The UTulsa Presidential Scholarship is a generous academic merit award given by The University of Tulsa. This award for top academic students is based on several factors, including exceptional performance in a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum, genuine interest in UTulsa, active co-curricular involvement, and big dreams for the future. We want you to bring your A-game to Tulsa! Doing so allows us to use these “A” factors in the application and selection process:
- Academic achievements
- Affinity for UTulsa
- Activities and accomplishments
- Aspirations and ambitions
The Presidential Scholarship Program is first and foremost an academic award. Through the Presidential Scholarship selection process among a highly competitive applicant pool, the committee seeks to find academically stellar students of diverse backgrounds and cultures and with varied interests who are engaged in their communities and will make a positive difference during their time at UTulsa and beyond.
Presidential Scholars think deeply, are engaged fully, are willing to pursue what matters to them in an above and beyond way, and understand the commitment to the university’s core values: excellence in scholarship, dedication to free inquiry, integrity of character, and commitment to humanity.
Award Amount
The Presidential Scholarship covers full tuition (excluding summers) for five years or until an undergraduate degree is earned. Students must maintain a minimum of 15 hours of coursework per semester.
Virtual Information Sessions
The University of Tulsa Office of Admission will host two virtual information sessions each fall to review Presidential Scholarship eligibility and application requirements.
- Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025: Register Online to Attend
- Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025: Register Online to Attend
Eligibility Requirements
To be considered for the Presidential Scholarship, applicants must have a superscore of 28 or higher on the ACT* or 1300 or higher on the SAT and meet one or more of the following eligibility requirements:
- College Board Recognition Program scholars who rank in the top 10% of their graduating class (College Board awards honors to high-performing, underrepresented students. Learn more.)
- Rank in the top 5% of their graduating class
- Have at least a 4.0 weighted grade point average
*If submitting an ACT score, we will accept scores from both the original and redesigned versions of the ACT.
Application Requirements
To be considered for the Presidential Scholarship, interested applicants must complete the following by February 1:
- Submit an application for admission to The University of Tulsa by February 1. (Or, for those offered Direct Admission, submit the on-boarding form by February 1 that was emailed to you with your offer.)
- Have your school submit an official transcript to The University of Tulsa by February 1.
- Submit an official ACT or SAT test score by February 1.
- Submit the Presidential Scholarship Application including the required one-page resume and short answers by February 1.
- Visit UTulsa’s campus via a Daily Visit, Tulsa Time or other Office of Admission in-person official visit program.
Optional Application Materials
To be considered for the Presidential Scholarship, we strongly suggest applicants also do the following by February 1:
- Meet with your UTulsa Admission Counselor. (Find your counselor, then click “Meet with Me” to schedule a meeting.)
- Include a link to a 45-second video with your Presidential Scholarship Application.
- Showcase your unique personality, talents, and abilities.
- Show us why you want to attend UTulsa and how you will fit into our close-knit community of scholars. Share how your personality and experience will contribute to our student body. Illustrate how you will make a positive difference during your time at UTulsa and beyond.
- Remember the details:
- Start the video with your name, hometown and state.
- Choose the message you want to say and how you want to convey it.
- Adhere to basic YouTube guidelines.
- Use your phone. No high-tech equipment needed as videos won’t be evaluated for production quality.
- Stick to the 45-second time limit.
- Save the file on YouTube, Google Drive, Dropbox or any other shared file storage platform and share a link to the video in the space provided on your Presidential Scholarship Application.
Presidential Scholarship FAQs
Yes, transfer students can apply for the Presidential Scholarship. To be considered, applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements.
- Must have at least a 3.7 college GPA
- Applicants who have fewer than 30 college credit hours must have a superscore of 28 or higher on the ACT or 1300 or higher on the SAT. There is no test score requirement for applicants who have more than 30 college credit hours.
- Must be applying for admission for a fall term (spring transfer students are not eligible)
This is a very competitive academic scholarship and the number of scholarships awarded changes yearly. Typically, about 10% of qualified applicants receive the award.
Watch one of the two Presidential Scholarship Information Sessions for more information about the following:
- Required one-page resume
- Visiting TU in person
- 45-second optional video
- Admission Counselor meeting
Information Sessions
- Presidential Scholarship Virtual Info Session – Nov. 10, 2022 –WATCH RECORDING
- Presidential Scholarship Virtual Info Session – Dec. 8, 2022 – WATCH RECORDING
Scholarship recipients must maintain 15 hours of coursework per semester. Presidential Scholars will participate in Leadership TU, an education and development program to assist current and emerging leaders understand the role leadership plays in long-term success. Additionally, they are expected to attend university-sponsored special events and functions. Recipients will receive a Letter of Agreement outlining more details of these expectations.
No. You are encouraged to apply to any of the TU special programs of interest to you but know that the Presidential Scholarship committee will not have access to your responses submitted for any other TU special program. The review committee for TU’s Presidential Scholarship is separate from the committees for each of TU’s Special Programs. In addition, each program may be looking for different types of students.
Your admission counselor is here to help with any questions you have. While the counselors will be cheering you on and supporting you throughout the process, they are not involved in the final selection. When you have a one-on-one counselor meeting (Talk with Tulsa or Next Steps Meeting), there will be time to discuss the process and answer your questions. Not sure who your counselor is? Find your admission counselor and then click on the “Meet with Me” button to register for a time to meet.
Yes! Provided you’ve had an official, in-person visit through TU’s Office of Admission (daily visit or campus visit program such as TU Up Close or Tulsa Time), this satisfies the visit requirement.
The Presidential Scholarship Program is first and foremost an academic award. The Presidential Scholarship application is an opportunity for us to learn about your accomplishments, aspirations, and interest in TU in particular. You should “bring your ‘A’ game” when preparing your application to share with us your Academic Achievements, Affinity for TU, Activities and Accomplishments, Aspirations and Ambitions as it’s through these categories that we’ll evaluate candidates and make final selections.
All Presidential Scholarship applicants (recipients and non-recipients) will be notified no later than April 1. Students who are awarded the Presidential Scholarship must notify the Office of Admission of their enrollment plans by May 1 to accept the scholarship.
While it’s possible that a student who is awarded the Presidential Scholarship may not accept it, we make accommodations for this possibility in our awarding process and, therefore, we do not create a waitlist for this award. When a Presidential Scholar declines our offer, we’ve accounted for those funds in this situation and they’re not “leftover” to redistribute to other candidates.