Founders Scholarship
Evangel University provides full- and half-tuition academic scholarships to first-time students who have consistently demonstrated their commitment to Christ and to high academic achievement. These awards, known as the Founders Scholarship, are the highest academic scholarships offered by EU.
2012 Founders Winners
Evangel has announced the recipients of the 2012 Founders Scholarships, the highest academic scholarships that the University awards. Two incoming freshmen will receive full-tuition scholarships, and 10 incoming freshmen will receive half-tuition scholarships. Read more.
Evangel invites students with a minimum grade point average of 3.8 (on a 4.0 scale) and an ACT composite score of 30 or above, or an SAT Critical Reading and Math score of 1330 or above, to apply for the prestigious Founders Scholarship. Competition for these scholarships is fierce, so be sure to read the requirements and standards below.
The Application Process
- Scholarship Eligibility and Details
Eligibility - Plan to be a full-time, first-time student (12 credits/semester or more) in the traditional undergraduate program at Evangel and live on campus.
- A minimum 3.8 cumulative high school grade point average on a 4.0 scale.
- An ACT composite score of 30 or above, or an SAT Critical Reading and Math score of 1330 or above.
- Demonstrated church, school or community-related involvement.
- Demonstrated a strong Christian character.
- U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents.
Scholarship Requirements - Scholarship is renewable provided that the student maintains a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.6 on a 4.0 scale. Progress is reviewed at the end of each academic year, and eligibility is determined by the cumulative grade point average.
- Applies to the first 150 total undergraduate credit hours earned at Evangel (including courses taken in a summer term) or a completed baccalaureate degree, whichever comes first.
- Founders Scholarships are institutional aid and therefore not available for use in off-campus study opportunities. The transfer of institutional aid to another semester is not allowed unless a written appeal is approved by the Board of Administration.
- Students must maintain full-time status to continue to be eligible for the scholarship.
- Beginning with the fall 2012 semester, all new recipients of a Founders Scholarship will be required to live on campus to maintain eligibility.
Other Details - There are generally two full-tuition and 10 half-tuition Founders Scholarships awarded each year to incoming freshmen.
- Available only to incoming freshmen. Transfer students are not eligible.
- There can be a delay between high school and college of one year only for purposes such as a short-term mission trip, Master’s Commission, or study-abroad opportunities. Scholarship deferral is not allowed. Application for the scholarship must be made for the fall semester in which they intend to enroll at Evangel.
- A student who is awarded a Founders Scholarship is eligible for any scholarship offered by Evangel University for which he or she may qualify, excluding only the Freshmen Merit and Zimmerman Grant.
- Homeschooled students are welcome to apply. Choose instructors or coaches from sports, music or other organized activities as references.
- If you have questions about the Founders Scholarship, please contact your admissions counselor.
- Evangel University reserves the right to change scholarship eligibility and continuation requirements and other details without advance notice should conditions so warrant.
- Important Dates
- January 13, 2013 – acceptance to Evangel University on or before this date
- January 13, 2013 – complete online Founders Scholarship application on or before this date
- January 13, 2013 – academic reference letters mailed to Evangel University, postmarked no later than this date
- January 16, 2013 – finalists will be invited to interview for one of the 12 scholarships
- January 27, 2013 – finalists must accept or decline invitation to interview on or before this date. If a finalist accepts the invitation to interview, he/she must be on campus for the duration of the interviews.
- February 14, 2013 – special, personalized Campus Visit Day for Founders Scholarship finalists (optional, but recommended if you have not visited the campus)
- February 15, 2013 – Interview Day
- February 27, 2013 – award notifications will be made
- Steps to Apply
- Application for this scholarship will open November 1. We will provide you with application details at that time.
The Campus Visit
- Personalized Campus Visit
Wednesday night – Thursday, February 13 & 14
Optional, but recommended if you have not visited the campus.
Candidates are invited to stay overnight with student hosts on Wednesday (2/13), and start their campus visit the morning of Thursday (2/14). A Thursday overnight stay on campus is not scheduled so that the candidate can prepare for the Interview Day on Friday (2/15).
- Complete the RSVP form that you will receive once you have been invited to interview for the scholarship.
- Families are welcome to attend Thursday visit options with scholarship candidates.
- Visit options:
- Tour the campus
- Meet with your admissions counselor
- Meet with your financial aid counselor
- Share in a dynamic Chapel service
- Attend a class
- Visit with a professor
- Eat in the dining hall (complimentary; which meal[s] will depend on when you arrive for your visit)
- Participate in campus events
- Audition for a music scholarship
- Candidate Reception
Thursday evening, February 14
- Dinner and social time on campus for candidates. Connect with current Founders Scholars and hear about their Interview Day experiences and what it’s like to be a part of Evangel. Get to know your fellow candidates too!
- This event is optional but highly recommended to help calm any pre-interview nerves and just have fun!
- Approximately 6 – 8:30 p.m.; exact time and location to be determined.
- Founders Interview Day
Friday, February 15
The interviews are intended to give information to the Scholarship Awards Committee beyond what is possible on the application. Both individual and group formats are used to interview the finalists. Finalists must be on campus for the duration of the interviews. There will also be activities to help the candidate become better acquainted with Evangel University.
Number of candidates
- Between 30 and 40 students have been invited each year to interview for a Founders Scholarship. This number is subject to change.
Interviews
- Group interviews are about 30 minutes; the individual interview is 15-20 minutes.
- The final schedule will be distributed upon arrival at Evangel. Students will be free to leave once they have concluded their interviews. The earliest anyone should anticipate finishing is 1:30 p.m., and the latest is 4:30 p.m.
Dress
- Dress appropriately, presenting yourself at your very best. The Thursday evening reception is casual. For Friday, suits are recommended, but not required.
Committee Members
- The Founders Scholarship committee is comprised of one faculty member from each of our 10 academic departments and one administrator, the vice president for enrollment management. The 2013 committee has not yet been determined.
Activities/Events for family members or events they can also attend:
- Friday morning
- Orientation and complimentary breakfast
- EU Chorale performance
- Campus chapel service
- Faculty, Staff and Student Panel Discussion for Parents
- Friday Noon
- Special luncheon for Parents
- Selection Process
- The selection process is assigned to the Scholarship Awards Committee. After its review of all applications, the committee will select finalists to be given interviews.
- The finalists are required to let the Office of Enrollment Management know if they accept the invitation to interview for a scholarship.
- All invited finalists must be prepared to be on campus for the duration of the interview process.
- Founders Scholarships will be awarded based on both the committee’s evaluation of the application material and the interviews.
- Notification to the recipients will be made via email correspondence approximately two weeks after the Interview Day. All finalists not selected for a Founders Scholarship will be awarded a Freshmen Merit Scholarship.
- The selected recipients are asked to accept or decline the scholarship. Declined scholarships will then be offered to alternate finalists.
- Sample Interview Questions
- What do you feel are your greatest strengths, and how do you see yourself using these strengths uniquely to reflect the mission and purpose of Evangel?
- Why do you believe, as a student who will represent Evangel on an ongoing basis, we should choose you to receive the Founders Scholarship?
- List three words that best describe you.
- What are your strongest leadership qualities?
- What are some areas in your life where you would like to improve?
- What qualities do you look for in a friend?
- Who has impacted you the most during high school and in what way?
- What do you feel God has called you to do?
- What’s your greatest passion in life?
- If you could do anything or have any job, what would it be and why?
- How do you see yourself making an impact on Evangel’s campus?
- What is your favorite book and why?
- What current events most intrigue you and why?
- What activity that you’ve been involved in best describes who you are? Why?
- What opportunities/activities do you plan to be involved in as an Evangel student?
