Full Ride Scholarships: What They Are and How They Work

With the average cost of college reaching $34,740 in the 2017-18 school year, students and parents are looking for ways to reduce the cost of higher education. While most scholarships and grants can chip away at the total cost, there’s usually some left to be covered – unless you’ve earned a full ride scholarship. Full ride scholarships cover the cost of tuition and more, removing the difficulty from paying for an education. These scholarships are available to all types of students, too, and there are plenty of full ride opportunities available.

The term “full ride scholarship” gets tossed around a lot, but many people don’t know what it entails. To help clear things up, we’ve addressed some common questions students and parents have about full ride scholarships below.

A full ride scholarship is an award that covers all expenses related with college. This includes tuition, books, fees, room and board, and possibly even living costs. The goal is to remove any need for additional financial aid.

Anyone can be eligible for a full ride scholarship, depending on their background, skills and expertise. Most students earn full ride scholarships because of their academic history, athletic prowess, leadership or merit. But other types of these scholarships can be offered by schools for different reasons, and they can be offered by the school, state or federal government or by private organizations.

Not all schools offer full ride scholarships, but many do. Also, because some full ride scholarships come from different areas, students could end up studying at any institution without having to worry about the cost of education.

Full tuition scholarships usually only cover the cost of education, which includes tuition, book fees and other education fees. However, these scholarships likely don’t offer help with room and board, living costs or travel costs.

Yes, even if they’re transferring from a community or two-year college. Each school will have their own process for transfer students having the chance to land a full ride scholarship, so it’s best to check in with your school of choice.

Less than 1 percent of students get full ride scholarships, showing just how difficult it is to earn one. However, with the right background, proper planning and by knowing where to look, your chances of landing a full ride scholarship can increase.

Finding a full ride scholarship without any help can be difficult. Fortunately, there are experts who have plenty of experience connecting students to the right scholarship opportunities. Here are some tips from Veronica Schofield, an academic success coach:

We’ve covered what full ride scholarships are and how to find them. To let you know what some of the full ride scholarships available are, here are some specific examples.

Merit can mean different things, but generally a merit-based full ride scholarship requires excellence in academics, leadership or service. Some schools recognize merit by offering full ride and full tuition scholarships.

Available to students with exceptional academic credentials, most of the Trustee Scholarship recipients have a perfect 4.0 GPA in high school. Students who earn this scholarship also demonstrate creativity, experience and achievement. This scholarship is offered to about 20 students each year and is renewable for four years.

Deadline: Early December

Available to all incoming freshmen, the trustee scholarship is offered to ten students over four years. Included in the scholarship is full tuition and room and board. This scholarship is awarded based off academic scholarship.

Deadline: Early February

Along with being offered a full tuition scholarship, Chancellor’s Scholars are invited to special retreats, luncheons and dinners, social activities and more. There are no minimum requirements, but students who earn this scholarship generally have SAT and ACT scores of 2150 and 33, respectively.

Deadline: Early December

Named after the founder of the school, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship offers full tuition as well as a one-summer stipend for immersion, such as studying abroad. This is awarded to students who show a combination of academic and leadership achievement.

Deadline: Early December

The Nancy Susan Reynolds Scholarship covers tuition and room and board, as well as offering $3,400 annually for personal expenses. This award is offered to students that take the hardest courses available and have among the best GPA and/or test scores in the nation. Each year, up to five recipients are selected.

Deadline: Mid-November

The John B. Ervin Scholars Program combines intellectual, leadership and service achievement with Washington University’s commitment to diversity. This scholarship offers full-tuition as well as a $2,500 stipend, and it is renewable each year.

Deadline: Early January

With the rising costs of college, financial need-based full ride scholarships are becoming more common. Some schools, like Harvard and Yale, even offer full ride scholarships to all students from low income households. For other schools, here are some financial need-based full ride scholarships:

Focused primarily toward Hispanic/Latina women who demonstrate significant financial need, the Goizueta Foundation Scholarship has a four-year value of $208,000 – more than enough to cover tuition, room and board. Preference is also given to students that show academic and/or leadership achievement.

Deadline: Mid-January

Covering everything from tuition to personal expenses, the Charles Scholarship is awarded to up to three students each year. These are available to academically excellent graduates of Chicago public schools who demonstrate significant financial need.

Deadline: Early January

Covering up to the cost of tuition, the Soka Opportunity Scholarship covers any additional costs of education after other grants and scholarships are taken into consideration. This scholarship is for students whose families make less than $60,000 per year and have never gone to college.

Deadline: Late March

Awarded to students that have overcome adversity to succeed, the George W. Jenkins Scholarship places an emphasis on financial need. The scholarship covers tuition, room and board, health insurance, a meal plan and a laptop stipend, as well as the potential for additional stipends for books, transportation and personal expenses.

Deadline: Early December

Students that have shown academic excellence and strong character are considered ideal candidates for the Alan and Jane Handler Endowed Scholarship. Given to students with financial need, this scholarship covers all costs of college, down to travel and personal expenses.

Deadline: Early December

Full ride scholarships are available privately as well. These scholarships often require students to study in a specific state or specific school and may require students to study in a specific field.

Students who want to study in computer science, education, engineering, math, public science or health are eligible for the Gates Millennium Scholars Program. A 3.3 minimum GPA is required, and applicants must be diverse. This award covers all costs of tuition, including graduate school.

Deadline: Late November

Students that plan to attend a public university in Arizona are eligible for the Flinn Scholarship. The program covers tuition and room and board, as well as any study abroad experiences students are interested in. Students must be Arizona residents – beyond that, all students are welcome to apply.

Deadline: Late October

While the award varies from student to student, the goal of the College Scholarship Program is to cover most or all the cost of education. Applicants must have a 3.5 GPA or higher, and family income must be lower than $95,000.

Deadline: Late October

The Smart Start Program gives New York City high school seniors a full ride scholarship to school, along with a paid internship at JP Morgan. Applicants must be from New York City, and they should have an interest in a career at a financial services firm.

Deadline: Mid-January

There are multiple awards offered through the Regeneron Science Talent Search, and the top award is $250,000 – more than enough to cover education. Applicants must compete in the Regeneron Science Talent Search to be eligible.

Deadline: Varies

A scholarship may be described as “full ride,” but that doesn’t always mean that every expense will be covered. Here are other costs you should consider even if you get a full ride scholarship:

Students don’t need to rely on a full ride scholarship to be able to afford a college education. There are other ways students pay for college, all of which can be easier than depending on the chance of a full ride. Here are some alternative ways students afford college: