Merit Award

The Merit Award is automatically granted to graduating high school seniors who meet the GPA requirements listed below.

Merit Award Grid 2025-2026

GPA Resident WUE Nonresident
3.00-3.599 $1,000 $1,000 $5,000
3.60-3.749 $2,000 $2,000 $8,000
3.75-3.949 $3,000 $3,000 $10,000
3.95+ $5,000 $5,000 $12,000

Merit Award Grid 2026-2027 Resident and WUE

GPA Award Amount
2.75 – 3.10 $1,000
3.11 – 3.40 $1,500
3.41 – 3.75 $2,000
3.75+ $4,000

Merit Award Grid 2026-2027 Nonresident

GPA Amount
3.00 – 3.59 $5,000
3.60 – 3.74 $8,500
3.75 – 3.94 $10,000
3.94+ $12,000

This scholarship is intended for incoming freshmen working on their first undergraduate degree who have excelled academically at the high school level and who will begin enrollment at WOU in the fall term. The scholarship expectations are that the student is attending full-time for the year, 12 credits per term at WOU for the academic year (fall, winter & spring terms) as they must complete 36 credits by the end of spring term with a 3.0 WOU cumulative GPA to continue with the award.

Western Oregon University recognizes that standardized test scores do not always reflect academic potential and can cause students to lose scholarship opportunities. It is for this reason that WOU has created a merit award based solely on unweighted GPAs. Be sure to send updated transcripts to the Admissions Office if your GPA increases throughout the year in high school.

Renewal period: 3 years*

*Students must meet renewal requirements to keep their scholarship over the four year period. If a student takes 9-11 credits per term, they may retain the funds for the term but may risk renewal if not completing 36 credits for the academic year. If a student is enrolled in 8 or less credits for the term, they lose the term of funding and may risk renewal of the scholarship. WOU students enrolled in the Degree Partnership Program (DPP) must be enrolled in at least 9 credits at WOU per term to be eligible and their non-WOU DPP credits do not count towards the 36 annual credit requirements for renewal.

Example of meeting the renewal requirements with WOU credits each term:

Fall Term Winter Term Spring Term Total Annual Credits in Academic Year
12 credits 12 credits 12 credits 36 credits

Example of NOT MEETING the renewal requirements with WOU credits each term:

Fall Term Winter Term Spring Term Total Annual Credits in Academic Year
9 credits 12 credits 12 credits 33 credits