Wake Forest offers merit-based scholarships to fewer than 3% of first-year applicants. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions selects all merit-based scholarship recipients. Please contact scholarships@nullwfu.edu for inquiries about merit-based scholarships.
Most scholarships (including full-cost scholarships) do not require a separate merit-based scholarship application. Instead, students need only submit a complete application for undergraduate admissions by November 15. Finalists for scholarships that require more comprehensive interviews or auditions will be notified by the end of March.
Though criteria differ slightly, all scholarship programs recognize extraordinary achievement, leadership, and talent. Recipients embody those qualities that have led their predecessors since 1986 to thirteen Rhodes Scholarships, three Marshall Scholarships, twelve Truman Scholarships, over ninety Fulbright Scholars, and other honors including Gates, Goldwater, Beinecke, and Luce. Previous graduates of merit-based scholarship programs are profiled by the Wake Forest Scholars Program.
Some merit-based scholarships also require financial need. A family can estimate financial need by using the Net Price Calculator. Applicants who believe they might qualify for need-based aid should apply by January 1.
The Presidential Scholarship for Distinguished Achievement in a talent area, requires a separate application by November 15. Applications received later will be considered as talent areas allow. The William Louis Poteat Scholarship for North Carolinians active in the Baptist church, requires a recommendation from a member of the applicant’s church. US Army ROTC Scholarships are available to qualified applicants.
Available Merit Based Scholarships
Major Scholarship Opportunities:
- Guy T. Carswell Scholarships
- Joseph G. Gordon Scholarships
- Graylyn Scholarship
- Nancy Susan Reynolds Scholarships
- Stamps Scholarship
- Leadership and Character Scholars
Scholarships Requiring an Additional Application or Material:
- Lelia and David Farr Scholarship (in Entrepreneurship)
- Inmar Technology Scholarships (in Computer Science)
- Randall D. Ledford Scholarships (in Physics)
- William Louis Poteat Scholarships
- Presidential Scholarships for Distinguished Achievement
Additional Scholarship Opportunities:
- Army ROTC Scholarships
- Egbert L. Davis, Jr. Scholarships
- First Citizens South Carolina Scholarships
- George E. and Lila C. Bradford Scholarships
- Heritage Scholarships
- Holding Scholarship
- Junius C. and Eliza P. Brown Scholarships
- Leroy and Teresa Robinson Scholarships
- Marcus C. Miller Scholarship
- O. W. Wilson Scholarship
- Robert P. and Dorothy Caldwell Scholarships
- Scholarship opportunities for returning students
- The Summer Grant Program
- University Scholarship Programs
- University Scholarships and Loans
- Additional Scholarship Programs