Event draws top students to vie for $50,000 Medallion Scholarships
KALAMAZOO--Nearly 800 of the brightest high school seniors from Michigan and around the country will gather at Western Michigan University from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 or 28, for the 29th annual Medallion Scholarship Competition.
The competition is one of the biggest events of its kind in Michigan. Since it began in 1984, some $87 million in four-year scholarships has been offered to more than 15,000 students. Full Medallion Scholarships have been given to 460 students, including 19 last year, amounting to more than $8 million.
This year's competitors will vie for about 20 Medallion Scholarships worth $50,000 each over four years. Medallions are the most prestigious merit-based scholarship WMU awards to incoming freshmen. The 2012 recipients will be attending school beginning in fall.
They will be selected from the competition's top 40 finalists, who will be invited to return to campus in February to interview with the Medallion Selection Committee. The 20 students chosen to receive Medallion Scholarships will become members of WMU's Lee Honors College, which enhances the undergraduate learning experience by providing such benefits as smaller class sizes, individualized academic advising and a freshman-mentoring program.
Finalists not awarded Medallion Scholarships will receive a top-tier Deans' Scholarship worth $6,000 over two years. Each remaining competitor will receive a one-time Dean's Scholarship worth $3,000. In addition, all Dean's Scholarship recipients who live in a WMU residence hall during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years will receive a $4,000 Residence Hall Award to offset their 2013-14 housing costs.
To be invited to compete for a Medallion Scholarship, students needed to have a 3.70 grade point average by the end of their junior year as well as an ACT composite score of 26 or an SAT-combined math and critical reading score of at least 1170. They also had to apply to WMU by Dec. 2.
On competition day, the students' performance will be measured through essay writing and a group problem-solving activity.
Student and parent registration for the event will take place from 8 to 8:45 a.m. in the Bernhard Center and be followed by a welcome program from 9 to 9:30 a.m.
Students will take part in competition activities from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. During that time, their parents will attend informational sessions on financial aid and campus housing and dining services. Parents also may attend a question-and-answer session with current Medallion Scholars that will be facilitated by Dr. Nicholas Andreadis, dean of the Lee Honors College.
From 1 to 2 p.m., students and parents will have lunch and visit the Academic Showcase, where they will be able to meet faculty members from each of WMU's seven academic colleges. Optional tours will be taking place from 1 to 3 p.m.
For more information about the 2012 Medallion Scholarship Competition, visit wmich.edu/medallion or contact Christopher Voss, event coordinator, at @email or (269) 387-2051.