This mountainous, coal mining state of West Virginia, has top notch colleges with an abundance of state sponsored, college scholarships awarding both need, and merit based scholarships for college.
The state motto of West Virginia is, “mountaineers are always free”, and that aptly describes the substantial, free scholarships available for college-bound students in West Virginia.
The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission administers several scholarships to state residents, awarding millions of dollars in free college money each year, to help students reach their dream of a college degree.
College Scholarship Deadlines
It’s always important for students applying for college scholarships to be organized, and aware of the many deadlines for submitting scholarship applications and required documents. Also, take the time to review the individual eligibility criteria for each of the West Virginia scholarships. Some scholarships require a minimum GPA of 3.0 and others focus on financial need only.
There are also West Virginia scholarships that require students to major in a certain field of study like, teaching or engineering. The college scholarship applications are available in early November on the West Virginia Higher Education website, and the deadline for submitting applications for these scholarships is March 1. ()
Below are helpful details for the top State of West Virginia college scholarships. Information about additional West Virginia scholarships is available on the West Virginia Higher Education website.
West Virginia Higher Education Grant
The West Virginia Higher Education Grant, awards millions of dollars each year, of free scholarship money, to in-state students enrolled in a West Virginia or Pennsylvania college or university. West Virginia students must complete a FAFSA application, demonstrate financial need, meet basic academic standards and be enrolled full time in an accredited college or university. Scholarship awards are considerable, ranging from $1,300 to $3,000 per year and are renewable for an additional three years. Students need to complete the online Application for State-Level Financial Aid Programs, to be considered for these West Virginia college scholarships.
The West Virginia Promise Scholarship Awards
The Promise scholarships are based on merit, with some consideration given to a student’s financial need. West Virginia Promise college scholarships pay the full tuition to a state college of West Virginia, with an equal amount of college scholarship money awarded for attendance at a private college in West Virginia. West Virginia high school students need to have a 3.0 GPA, an ACT score of 22, SAT score of 1020 and successful completion of minimum core high school credits in Mathematics, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences and English to be eligible for these scholarships.
The West Virginia Engineering, Science and Technology Scholarship Program
The West Virginia Engineering Scholarship awards $3,000 in free scholarship money to students of West Virginia that intend to earn a college degree in engineering, science or technology in a college or University in West Virginia. The college scholarships are renewable for each of the four years students are in college. Students need to have a 3.0 GPA to be considered for these college scholarships.
Applications for these college scholarships are available through high school guidance counselors, and online for students already enrolled in college. Students are required to work in their chosen field of study, in the state of West Virginia upon graduation for each year a student received scholarship money to pay for college.