1. Merit Scholarship Initial Opportunities – Freshman Students
The Solution Center
The Financial Aid Office
Merit Scholarship Initial Opportunities – Freshman Students

2. Objective What you will learn Merit Scholarships Description
Merit Scholarship Criteria and Deadlines
Merit Scholarship Selection Process
Determine Scholarship Awards
Maintaining Eligibility for Scholarships
Scholarship Renewal Criteria

3. Merit Scholarships Description
UMass Lowell offers a variety of scholarships to Our most academically qualified incoming freshman who:
Demonstrate an exceptional level of achievement
Outstanding performance in high school
Above average scores on college entrance exams (SAT/ACT)
Note: Most scholarships do not require an application

4. Scholarship Criteria
Preference for all awards will be given to students who apply through the Admissions Early Action process deadline date of November 15th
Limited award opportunities will be given to students who apply through the Admissions Regular Decision process, deadline date of February 15th
For specific details see website (

5. Merit Scholarship Selection Process
When applying to UMass Lowell, all prospective freshman students are considered for an academic scholarship as part of the admissions process
To determine if the prospective student qualifies for an academic scholarship, Admissions officers review the prospective student’s:
High school transcript grades
College entrance exam scores (SAT, ACT)
In March, the Financial Aid Scholarship personnel will begin to award the academic scholarships for the upcoming aid year
Students are identified using the award information made available in an initial report from the admissions office
Students are sent a scholarship award letter in their Admissions acceptance packet

6. Determining Scholarship Award
If scholarship is NOT awarded on the financial aid packaging screen:
Go to Admiss Summary One applic (UM) ~ View Comms tab ~ Communications section
Under category column look for “UG Financial” letter, the context column will describe the type of scholarship offered
If NO “UG Financial” letter then scholarship was NOT offered
Exception: Chancellors and International Provost letters are not displayed here as they are manually created

7. Maintaining Eligibility
Residency Status:
If students change residency or change careers to DOCE, scholarship will be cancelled
Student will be reviewed to determine eligibility based on new residency
DOCE career changes do not receive a second review

8. Renewal Criteria
Academic scholarships are renewable at a maximum of four award years (eight semesters)
Each individual scholarship has a criteria requirement that needs to be met in order to be renewed. See our website:
If a student fails to meet the renewable criteria, they will lose the academic scholarships permanently
If an academic scholarship is lost, it is advised that the student meet with the Senior Associate Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships to discuss appeal