President's Scholarship

The President’s Scholarship recognizes first-year students of exceptional academic ability with strong evidence of leadership potential. Eleven scholarships are awarded for amounts ranging from $22,500 up to full tuition.

To qualify for this scholarship, students must have a 3.5 or higher GPA in their core courses OR a 27 or greater ACT composite (or a combined SAT score of 1210 or greater). The scholarship is renewable for four years, based on academic performance. Award decisions are based on academic criteria, letters of academic recommendation, leadership activities, academic essays, and an on-campus interview. To receive this award, qualified students are required to live on campus and to participate in Augsburg’s Honors Program.

Applicants are encouraged to apply for additional scholarships for which they qualify, but if a Presidents Scholarship is awarded, the applicant cannot receive any other Augsburg scholarship.

Amount: From $22,500 up to full tuition per year, up to four years

*The application for the 2013-2014 President’s Scholarship competition will be posted in September.  Please save the date for Scholarship Weekend 2014: Friday, February 28 & Saturday, March 1st.

 Below is an example of what the Honors Council required of applicants for the 2012-2013 President’s Scholarship cycle.  Please know that the application materials do vary from year to year.  Students interested in applying for the President’s Scholarship in 2013-2014 should return for the new prompts in September, 2013.

This is the application for the President’s Scholarship and Honors Program at Augsburg College.  We look forward to reviewing your application.  First you will see the application checklist which will let you know the different components that are required for the application.  Please note that the application begins with your general information in the box below.  Once you begin the online application process, you will not be able to log in at a later date to retrieve  materials.  In order to complete the online application you will need to have all of the application materials listed below (see application checklist) prepared in advance to submit.  The following application materials can be submitted to Augsburg Admissions via e-mail scholarshipdocs@augsburg.edu: essay, activities summary and letters of recommendation.

Application Checklist:

In order to compete for a President’s Scholarship and a place in the Honors Program, you must complete the application below and have letters of recommendation submitted. The Honors Council will review all completed applications and determine which students will be invited to participate in Scholarship Weekend. There are six components to this application.

• General Information
• Official Copy of Your High School Transcript
• Academic Honesty Policy
• Scholarship Essay
• Non-Athletic Activities Summary
• Three Academic Letters of Recommendation and Comparison Grids

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SCHOLARSHIP SECTION DETAILS

GENERAL INFORMATION

The first part of the application form provides us with basic information about you and allows us to link your scholarship application with your Augsburg College application.

OFFICIAL HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT

If you have submitted an official high school transcript as part of your Augsburg College application, this will automatically be submitted as part of the scholarship application.

ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY

You will be asked to read and agree to the Academic Honesty Policy as part of the online application.

SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY

Write a 900-word essay in which you summarize and respond to the argument made by Cass Sunstein in the excerpt included below. You should feel free to support, challenge or qualify Sunstein’s assertions. Your essay should be typed and double-spaced in a 12-point font. Use specific words from the quotation to support your interpretation. Outside research is encouraged but not required.

This essay should showcase your ability to form an argument by justifying your conclusions with evidence and reasoning. It should also demonstrate your ability to comprehend the argument, write well, organize clearly, and edit precisely. This is an expository essay, so it should include an introduction, clear main points, and a concise conclusion.

Carefully read and respond to the following essay by Cass R. Sunstein, former White House official and Professor of Law at Harvard University, for Bloomberg News.

“In 2002, New York University political scientist Russell Hardin … contended that many extremists, including terrorists, are not stupid, insane or badly educated. The real problem is that their information comes from a sharply limited set of sources, all of which are supportive of their extremist beliefs. Many extremists listen only to one another. They live in self-reinforcing information cocoons … that can lead to utterly baseless, but firmly held, convictions (and sometimes even violence).

“Most Democrats and most Republicans are not extremists. But Hardin’s argument offers lessons about 21st-century political campaigns in the U.S.—and about some of the most serious difficulties in contemporary governance. How do you know what you know? You undoubtedly have firsthand knowledge about many things, including your job, your family and your possessions. But how do you know whether George Washington or James Madison really lived, whether matter consists of atoms, whether Bob Dylan wrote “Like a Rolling Stone,” whether Mars and Venus exist, or whether Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon?

“With respect to innumerable issues, including political ones, most of what we know is what we learn from other people. By itself, that is inevitable and nothing to lament. But here is the problem. When we listen mostly to people who already agree with us, our pre-existing convictions get fortified, and we start to think that those who disagree with us are evil, dumb or duped. Is it any wonder that our politics are highly polarized, so much so that it sometimes seems as if Democrats and Republicans don’t merely disagree but live in unfathomably different universes?”

Please save your essay in a Word document and upload it with your online application.

NON-ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES SUMMARY

List your non-athletic activities, roles, leadership positions, accomplishments, and awards in the format described below. List those experiences that best convey your talents, interests, achievements, personality, and passions. Although the Augsburg College Honors Program has many student athletes and encourages student athletes to apply, NCAA Division III rules prohibit considering athletic activities, awards, or leadership roles when awarding scholarships or selecting students for academic merit.

Starting with your most significant activity, include the following information about each:

• Activity name and dates active (General dates, such as “fall” or “summer” are normally acceptable, e.g.: fall 2010).
• One sentence explanation of your participation
• Roles or leadership positions held—if you held more than one role in an activity, list those roles from most recent to least recent, and include the corresponding date
• Awards or other recognition of accomplishment, if any

ACADEMIC LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

The recommendations for the President’s Scholarship at Augsburg College has two parts: a comparison grid and a letter (Download PDF form) which can be e-mailed to scholarshipdocs@augsburg.edu. Those providing recommendations should complete the online form below with applicant information and a comparison grid. Then attach a letter of recommendation in Word format describing how this applicant compares to other graduating high school students. Augsburg’s President’s Scholarship and Honors Program are highly competitive. Please provide a frank appraisal of the applicant’s abilities. Include examples to illustrate the student’s major strengths or areas for improvement. If the student is pursuing the priority deadline, the letters and comparison grids must be received by the Admissions Office no later than January 18, 2013.

After you have completed the online form and uploaded your electronic letter file, you will receive a confirmation that your information has been received. If you were provided a student code in the request email, please provide that at the beginning of the online form so we can match up the recommendation with the application quicker. The confirmation code is not required.

Please contact us with any questions you have about submitting your recommendations and grids.

Office of Admissions
612-330-1001
800-788-5678
admissions@augsburg.edu