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Scholarship competition attracts top students

Jan. 16, 2009

KALAMAZOO--Nearly 500 of the brightest high school seniors from Michigan and around the country will gather at Western Michigan University from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009, for the 26th annual Medallion Scholarship Competition.

The competition is one of the biggest events of its kind in Michigan. Since it began in 1984, about $87 million in four-year scholarships has been offered to more than 14,000 students. Medallion Scholarships alone have been given to 405 students, including 18 students in 2008, amounting to nearly $8 million.

This year, each competitor will receive a one-time Dean's Scholarship worth $3,000 and be able to compete for Medallion Scholarships worth $40,000 over four years. The awards will be offered by March 1 and are for students planning to attend WMU this coming fall.

Only the top of this year's high school graduating classes is invited to attend the Medallion Scholarship Competition. To be invited, students needed to have a 3.70 grade point average by the end of their junior year, have an ACT composite score of 26 or an SAT mathematics and verbal score of 1170, and had to apply to WMU by Dec. 5, 2008.

On competition day, participating students will be evaluated through essay writing and a group problem-solving activity. The top 35 competitors will be invited back to campus in February to interview for the Medallion Scholarships. A committee will then select the 2009 scholarship recipients based on their competition and interview performances.

Student and parent registration for Medallion Scholarship Competition will take place from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. in the first floor lobby of the Bernhard Center.

At 9:15 a.m., parents will gather in the center's East Ballroom for welcoming remarks by WMU President John M. Dunn. Simultaneously, the competitors will be welcomed in the center's West Suites by Carolyn Smith, assistant director of admissions and competition coordinator.

In addition to the essay writing and group problem-solving activities, students participating in the competition will attend an Academic Showcase featuring faculty members from a wide variety of University departments. They also will attend a panel discussion composed of current Medallion Scholarship recipients and representatives of the Lee Honors College.

The parent agenda will include a panel discussion with current scholarship recipients as well as informational sessions on financial aid, housing and dining services, study abroad, and parent and family programs.

Much of the Medallion Scholarship Competition will take place in the Bernhard Center, but various activities also will be held in Wood Hall, the Fetzer Center and Schneider Hall.

For more competition information, visit wmich.edu/medallion or contact Carolyn Smith at Carolyn.smith@wmich.edu or (269) 387-2019.

Media contact: Jeanne Baron, (269) 387-8400, jeanne.baron@wmich.edu

WMU News
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Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA
(269) 387-8400
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