.
5. We strongly encourage you to write your essay (maximum of 3000 characters) in Word or a similar program which allows you to copy and paste into the online application system. At this time, our application system does not allow you to save your work to complete it at a later date. Nominations are limited to 5000 characters.
6. With these suggestions in mind, ensure that your essay is well written, free of errors, follows the instructions, and is submitted on time. The application system will close at 11:59 p.m. (eastern time) on October 15--late submissions will not be accepted.

See our Financial Aid Leading Scholar page for additional details.