Wake Forest offers merit-based scholarships to fewer than 3% of first-year applicants. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions selects all merit-based scholarship recipients.
Most scholarships (including the full-cost of attendance Signature Scholarships) do not require a separate merit-based scholarship application. Instead, students need only submit a complete application for undergraduate admissions by November 15. Finalists for scholarships that require more comprehensive interviews or auditions will be notified by the end of March.
Though criteria differ slightly, all scholarship programs recognize extraordinary achievement, leadership, and talent. Recipients embody those qualities that have led their predecessors since 1986 to thirteen Rhodes Scholarships, three Marshall Scholarships, twelve Truman Scholarships, over ninety Fulbright Scholars, and other honors including Gates, Goldwater, Beinecke, and Luce.
Previous graduates of merit-based scholarship programs are profiled by the Wake Forest Scholars Office.
Some merit-based scholarships also require financial need. A family can estimate financial need by using the Net Price Calculator.
Applicants who believe they might qualify for need-based aid should apply by January 1. Most scholarships at Wake Forest consider financial need as a recipient selection criterion. Separate applications are not required, as recipients are selected based on data from the admission applications and the FAFSA™ and CSS Profile® applications. Please see the Scholarships Catalog section below for descriptions of permanently endowed need-based scholarships and other scholarships. A separate application is required only if specified in the scholarship description.