These scholarships are provided by agencies, foundations, or other providers not affiliated with Grand Valley State University. There are several types of scholarships available based on your major, minor, GPA, hobbies, interest, and more. These scholarships are from local, state or national organizations. The scholarships in this database have been vetted and come from a reliable source.

These scholarships are available all throughout the year. Be sure to continue to log back into the system multiple times throughout the year to see new scholarships that are added or that you have been matched to.

Yes. You must be an admitted student at Grand Valley State University with a network ID and password to apply for scholarships through the myScholarships system. If you are a new student, your network credentials will be emailed to you after acceptance to the university. 

Not all scholarships require a FAFSA or financial need to be eligible, however filing your FAFSA can increase the number of scholarship opportunities you are matched to.

For the 2025-2026 academic year, the FAFSA will be available in December 2024. You can file your FAFSA here: https://studentaid.gov/. Once you file your FAFSA, it will take time for the Department of Education to process your FAFSA and send it to Grand Valley. We will determine your eligibility for any need based scholarships you applied to (scholarships that require you to show financial need through the FAFSA), as well as any that you are currently eligible for once we receive your FAFSA.

There is no specific amount. However, the more questions you answer, the more scholarships you could be matched with now and in the future. If you have new profile questions to answer, you will see a gray bar on your Dashboard that states "You still have outstanding questions that may qualify you for more opportunities! Click here to continue answering more matching questions."

You can also view the questions you have already answered and update them by clicking on the Questions tab from your Dashboard on the left side of your screen.

To be considered for as many scholarships as possible, start your search at least one year in advance. The majority of scholarship deadlines will be between December and March for the upcoming year. Our scholarship timeline (see the Scholarship Application Steps & Timeline above ) includes important dates for GVSU Scholarships. You may consider inputting these dates into your calendar with a yearly repeat, as many of these dates remain the same every year. Start early and stay organized.

You should log in periodically to check and see if there are any new scholarships you have matched to, or if there are new questions to answer to help match you to more opportunities. Scholarships are added throughout the year, so be sure to continue to log in.

After answering the questions, click on the “Scholarships” tab on the left menu to see the list of GVSU scholarships and external scholarships to which you have matched. You can then view the application if one is required or for external scholarships, you will be able to click on the link to be re-directed to that scholarship's website where you can complete the application for that opportunity.

While a resume is not required for all scholarships, you may be asked to upload your resume for some specific scholarship opportunities. If a resume is required, the scholarship committee will be able to view your submitted resume. You can use this resume to further capture your accomplishments, academic achievements, and community involvement. The GVSU Career Center provides an extensive resume guide with examples and offers personalized resume reviews.

• GVSU Career Center
• Main Location: 200 Student Services Building
• Phone: (616) 331-3311
• Email: [email protected]

In many cases, yes. To edit an application, click View Application. You will know if you are able to edit your application if the Edit button is enabled to take action. If the button is disabled, the scholarship has reached a point where it can no longer be edited. If the application requires a document, you cannot edit or change the document once you submit your application. We highly recommend thoroughly reviewing your materials and/or answers before submitting your application.

Yes. You will receive an email once you submit an application for a GVSU scholarship. You can also click the Applications tab to see if your application is Ready to Start, In Progress, or Submitted.

Scholarship types are indicated by symbols to the left of the scholarship name. For internal scholarships (these are GVSU specific opportunities) you will see a building, and for external scholarships you will see a globe. If you have questions, please contact the Scholarships Team at 616.331.3234 or at [email protected]. 

Yes, a link is available in the Scholarship Information section above to view a comprehensive list of all GVSU scholarships.

Scholarships provided by agencies, foundations, or other providers not affiliated with Grand Valley State University.

Grand Valley is providing access to these scholarships as an additional resource to assist in your search for scholarships, but these are external scholarships. If you have questions on scholarship criteria, deadline, etc. please contact the scholarship provider. If you have questions or trouble navigating the system, please contact the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships at [email protected].

Once you match to a scholarship, you will be able to click on each one and be re-directed to that scholarship’s website where you can complete the application for that opportunity.

Be patient. Sometimes it will be months before you know you have been chosen to receive a scholarship. GVSU myScholarships awards are typically made in late spring/early summer prior to the upcoming academic year. If you are awarded a Grand Valley scholarship, you will be contacted via email. You can check the status of your applications anytime in the myScholarships system under the 'Awards' tab.

For external scholarship opportunities, it depends on the agency or company offering the scholarship. For information on the timeline for external scholarships, please view the website where you applied or reach out to that agency or company. 

Always and some scholarships require it! Scholarship donors are generous individuals who give to support the educational endeavors of students like you. Receiving a well written thank you from a student is always special and lets the donor know that their scholarship was greatly appreciated.  We encourage you to take the time to express your gratitude and remind them why students appreciate their gifts! If you are awarded a Grand Valley scholarship that requires a thank you letter you will be able to complete the letter after you accept your award. This can be done under the Action Required section of your dashboard in myScholarships. For scholarships that require a thank you, you must first complete the letter and have it approved before the scholarship will pay on your account. Thank you letters are shared directly with the scholarship donors.

If you are interested in pursuing a fellowship, you can find information on these opportunities at Finding a Fellowship. The Frederik Meijer Office of Fellowships supports student scholars in pursuit of nationally competitive award opportunities through advising services and programming, they are located in 230 Mary Idema Pew Library.

We have updated the myScholarships database! Due to this update, we no longer have a general application for you to complete. You will now answer your profile questions and those, along with information from your FAFSA and from Grand Valley, will help match you to scholarship opportunities.

For any technical difficulties, we recommend you reach out to the myScholarships Support Team by using the Feedback feature in your myScholarships profile. Please be as specific as possible in your request as this makes it easier for the support team to resolve the issue. This team is not Grand Valley staff members, so make sure your issue is technical.

If you are a partial match for a scholarship, you will see this by clicking ‘Scholarships’ then clicking ‘Partial Matches’. If you have a scholarship under this tab, additional questions need to be answered to determine if you are eligible. In some cases, the information from the FAFSA or from Banner will automatically answer questions for you. If you have not yet filed your FAFSA for the upcoming academic year, we encourage you to complete it as soon as possible. Once all questions for a scholarship are answered the scholarship will move to the ‘Matches’ or ‘Non-Matches’ tab.

*Note- the more questions you answer, the more scholarships you could be matched to now and in the future.

If you are a non-match for a scholarship, this means that you did not match any of the requirements of the scholarship criteria. If you have questions about a specific requirement, please email [email protected] .