Entering Freshman Scholarships FAQ
Q1:
I am an Entering Freshman and would like to apply for scholarships at UT Austin. How do I begin the process?
Q2:
How do I apply for departmental or college-specific scholarships?
Q3:
Am I required to be admitted to UT Austin before I can access the ApplyTexas Scholarship Application?
Q4:
Am I required to fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) if I want to apply for scholarships at UT Austin?
Q5:
Can I apply for scholarships for the Summer sessions?
Q6:
Is there a deadline to submit recommendation letters and any documentary materials?
Q7:
What if my test scores arrive at UT Austin after the December 1 application deadline?
Q8:
I did not take the SAT but I did take the ACT. Can I still apply and be considered for scholarships?
Q9:
If I can still access the ApplyTexas Scholarship Application after December 1, does that mean I can still submit it?
Q10:
I submitted my ApplyTexas Scholarship Application. How can I check its status?
Q11:
How can I update information on my ApplyTexas Scholarship Application after it has been submitted or after the deadline has passed?
Q12:
I am an international student. Can I apply for scholarships using the ApplyTexas Scholarship Application?
Q13:
I am a non-resident student. Can I apply for scholarships and will I be given equal consideration as Texas residents?
Q14:
Questions 29-32 of the ApplyTexas Scholarship Application ask for Parent Total Annual Income. Is this before or after taxes?
Q15:
Question 17 of the ApplyTexas Scholarship Application asks me to list AP/IB High School Coursework. Can I include Pre-AP and/or Honors coursework?
Q16:
How do I report my AP honors course credit when I only receive half a credit?
Q17:
The instructions say that any information I enter into the ApplyTexas Admission Application will get transferred automatically into the ApplyTexas Scholarship Application. What information gets transferred?
A:
First, you must begin an ApplyTexas Freshman Admission
Application. We strongly recommend that you complete at least the first six pages
of this application. Even though you'll be able to start your ApplyTexas Scholarship Application after completing and saving only
the first three pages, completing the first SIX pages is preferable. It will keep you
from having to retype data unnecessarily. Remember that once you start your scholarship
application, the two applications will cease to be linked. You will then have to enter
any new data in two places.
You can begin a scholarship application by logging in to your profile page, selecting
the "My Applications" tab at the top of the page and then selecting "New" under "Scholarships"
to create a new application.
By completing this scholarship application, you will automatically be considered
for the majority of scholarships awarded by the Office Student Financial Services
for the following academic year. This application is made available in September
of every Fall semester and is used to award students for the following academic
year. The priority deadline for submission is December 1.
NOTE: Completing the ApplyTexas Scholarship Application does not necessarily make
you eligible for specific departmental scholarships. Contact your prospective
academic department for
information about their scholarship procedures.
A:
In most cases, each academic department or college manages its own scholarship
awarding process. In some cases, an academic department or college requires
in-coming students to fill out the ApplyTexas
Scholarship Application, in addition to their own scholarship application.
Contact your prospective academic
department for information about their scholarship procedures.
A:
No, you do not have to be admitted to complete the
ApplyTexas Scholarship Application. In order to access
the scholarship application, however, you will have to at least start the admission
application. The scholarship application will be accessible to you after you complete
the first three pages of the the admission application. However, we strongly recommend
that you complete the first six pages. Doing so will keep you from having to retype
data unnecessarily. Once you start a scholarship application, the two applications
will cease to be linked and you will then have to enter any new data in two places.
A:
The University requires students to complete the FAFSA if they
wish to be considered for any need-based financial aid,
including scholarships offered through the Office of Student Financial Services.
Students who wish to be considered only for merit-based
scholarships are not required to complete the FAFSA, but are still encouraged to do so.
Many merit-based scholarships also have a financial need component, and it is therefore
always advantageous to complete the FAFSA. UT Austin's priority deadline for the
FAFSA is March 31 for students applying for the Fall and/or Spring semesters and
February 15 for the Summer sessions.
A:
The Office of Student Financial Services does not award scholarships for the Summer
sessions. Contact OSFS for information about alternate forms of
financial assistance, such as grants and loans. Contact your prospective academic department to find out if they offer scholarship
support during the Summer.
A:
The Office of Student Financial Services (OSFS) strongly encourages you to send
all supplementary materials required for a particular scholarship on or before the
December 1 application deadline. Some scholarships require that documentation be
submitted much earlier. Be sure to make note of all appropriate deadlines and act
accordingly. OSFS urges you to send all supplemental documentation as soon as possible,
but will continue to accept all materials that arrive up to the time each scholarship
committee meets to review applications. Typically, this occurs several weeks after
the December 1 application deadline.
Please note, the following scholarships have different postmark deadlines for
required materials:
- Ruth M. Martin Unrestricted Endowed Presidential Scholarship - January 4
- Ronald M. and Marilou D. Brown Endowed Scholarship - April 1
- Laverne Noyes Foundation Scholarship - April 1
Contact your academic department
for specific instructions about scholarships administered by them.
A:
Any test scores that arrive through the proper channel (sent directly to UT Austin
using Score Recipient Code 6882) after December 1 are processed and accepted until
all scholarship and admission committees have made their decisions. The deciding
committee will use the highest score on file at the time of consideration. While
UT Austin continues to accept additional scores after the December 1 deadline, there
is no guarantee that the new scores will be available before the respective scholarship
committees meet. For information about reporting test scores to UT Austin, consult
the UT Austin Measurement and Evaluation
Center (512-232-2662). If you have further questions, please contact the Office
of Student Financial Services at 512-475-6282.
A:
Yes. UT Austin accepts both the SAT and the ACT to admission purposes.
A:
The ApplyTexas Scholarship Application priority deadline is December 1. While you can
still submit your application after the December 1 deadline has passed, your application
will be given non-priority status. This will reduce your chances of being considered for
the maximum number of scholarships at UT Austin.
A:
If you have submitted your ApplyTexas Scholarship Application, you may check its status
by returning to the ApplyTexas web site where you first accessed the application and
use your Application ID to log-on. The Entering
Freshman Scholarship Application page on this web site will direct you to the
ApplyTexas web site. Once you have submitted your application, it takes a couple of
business days for UT Austin to receive the application. UT Austin uses the date
you submit the application — rather than the date we receive it — to
determine if you submitted your application before/by the December 1 deadline.
A:
All application submissions are final. It is vital that you check your application
for accuracy before you submit it. The deadline to
submit the ApplyTexas Scholarship Application is 11:59 p.m. (CST) on December 1.
A:
No, in most cases, international students are restricted from accessing the ApplyTexas
Scholarship Application. Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances which will
allow an international student to apply for scholarships using a paper version of
this application. For more information about scholarships and international students,
see International Students.
A:
Yes, you can apply for scholarships and yes, you will be given equal consideration
as Texas residents. Although there are scholarships that are awarded specifically
to residents of Texas, there are a large volume of awards that have no residential
stipulation.
A:
Questions 29 through 32 of the ApplyTexas Scholarship Application ask for the
Gross Annual Income, not the Adjusted Gross Income. The appropriate answer would
be the amount each respective parent earns (from all sources in addition to employment)
before tax adjustments. Since the FAFSA asks for the Adjusted Gross Income (as reported
on the IRS Tax Form), there will be a slight inconsistency in the income amounts reported.
The Office of Student Financial Services is aware of the differing amounts and takes both
numbers into account when determining financial need.
A:
Only coursework that is specifically labeled "AP" (Advanced Placement) or "IB"
(International Baccalaureate) and which follows the course descriptions as set
by the College Board's policy should be included in Question 17. Pre-AP and
Honors coursework should not be listed.
A:
In the Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Level Coursework fields, for any course in which
you earned half credit, add the phrase "half credit" after the name of the course. In
the field where you enter the credit hours, just enter a "1". It should look something
like the following:
| Senior Level Coursework | Credit Hours | Final Grade |
| US Government AP (half credit) | 1 | A |
A:
If you completely fill in all of the following information into the admission
application prior to starting the scholarship application, it will get transferred
into the scholarship application:
- Your Biographical Information
- Extracurricular Awards and Activities Information
- Employment, Internship, and Volunteer Information
- Personal Essays A & B*
If you do not enter this information into the admission application prior to
starting the scholarship application, you will need to complete it in BOTH
places.
*Please note that the essays work independently of the two applications, and can
therefore, be completed at any stage. The only stipulation is that while the
admission application will allow you to SUBMIT the application without completing
the essays, the scholarship application will not.
Related Links
Be a Longhorn
Be a Longhorn: Admission Application Status Check
ApplyTexas Applications
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Office of Student Financial Services
College & Departmental Links
International Students
Private Scholarships
Private Scholarships Search Engines
Related Information
Do you have a question that is not asked and answered here?
Contact TexasScholarships.org
to submit possible questions and/or other pertinent information.