Scholarships

Available to incoming first-year and international students

The Presidential Distinguished Scholarship process opens October 1, 2024, for the 2025-26 academic year. We will be awarding up to 15 full tuition scholarships. Deadline for consideration is December 16, 2024. For more information contact your admissions counselor or email admissions@alma.edu.   

We offer a variety of visit options and are excited to help plan your Alma College experience. Head to alma.edu/visit to schedule your trip to Alma – we have options Monday through Friday and select Saturdays. Just by visiting campus, you’ll earn a $2,000 scholarship, so it’s worth the trip to see us! This scholarship is renewable for up to a total of $8,000 over four years.

*Excludes College Game Day Saturday Visits and while multiple visits are encouraged, you can only be awarded one scholarship.

If your parent, grandparent or sibling graduated from Alma College, you are eligible to apply for this $1,500 renewable scholarship.

Any student who resides outside the state of Michigan is eligible for a renewable $4,000 scholarship.

File your FAFSA and earn $1,000 renewable for a total of up to $4,000 over four years.

The Alma College Community Engagement (ACE) Scholarship program was created to offer access and affordability to Gratiot, Isabella, and Montcalm counties’ students who desire to pursue a life-changing, liberal arts education. The program will offer up to 20 full-tuition awards annually to graduating high school seniors. Full tuition is covered using Alma College, State, and Federal Aid sources and is renewable for four years.

The Kim Kaye Scholarship is an opportunity open to students that participate in cheer to receive up to $16,000 in their four years to attend Alma College. During each camp session of the summer, up to five athletes will receive this scholarship. Winners will be announced during “Final Day Fun” on the last day of your respective session. All high school athletes can be nominated however, a cheerleader can only win once during his or her time at Champion. (Example: A freshman is nominated and wins their first year at Champion. They cannot win again in the sophomore, junior, or senior year).

Coaches: Athlete(s) must attend a Champion overnight camp the summer they are your athlete and the reference and application must be completed in the same school year. If your athlete does not receive a scholarship this year, they may re-apply each year he or she attends Champion.

How To Nominate
Step 1: The coach will need to fill out the Champion Referral Form.
Step 2: The athlete(s) needs to fill out the Kim Kaye Scholarship Application.

The Breakdown
Coach refers athlete to attend Alma College by completing the Champion Referral Form
.

Athlete wins the Kim Kaye Scholarship and attends Alma College: Award ranging from $1,500 – $4,000 per year for up to 4 years totaling $6000 – $16,000.

Students demonstrating exemplary performance in any of these areas may be eligible for Distinguished Awards ($2,000+). All funds are awarded at the discretion of the fine and performing arts faculty, and the students’ intended major or minor is not a consideration.

Students are only eligible to receive one scholarship per year in this category. If students are offered an award from more than one department, they must select one. Students may continue to participate in multiple areas regardless of their scholarship selection. If offered a distinguished award it will replace standard performance awards previously offered.

There is an April 1 deadline for all distinguished awards. Students who submit an audition or accepted to Alma after April 1 are only eligible for the base performing arts scholarship.

Alma College students can receive art scholarships to assist them in making their education possible. Scholarship amounts are awarded at the following levels:

Base Scholarship – $1,500 per year. A minor in art & design is required. These scholarships are renewable for four years.
Distinguished Scholarship – $2,000+ per year. A minor in art & design is required. Students demonstrating exemplary performance may be eligible for a Distinguished award. All funds are awarded at the discretion of the fine arts faculty, and the student’s intended major or minor is not a consideration.

There is an April 1 deadline for all distinguished awards. Students who submit an audition or accepted to Alma after April 1 are only eligible for the base performing arts scholarship.

How To Apply
To apply for a scholarship, please send a single PDF to Jillian Dickson at dicksonjd@alma.edu that includes:

1. Letter of intention describing your experience and interest in art and design, what you hope to do with an art and design degree, and if you intend to pursue a major or minor in art and design.
2. 12 images of your best work, labeled (title, material, size, date finished)

$1,500/year. Awarded upon acceptance to incoming students (first year and transfer) who compete on the E-sports team.

Students who are transferring to Alma in the Fall of 2025 are eligible for the following competitive merit scholarships based on your cumulative GPA from all previous institutions you’ve attended:

Students who are transferring to Alma in the Winter of 2025 are eligible for the following competitive merit scholarships based on your cumulative GPA from all previous institutions you’ve attended:

We offer a variety of visit options and are excited to help plan your Alma College experience. Head to alma.edu/visit to schedule your trip to Alma – we have options Monday through Friday and select Saturdays. Just by visiting campus, you’ll earn a $2,000 scholarship towards Fall 2025, so it’s worth the trip to see us! This scholarship is renewable for up to a total of $8,000 over four years. If you are an incoming student for Winter 2025, you are eligible for $1,000 scholarship when you visit campus.

*Excludes College Game Day Saturday Visits and while multiple visits are encouraged, you can only be awarded one scholarship.

If your parent, grandparent or sibling graduated from Alma College, you are eligible to apply for this $1,500 renewable scholarship.

File your FAFSA and earn $1,000 renewable for a total of up to $4,000 over four years.

Students demonstrating exemplary performance in any of these areas may be eligible for Distinguished Awards ($2,000+). All funds are awarded at the discretion of the fine and performing arts faculty, and the students’ intended major or minor is not a consideration.

Students are only eligible to receive one scholarship per year in this category. If students are offered an award from more than one department, they must select one. Students may continue to participate in multiple areas regardless of their scholarship selection. If offered a distinguished award it will replace standard performance awards previously offered.

There is an April 1 deadline for all distinguished awards. Students who submit an audition or accepted to Alma after April 1 are only eligible for the base performing arts scholarship.

Alma College students can receive art scholarships to assist them in making their education possible. Scholarship amounts are awarded at the following levels:

Base Scholarship – $1,500 per year. These scholarships are renewable for four years.
Distinguished Scholarship – $2,000+ per year. A minor in art & design is required. Students demonstrating exemplary performance may be eligible for a Distinguished award. All funds are awarded at the discretion of the fine arts faculty, and the student’s intended major or minor is not a consideration.

There is a May 1 deadline for all distinguished awards. Students who submit an audition or accepted to Alma after May 1 are only eligible for the base performing arts scholarship.

How To Apply
To apply for a scholarship, please send a single PDF to Jillian Dickson at dicksonjd@alma.edu that includes:

1. Letter of intention describing your experience and interest in art and design, what you hope to do with an art and design degree, and if you intend to pursue a major or minor in art and design.
2. 12 images of your best work, labeled (title, material, size, date finished)

$1,500/year. Awarded upon acceptance to incoming students (first year and transfer) who compete on the
E-sports team.

$2,000 scholarship awarded to student who have been selected as a Phi Theta Kappa scholar at their community college. Students must submit a copy of their Phi Theta Kappa certificate and be accepted to Alma College.

Up to full tuition for eligible U.S. military veterans. More information is available from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

Contact Mary Pratt for more information.

Alma College offers generous financial assistance for international students. Merit scholarship and need-based aid decisions are made at the time of admission — no need for a separate application!

Consideration for academic scholarships, which range up to $36,000 per year, is based on documentation provided as part of the application process. Grade point averages are converted to a U.S. 4.0 scale.

• <3.00 GPA: $28,000/year
• 3.0 – 3.29 GPA: $30,000/year
• 3.30 – 3.59 GPA: $32,000/year
• 3.60 – 3.79 GPA: $34,000/year
• 3.80 + GPA: $36,000/year

We offer a variety of visit options and are excited to help plan your Alma College experience. Head to alma.edu/visit to schedule your trip to Alma – we have options Monday through Friday and select Saturdays. Just by visiting campus, you’ll earn a $2,000 scholarship, so it’s worth the trip to see us! This scholarship is renewable for up to a total of $8,000 over four years.

We understand that getting to campus for an in-person visit may be challenging, so we offer virtual options for international students. To schedule a virtual visit, please reach out to admissions@alma.edu. When you visit virtually, you’ll earn a $2,000 scholarship!

*Excludes College Game Day Saturday Visits and while multiple visits are encouraged, you can only be awarded one scholarship.

Any student who resides outside the state of Michigan is eligible for a renewable $4,000 scholarship.

Students demonstrating exemplary performance in any of these areas may be eligible for Distinguished Awards ($2,000+). All funds are awarded at the discretion of the fine and performing arts faculty, and the students’ intended major or minor is not a consideration.

Students are only eligible to receive one scholarship per year in this category. If students are offered an award from more than one department, they must select one. Students may continue to participate in multiple areas regardless of their scholarship selection. If offered a distinguished award it will replace standard performance awards previously offered.

There is an April 1 deadline for all distinguished awards. Students who submit an audition or accepted to Alma after April 1 are only eligible for the base performing arts scholarship.

Alma College students can receive art scholarships to assist them in making their education possible. Scholarship amounts are awarded at the following levels:

Base Scholarship – $1,500 per year. These scholarships are renewable for four years.
Distinguished Scholarship – $2,000+ per year. A minor in art & design is required. Students demonstrating exemplary performance may be eligible for a Distinguished award. All funds are awarded at the discretion of the fine arts faculty, and the student’s intended major or minor is not a consideration.

There is an April 1 deadline for all distinguished awards. Students who submit an audition or accepted to Alma after April 1 are only eligible for the base performing arts scholarship.

How To Apply
To apply for a scholarship, please send a single PDF to Jillian Dickson at dicksonjd@alma.edu that includes:

1. Letter of intention describing your experience and interest in art and design, what you hope to do with an art and design degree, and if you intend to pursue a major or minor in art and design.
2. 12 images of your best work, labeled (title, material, size, date finished)

Select the academic year in which you started attending Alma College to see more information on the grants, scholarships, and awards offered that year.

A generous grant from Eleanor H. Currie has enabled the College to establish a Currie Scholars program beginning in fiscal year 2001. Qualified sophomores and juniors may apply for this program, which will provide a stipend of $2,500 plus waiver of room charges for the summer (if work is done on campus) to support scholarly or creative projects in collaboration with a faculty mentor.

For more information, contact Carla Jensen at jensencr@alma.edu

Supported by a generous gift from the family of attorney and social activist David B. Kinney, class of 1943, Alma College is pleased to offer a grant of up to $2,500 to support student research related to, in Mr. Kinney’s words, “independent and original study of any items, persons or societal trends relating to the birth or endurance of our precious Bill of Rights.” Proposals which clearly cross-disciplinary boundaries and/or require travel to research sites are strongly encouraged.

For more information, contact Carla Jensen at jensencr@alma.edu

The Posey Global Leadership Fellows Program seeks to cultivate the next generation of global leaders by promoting innovative experiential and research opportunities anywhere in the world.

Contact Derick “Sandy” Hulme with questions at (989) 463-7387.

The Alma Venture Program provides recipients with financial support for applied learning experiences such as Spring Term, research projects, off-campus study, internships and more. Check out some recent experiences and see what the Alma Venture Program can do for you!

For more information, contact Carla Jensen at jensencr@alma.edu

• For first year students only.
• Awarded to students who have a household income of $85,000 or less.
• This is an Alma College-sponsored scholarship program.
• Financial need is met through state, federal, and institutional grants, scholarships, and work programs.
• Students must live or attend high school in Wayne County.
• Students must apply for admission, be accepted and have a cumulative GPA of 3.00.  Students who do not meet the 3.0 GPA requirement are looked at on an individual basis and should work with their admissions representative to learn more.
• Students are required to add Alma College as a school of interest when the FAFSA opens. All forms required by the Alma College Financial Aid Office must be turned in to be considered for the Detroit Future Scholarship.

The Selection Process

The admissions and financial aid team will notify eligible students of their Detroit Futures Scholarship with a personalized award offer which will be mailed home and also emailed to their preferred email address. For more information or questions, contact admissions@alma.edu.

The Detroit Promise offers a tuition-free path to trade, two-year and four-year credentials at 26 Michigan colleges. Many seniors who both live in Detroit and attend any high school in Detroit are already eligible.

The Kalamazoo Promise was announced by Dr. Janice Brown in 2005 with the declaration that students who graduate from the Kalamazoo Public Schools and meet the basic requirements will receive up to 100% of tuition and mandatory fees paid for at any in-state community college or university.

Students who graduate from high school in Michigan with a diploma or certificate of completion or achieved a high school equivalency certificate in 2023 or after will be eligible for more financial aid from the State of Michigan:

• Up to $2,000 if they attend an eligible private training provider in Michigan, per year, up to two years
• Up to $2,750 if they attend a Michigan community college, per year, up to three years
• Up to $5,500 if they attend a Michigan private college or university, per year, up to five years
• Up to $5,500 if they attend a Michigan public university, per year, up to five years

Michigan Competitive Scholarship is no longer available to students who have graduated high school (or its equivalent) in 2023 or greater.

The Michigan Competitive Scholarship (MCS) provides renewable scholarships for undergraduate students attending eligible Michigan postsecondary institutions. Awards are based on both academic merit and financial need. To apply for MCS, a student must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

The MI Future Educator Stipend is a $9,600 stipend to support Michigan’s hardworking student teachers as they continue their journey to being in the classroom full-time. Review the State of Michigan website for full requirements.

The MI Future Educator Fellowship will offer $10,000 scholarship to up to 2,500 future educators every year. Review the State of Michigan website for full requirements.

This includes some of the following places:

• Your local Community Foundation
• Clubs such as Rotary, Lions, and Elks
• Parent(s) Employers
• Church/Place of Worship (local, regional, and national)
• Your High School

• Searches are a yearly process and should start in early November
• Most will have deadlines in February and March especially local sources
• If you miss a deadline this year create a reminder for yourself to apply next year.

Community Foundation Locator
Michigan Scholarship Search
Career One Stop
Scholarships.com
Fast Web

Please review this policy as it explains regulations we must follow in sharing student information with scholarship and tribal organizations.