Eligibility for Beginning Students

Admission to Purdue University College of Science and the completion of the College of Science Merit Scholarship Application is all that is necessary to be considered for our college or departmental merit scholarships.

The following published information is to let applicants know realistically what to expect. Many factors are used to determine who might be selected, but clearly, academic measures like SAT/ACT scores and high school grades carry a lot of weight.

The top 75% of past applicants selected to receive a scholarship from the College of Science met the following criteria:

HS Rank: - 97 percentile

SAT Verbal – 685; SAT Math 710

ACT Comp – 31; ACT Math – 32; ACT Engl 32

We have very strong students entering Science, and many students with credentials that matched the above criteria were not selected to receive a college-level merit scholarship. Do the scores you have received mean that you won't receive a Science scholarship? No! Other factors such as difficulty of coursework attempted, leadership, community service, extracurricular involvement, Science Fair participation, and so on, also contribute to the selection criteria for our merit scholarships.

Information provided on your merit scholarship application is reviewed by members of the College of Science Scholarship Committee and the departmental scholarship committee of your chosen major. NOTE: Your application and information is not forwarded to the University for consideration of any university level or need-based scholarships. You should contact the Division of Financial Aid (765-494-5050) or go to their web site http://www.purdue.edu/DFA/fast/prospective.htm to learn how to apply for those scholarships.