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Searching for Scholarships

Scholarships & Grants

Financial aid breaks down into two main categories: aid that does not need to be repaid (gift aid) and aid that must be repaid (loans). While many students use loans to round out their financial aid package, investing some time researching gift aid options could help lighten your debt load.

The Scholarship Search Process

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) determines your eligibility for many federal, state, institutional and private scholarships and grants. So even if you think your income is too high, it's always best to apply.

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Hundreds of MSU Scholarships, All In One Place

There are scholarship opportunities all over campus, for a wide range of students. The MSU Scholarships Database helps match students with the scholarships for which they qualify, with just one application. As soon as you have your MSU Student ID number, you can visit scholarships.msu.edu to log in and sign up!

MSU Scholarships

Scholarship disbursement policy

If you bring one or more private scholarships with you to MSU, you should be aware of our scholarship policy:

  • If the donor specifies what semester(s) the award is for, MSU will follow their wishes.
  • If the student wants the award distributed in a way that differs from what the donor requests, the student will be asked to get an authorization letter from the donor.
  • If the donor letter does not specify a distribution schedule, MSU will pay awards of $300 or less all in the fall semester. Awards larger than $300 will be split with half in the fall and half in the spring.
  • If the award has been split and the donor has not given us instructions, the student may request the entire award be moved to the fall semester and we will honor that request. However, the student is then cautioned that he or she may be short of funds for the spring semester.