Presidential Scholars Competition - NMU Admissions

For the Fall 2024 competition, we have two in-person competition dates for students to choose from, all taking place on Sunday/Monday of the competition dates. Along with our in-person competitions, we will be offering other ways for students to experience NMU while they are on campus, such as campus tours and opportunities to talk to other departments.

We are also offering one virtual competition option which will be conducted over Zoom, with the small group competition Sunday evening, and virtual interviews Monday throughout the day. The virtual competition is offered to students who live 500+ miles away from NMU's campus. Please contact your admissions counselor for questions about the competition.

View sample student information packet here. 

Not necessarily. After your registration has been submitted, we will send you another email confirming two things: that you are eligible to compete and to verify which of the competitions you will be competing in. This message will go to the email address you put on your registration form, so please make sure this email address is correct!

You can change your competition date and interview time before the deadline for each competition. For example, for Fall 2024, if you signed up for the November 3 - 3 competition, you have until that competition deadline to change the date (October 21 at 8:00 a.m.) 

Please contact program coordinator, Kate Hooper, if you need to make any changes to your event registration at kannala@nmu.edu or 906-227-2650.

No, you will only compete in one session, but you must complete all the activities in that session to be considered for the scholarships. Choose which session works best for you and your schedule.

All of the times listed on the agendas will be in Eastern Daylight*/Standard Time. Please make note of this detail so you can make the proper travel arrangements to campus.

If you signed up for the virtual competition, please check the chart below to see what time you should log into the events.

*NOTE: Again, the times listed on your agenda are EASTERN STANDARD TIME. Please adjust the time accordingly depending on which time zone you live in so you do not miss the competition. There is no make-up date scheduled.

All students will be awarded points based on their participation in the Small Student Group Session and Student Interview. We will also award points based on a student's cumulative GPA to recognize three years-worth of academic excellence in high school. The points from all three of these components will be added together to make up one competition score.

Participants from all three competition dates will be ranked based on their total competition score. The top 15 incoming freshman and top transfer participants with highest total scores will be awarded the Harden Scholarship.  The 60 next highest scores will be awarded the Waldo Scholarship and the next 140 will be awarded the Kaye-Munson scholarship.

Students who indicate on the competition’s registration form that they want to be considered for one of 10 Leadership Scholarships will be required to submit a short essay detailing one of the activities on their leadership/involvement resume. Facilitators will also be paying close attention to these student's leadership qualities through their performance in the Student Small Group Activity. 

Students are competing for one of 226 scholarships, with awards ranging from $1,000/year to a “full-ride.”

Not at all! The competition is open to students interested in any program or that are undecided, as long as they meet the eligibility requirements.

You will only participate in the competition one time. If you are an incoming transfer student who competed as a high school senior in the past, you are not eligible to compete. If you win a scholarship, the scholarship can be renewed for eight semesters for incoming freshman, six semesters for incoming transfer students, or until a bachelor’s degree has been earned, whichever comes first, as long as you maintain full-time enrollment, a 3.0 cumulative NMU GPA or higher and meet Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy requirements.

Consistent with our admissions policy, we will use whichever GPA is most beneficial for the student. We will consider your highest GPA in determining eligibility for the competition.

Bring yourself and a good attitude!

For the virtual competition, access to Zoom, a camera and microphone on either a PC, tablet or smartphone will be needed to participate in the competition and to participate in the optional activities. If you need to download Zoom, you can do so here: https://zoom.us/. During the student small group session, please also have a scrap piece of paper and a pen or pencil handy.

If you are participating in one of the in-person competitions on campus, a confirmation packet with an agenda and other information will be mailed to you a week before the competition you are registered for. Make sure your mailing address is correct on the registration form to receive this packet. If you do not receive information the week before the competition, please contact the Admissions office at (906) 227-2650.

For our virtual competition, you will receive an email containing Zoom links to all of the required and optional events. This message will go to the email address you put on your registration form, so please make sure this email address is correct! If you do not receive the email with your links on the Thursday before the competition, please contact the Admissions Office at (906) 227-2650.

Make sure you test your Zoom before the competition so that you can check your connection and make sure your device’s camera and microphone are working properly. However, we do understand that device and connectivity issues may still happen. If a technological issue does occur during the competition, immediately contact Kate Hooper, the program coordinator, at kannala@nmu.edu.

Parents should not be attending the Student Small Group Session or Student Interview Sessions, both in-person and virtually. We will have a special Parent Panel for parents of our competitors who will be competition on campus, so parents can ask questions and learn a little bit more about NMU.

Parents can always reach out to the NMU Admissions Office with questions, or you can view your visit options here: https://nmu.edu/admissions/visit

International and Global Campus Students are not eligible to compete in the Presidential Scholars Competition.