Award Amount 

This award covers Arizona Resident base tuition or the equivalent amount towards Non-Resident base tuition. 

Selection

The All-Arizona Academic Team Award is a highly competitive undergraduate tuition scholarship offered to a select number of community college transfer students planning to attend one of the three state Universities and pursuing their first Bachelor degree. The Arizona Board of Regents selects students from nominations made by Arizona community colleges.

Students using the award at one of the other State Universities may transfer the award to the University of Arizona, but the student must be meeting the renewal criteria of the scholarship. See "Transferring the Scholarship" below.

Availability 

Ten consecutive undergraduate semesters or 60 undergraduate units, for fall and spring semesters only, based on semester renewal requirements. This award is available for use in all University of Arizona campuses, including Arizona Online programs.

Deadline 

Admitted to the University of Arizona within one calendar year of the original offer letter.

Eligibility

1. Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or demonstrate lawful immigration status. DACA students are not eligible for this award.
2. The award must be used at Arizona within one year of the original offer.
3. Students must be pursuing a first Bachelor's Degree for Undergraduate studies.
4. Be enrolled in a minimum of 6 units each fall and spring semesters at Arizona.

Renewal Criteria

1. Maintain at least a 3.25 cumulative Arizona grade point average each semester.
2. Complete at least 6 units per semester at Arizona. 
   • Qualifying units include: passing units from pass/fail courses, and Grade Replacement Opportunity (GRO) units, prior academic year units (this includes non-degree seeking terms and terms before the student started their current program) and New Start courses.
   • Non-Qualifying units include: failed, E grades, incomplete grades, prior academic years, New Start, consortium, correspondence, audit courses, course credit received from testing (i.e. AP, CLEP), transfer units and units* from other institutions while attending the University of Arizona do not count toward the 6 units per semester.

Multiple Awards and Tuition Programs

1. Students offered multiple awards designated for regular tuition cannot receive more than 100% of the cost of base tuition from the combination of the awards. The base tuition does not include differential tuition, fees, surcharges, room and board, books, or other expenses.
2. This award will be adjusted if the Qualified Tuition Reduction (QTR, a benefit for faculty and staff) or other tuition reduction programs (or waivers) are utilized. Students offered multiple awards designated for base tuition, cannot receive more than 100% of base tuition. For more information about tuition rates, please visit the Bursar's website. 

**All-Arizona Academic Team Tuition award reduced from $10,000 to $2,500 to cover the tuition balance due, covering the 100% cost of base tuition.

How this award is applied

1. This award is automatically applied to a Bursar's student account approximately ten days before classes once the student is enrolled in 6 units at the University of Arizona, and the student's lawful presence has been verified (see Eligibility above).
2. This scholarship is applied to tuition charged through the Bursar's Office at the University of Arizona. Tuition does not include program or mandatory fees, surcharges, differential tuition, room and board, books, or other expenses.

Reinstatement

1. Students failing to contact OSFA before semester(s) of eligibility are over, lose the semester(s) of eligibility.
2. Students with extenuating circumstances beyond their control preventing them from meeting the renewal requirements may submit a Scholarship Appeal Form and supporting documents (by the deadline) for review by the Scholarship Appeal Committee.

Transferring the Scholarship

Students transferring from the University of Arizona must contact the other State Universities about the transfer process. Students transferring from one of the State Universities to the University of Arizona must submit the following two items for review prior to the start of the semester in which the student intends to enroll at Arizona:

1. Official transcript* from the school the student is transferring from.
2. Copy of the All-Arizona Academic Team offer letter.

*Units completed at one of the other State Universities while utilizing the All-Arizona Academic Team tuition award will count toward the total 60 units covered by the award.

Deferments

1. Eligibility for this scholarship is a total of 60 units or 10 semesters, interrupted only by an approved Scholarship Deferment Request by OSFA.
2. The student must be enrolled at least one semester at Arizona in order to apply for a deferment. New incoming students inquiring about deferring their Admission and/or Scholarships (who have not attended Arizona for at least 1 semester) may visit the admissions website for more information on this process.
3. Students must visit the Office of the Registrar website in order to determine enrollment eligibility upon return to the University of Arizona.

Study Abroad

1. Students may use this tuition award on an UArizona-Sponsored Study Abroad program for a maximum of 1 year (two consecutive semesters) during the fall and spring semesters only. Students must be meeting the renewal criteria in order to qualify and participate in an eligible UArizona-Sponsored Study Abroad program.
   • Students participating in programs longer than one year or in two non-consecutive semesters must contact OSFA to inquire about their merit eligibility.
2. Students participating in an ineligible Study Abroad program will receive automatic scholarship deferments from OSFA as long as the student is meeting renewal requirements. Students participating in these programs will be notified by email of their scholarship deferment status prior to the start of the semester they plan to be away.
3. Renewal: Students who participate in an eligible study abroad program are still required to maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA. Students receiving either direct or transfer credit from their study abroad program will have 6 units per semester waived for scholarship renewal purposes for each term(s) that they are in the program.
4. This tuition award can pay Study Abroad tuition charges only. If the Study Abroad tuition charges are less than the amount of this tuition award, this award will be adjusted to the amount of Study Abroad tuition charges. Any unused funds cannot be used for other expenses or be applied to future terms. 
5. Students on Non-UArizona-Sponsored Study Abroad programs must have an approved Scholarship Deferment Request from OSFA.

Withdrawal Policy

If a student withdraws on or after the first day of classes begin, the student forfeits that semester of scholarship eligibility. This scholarship may be reviewed for reinstatement in future semesters. However, that semester in which your scholarship(s) were lost are still counted against your total eligibility. Scholarships cannot be extended past the original semesters of eligibility. If you have other financial aid, you must review the withdrawal policy here.

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Award Amounts 

$15,000 per academic year

Selection

The Flinn Semi-Finalist Tuition Award is offered to Arizona state resident Flinn Semi-Finalist scholars.

Availability 

Four consecutive years (eight semesters total) for fall and spring semesters only*, based on academic year renewal requirements. This award is not available for use in Arizona Online programs.

Students who complete their undergraduate degree in less than 8 consecutive semesters may use the remaining semester(s) toward graduate tuition (only) at Arizona in the semester immediately following undergraduate degree completion. Students who meet the aforementioned criteria may notify the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) once admitted to an Arizona Graduate Degree-Seeking program and enrolled as a full-time graduate student. Students who are accepted into certain professional programs such as Pharmacy, which do not require the completion of a Bachelor’s degree, may qualify to use their remaining semester(s) of their merit tuition award towards this program after completing their undergraduate coursework and are admitted into the PharmD program at Arizona. Please contact OSFA to inquire about full eligibility requirements.

*Students who are enrolled in the College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture’s 5-year Bachelor of Architecture degree program will receive five consecutive years (ten semesters total) for fall and spring semesters only, based on academic year renewal requirements. 

Application 

A completed University of Arizona Admission Application for Fall 2023 serves as the application for this award.

Deadline 

Completed Admission application by May 1, 2023.

Eligibility

1. Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or demonstrate lawful immigration status. DACA students are not eligible for this award. 
2. Be classified as a Arizona resident for tuition purposes.
3. Enroll in courses at Arizona as a first-time, full-time, degree-seeking student (i.e. students who did not attend any higher education institution including Community Colleges, Universities, or International post-secondary education schools after high school graduation).
   • Summer enrollment immediately before attending fall term at Arizona does not impact eligibility. Dual enrollment (college enrollment during high school) and/or participation in non-credit bearing programs during and post high school do not impact eligibility. All attempted post-secondary credit at accredited and non-accredited institutions post-high school does impact eligibility.
4. Students must be pursuing their first Bachelor's Degree for Undergraduate studies.
5. The award must be used beginning Fall 2023 semester.

Renewal Criteria

Students must meet the standard, minimum renewal requirements by the conclusion of the academic year (fall, winter, spring and summer semesters) in order to receive the scholarship for the following academic year.

Standard Minimum Renewal Requirements are as follows:

Examples:

Wilma Wildcat – Year 1 Renewal

Wilma Wildcat – Year 2 Renewal

Wilma Wildcat – Year 3 Renewal

• Qualifying units within the academic year include: Arizona winter and summer courses, passing units from pass/fail courses, Grade Replacement Opportunity (GRO) units, prior academic year units (this includes non-degree seeking terms and terms before the student started their current program) and New Start courses.
• Non-Qualifying units include: failed, E grade, incomplete or I grades, consortium, Outreach College courses, correspondence, audit, course credit received from testing (including AP and CLEP credits) transfer units and units from other institutions.

Students not meeting the standard, minimum renewal criteria by the end of the spring semester (or summer, if enrolled in summer courses) see Grace Period and Reinstatement section below.

Multiple Awards and Tuition Programs

1. *This award cannot be combined with the Wildcat Tuition Award, National Scholar Tuition Award, or the National Merit Semi-Finalist Tuition Award. The student will receive the award with the superseding amount. 
2. Students who achieve Designated Flinn Scholar status may keep this award. Please see our Flinn Scholars webpage here for more information.
3. This award cannot be combined with ROTC tuition awards, the GI Bill, and some departmental tuition awards depending on type and amount.
4. Students in the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program are not eligible for this award.
5. This award will be adjusted if the Qualified Tuition Reduction (QTR, a benefit for faculty and staff) or other tuition reduction programs (or waivers) are utilized. Students offered multiple awards designated for base tuition, cannot receive more than 100% of base tuition. For more information about tuition rates, please visit the Bursar's website. 

Residency Change

This merit award was offered based on residency during the student's first year. If during the eight semesters of eligibility the student's residency changes and the student still qualifies for renewal, the student will be reevaluated based on the merit review of the respective first-year cohort for a potential resident merit award. Students should contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid once residency changes for a reevaluation.

How the award is applied

1. The award will disburse to a Bursar's student account approximately ten days before classes begin, once the student's lawful presence has been verified and the student is enrolled full-time (12+ units per term) at Arizona. Students are strongly encouraged to complete enough Arizona units each academic year to remain on track to graduate within four years, the maximum period this award covers.
2. This scholarship is applied to undergraduate tuition charged through the Bursar's Office at Arizona. Any amount in excess of base tuition will pay towards program or mandatory fees, differential tuition, room and board, books or other expenses. If your program does not charge tuition through the Bursar's student account, you are ineligible to use this award toward your tuition charges. 
3. The total award amount is for the academic year which is evenly split between the fall and spring semesters. Students who graduate in December are not eligible to receive the full academic year amount for one semester.
4. Award amounts may be split into two portions that add up to the grand total amount offered.

Grace Period

Students not meeting the standard, minimum renewal criteria posted above but who maintain the following requirements will be granted an automatic grace period for the following academic year.

1. Students are eligible for a grace period one time in their University of Arizona academic career. OSFA will automatically identify all students who meet the grace period requirements.

1. Students who are granted an automatic grace period will receive 80% of their original Merit Tuition Scholarship Award amount for the term(s) in which the grace period is active.
2. If the student meets all standard, minimum renewal criteria after the grace period academic year ends (see standard renewal requirements table above), the student will be renewed and receive 100% of their original Merit Tuition Scholarship Award amount during the preceding academic year. Alternatively, if the student meets all standard renewal criteria after one semester of being in the grace period, the student may be eligible for reinstatement of their original Merit Tuition Scholarship for the subsequent semester (at 100% of the original offered scholarship amount). See the Reinstatement section below for more information about this.

Examples:

Wilma Wildcat – Year 1 Renewal

Original Offered Merit Tuition Scholarship: Wildcat Distinction for $2,000

Wilma Wildcat – Year 2 Renewal

Wilma Wildcat – Year 3 Renewal

Reinstatement

1. Students failing to meet the standard renewal criteria by the conclusion of the spring semester but who are enrolled in the summer semester will automatically be reviewed by OSFA after the conclusion of the summer semester.
2. Students failing to meet the renewal criteria by the conclusion of the academic year (fall, winter, spring, and summer semesters) will either:

• Be placed the Grace Period as described above

or

• Not be renewed for the upcoming academic year

Students in either scenario above may become eligible for reinstatement if they raise their cumulative GPA to the minimum 3.00 and make up all missing Arizona units.

• Mid-year reinstatements during years 2-4 require students to be on track with an average of 15 Arizona units completed per fall and spring semesters of award eligibility.
• Students eligible for reinstatement will be awarded 100% of their original offered tuition scholarship for the term(s) following the semester(s) in which they regained eligibility. Note, the award amount for a single semester is never to exceed 50% of the original offered tuition scholarship.
• Scholarships are only eligible for reinstatement for four (4) consecutive years (eight (8) semesters total).
• Students must contact OSFA by the last day of the semester in which they are requesting reinstatement. 
• The priority deadline to contact OSFA and request reinstatement is 30 days prior to the start date of the semester. Students who submit their request before the priority deadline will be processed prior to the first day of classes, which may prevent late fees. 

3. Students with extenuating circumstances preventing them from meeting the standard renewal requirements by the conclusion of the academic year may submit a Scholarship Appeal Form and supporting documents (by the deadline) for review by the Scholarship Appeals Committee.

• Students with an approved Scholarship Appeal will be eligible to receive 80% of their original offered tuition scholarship award for the academic year following the year in which they were not renewed.
• Students placed in the automatic grace period cannot appeal the grace period since an approved appeal has the same outcome as an automatic grace period (receiving 80% of the original offered tuition scholarship).

Deferments

1. Eligibility for this tuition award is a total of eight consecutive semesters, interrupted only by an approved Scholarship Deferment Request from OSFA.
2. The student must be enrolled at least one semester at Arizona in order to apply for a deferment. New incoming students inquiring about deferring their Admission and/or Scholarships (who have not attended Arizona for at least 1 semester) may visit the admissions website for more information.
3. Students must visit the Office of the Registrar website in order to determine enrollment eligibility upon return to the University of Arizona.
   • Students who qualify for Back2UA but do not have an approved Scholarship Deferment from OSFA will not qualify for reinstatement of their merit award upon return to Arizona. 

Study Abroad

1. Students may use this tuition award on an UArizona-Sponsored Study Abroad program for a maximum of 1 year (two consecutive semesters) during the fall and spring semesters only. Students must be meeting the renewal criteria in order to qualify and participate in an eligible UArizona-Sponsored Study Abroad program.
   • Students participating in programs longer than one year or in two non-consecutive semesters must contact OSFA to inquire about their merit eligibility.
2. Students participating in an ineligible Study Abroad program will receive automatic scholarship deferments from OSFA as long as the student is meeting renewal requirements. Students participating in these programs will be notified by email of their scholarship deferment status prior to the start of the semester they plan to be away.
3. Renewal: Students who participate in an eligible study abroad program are still required to maintain a 3.00 cumulative GPA. Students receiving either direct or transfer credit from their study abroad program will have 15 units per semester waived for scholarship renewal purposes for each term(s) that they are in the program.
4. This tuition award can pay Study Abroad tuition charges only. If the Study Abroad tuition charges are less than the amount of this tuition award, this award will be adjusted to the amount of Study Abroad tuition charges. Any unused funds cannot be used for other expenses or be applied to future terms. 
5. Students on Non-UArizona-Sponsored Study Abroad programs must have an approved Scholarship Deferment Request from OSFA.

Withdrawal Policy

If a student withdraws on or after the first day of classes begin, the student forfeits that semester of scholarship eligibility. This scholarship may be reviewed for reinstatement in future semesters. However, that semester in which your scholarship(s) were lost are still counted against your total eligibility. Scholarships cannot be extended past the original semesters of eligibility. If you have other financial aid, you must review the withdrawal policy here.

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Award Amount

1. Arizona Semi-Finalists: $13,500 per academic year 
2. Non-Arizona Semi-Finalists: the value of the original Arizona Tuition Award + $1,500 National Merit Semi-Finalist Award. See "Arizona Tuition Award" for merit review and offer details.

Selection

This Undergraduate tuition award is offered to the National Merit Semi-Finalists who qualify by taking the Preliminary SATs (PSATs) in high school.

Availability 

Four consecutive years (8 semesters total) for fall and spring semesters only*; based on academic year renewal requirements. This award is not available for use in Arizona Online programs.

Students who complete their undergraduate degree in less than 8 consecutive semesters may use the remaining semester(s) toward graduate tuition (only) at Arizona in the semester immediately following undergraduate degree completion. Students who meet the aforementioned criteria may notify the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) once admitted to an Arizona Graduate Degree-Seeking program and enrolled as a full-time graduate student. Students who are accepted into certain professional programs such as Pharmacy, which do not require the completion of a Bachelor’s degree, may qualify to use their remaining semester(s) of their merit tuition award towards this program after completing their undergraduate coursework and are admitted into the PharmD program at Arizona. Please contact OSFA to inquire about full eligibility requirements.

*Students who are enrolled in the College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture’s 5-year Bachelor of Architecture degree program will receive five consecutive years (ten semesters total) for fall and spring semesters only, based on academic year renewal requirements. 

Application 

A completed University of Arizona Admission Application for Fall 2023 serves as the application for this award.

Deadline 

Completed application by May 1, 2023.

Eligibility

1. Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or demonstrate lawful immigration status. DACA students are not eligible for this award. 
2. Students who become National Merit Finalists will be awarded the National Scholar award which supersedes and replaces this award.
3. Students must be pursuing a first Bachelor's Degree for Undergraduate studies.
4. Enroll in courses at Arizona as a first-time, full-time, degree-seeking student (i.e. students who did not attend any higher education institution including Community Colleges, Universities, or International post-secondary education schools after high school graduation).
   • Summer enrollment immediately before attending fall term at Arizona does not impact eligibility. Dual enrollment (college enrollment during high school) and/or participation in non-credit bearing programs during and post high school do not impact eligibility. All attempted post-secondary credit at accredited and non-accredited institutions post-high school does impact eligibility.
5. The award must be used beginning Fall 2022 semester.

Renewal Criteria

Students must meet the standard, minimum renewal requirements by the conclusion of the academic year (fall, winter, spring and summer semesters) in order to receive the scholarship for the following academic year.

Standard Minimum Renewal Requirements are as follows:

Examples:

Wilma Wildcat – Year 1 Renewal

Wilma Wildcat – Year 2 Renewal

Wilma Wildcat – Year 3 Renewal

• Qualifying units within the academic year include: Arizona winter and summer courses, passing units from pass/fail courses, Grade Replacement Opportunity (GRO) units, prior academic year units (this includes non-degree seeking terms and terms before the student started their current program) and New Start courses.
• Non-Qualifying units include: failed, E grade, incomplete or I grades, consortium, Outreach College courses, correspondence, audit, course credit received from testing (including AP and CLEP credits) transfer units and units from other institutions.

Students not meeting the standard, minimum renewal criteria by the end of the spring semester (or summer, if enrolled in summer courses) see Grace Period and Reinstatement section below.

Multiple Awards and Tuition Programs

1. Students offered multiple awards that are designated to cover base tuition cannot receive more than 100% of the cost of tuition from the combination of the awards. The base tuition amount does not include differential tuition, fees, surcharges, room and board, books, or other expenses.
2. Students who become National Merit Finalists will be awarded the National Scholar award which supersedes and replaces the National Merit Semi-Finalist Award.
3. This award cannot be combined with the Wildcat Tuition Award or the National Merit Semi-Finalist Tuition Award.
4. This award cannot be combined with ROTC tuition awards, the GI Bill, and some departmental tuition awards depending on type and amount.
5. Students in the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program are not eligible for this award.
6. This award will be adjusted if the Qualified Tuition Reduction (QTR, a benefit for faculty and staff) or other tuition reduction programs (or waivers) are utilized. Students offered multiple awards designated for base tuition, cannot receive more than 100% of base tuition. For more information about tuition rates, please visit the Bursar's website. 

Residency Change

This merit award was offered based on residency during the student's first year. If during the eight semesters of eligibility the student's residency changes and the student still qualifies for renewal, the student will be reevaluated based on the merit review of the respective first-year cohort for a potential resident merit award. Students should contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid once residency changes for a reevaluation. Non-Resident students who have earned an Arizona high school degree or General Education Diploma and qualify for 150% of Undergraduate Resident Tuition Rate do not qualify for this award.

How the award is applied

1. The award will disburse to a Bursar's student account approximately ten days before classes begin, once the student's lawful presence has been verified and the student is enrolled full-time (12+ units per term) at Arizona. Students are strongly encouraged to complete enough Arizona units each academic year to remain on track to graduate within four years, the maximum period this award covers.
2. This scholarship is applied to undergraduate tuition charged through the Bursar's Office at Arizona. Tuition does not include program or mandatory fees, surcharges, differential tuition, room and board, books or other expenses. If your program does not charge tuition through the Bursar's student account, you are ineligible to use this award toward your tuition charges. 
3. The total award amount is for the academic year which is evenly split between the fall and spring semesters. Students who graduate in December are not eligible to receive the full academic year amount for one semester.
4. Award amounts may be split into two portions that add up to the grand total amount offered.

Grace Period

Students not meeting the standard, minimum renewal criteria posted above but who maintain the following requirements will be granted an automatic grace period for the following academic year.

1. Students are eligible for a grace period one time in their University of Arizona academic career. OSFA will automatically identify all students who meet the grace period requirements.

1. Students who are granted an automatic grace period will receive 80% of their original Merit Tuition Scholarship Award amount for the term(s) in which the grace period is active.
2. If the student meets all standard, minimum renewal criteria after the grace period academic year ends (see standard renewal requirements table above), the student will be renewed and receive 100% of their original Merit Tuition Scholarship Award amount during the preceding academic year. Alternatively, if the student meets all standard renewal criteria after one semester of being in the grace period, the student may be eligible for reinstatement of their original Merit Tuition Scholarship for the subsequent semester (at 100% of the original offered scholarship amount). See the Reinstatement section below for more information about this.

Examples:

Wilma Wildcat – Year 1 Renewal

Original Offered Merit Tuition Scholarship: Wildcat Distinction for $2,000

Wilma Wildcat – Year 2 Renewal

Wilma Wildcat – Year 3 Renewal

Reinstatement

1. Students failing to meet the standard renewal criteria by the conclusion of the spring semester but who are enrolled in the summer semester will automatically be reviewed by OSFA after the conclusion of the summer semester.
2. Students failing to meet the renewal criteria by the conclusion of the academic year (fall, winter, spring, and summer semesters) will either:

• Be placed the grace period as described above

or

• Not be renewed for the upcoming academic year

Students in either scenario above may become eligible for reinstatement if they raise their cumulative GPA to the minimum 3.00 and make up all missing Arizona units.

• Mid-year reinstatements during years 2-4 require students to be on track with an average of 15 Arizona units completed per fall and spring semesters of award eligibility.
• Students eligible for reinstatement will be awarded 100% of their original offered tuition scholarship for the term(s) following the semester(s) in which they regained eligibility. Note, the award amount for a single semester is never to exceed 50% of the original offered tuition scholarship.
• Scholarships are only eligible for reinstatement for four (4) consecutive years (eight (8) semesters total).
• Students must contact OSFA by the last day of the semester in which they are requesting reinstatement. 
• The priority deadline to contact OSFA and request reinstatement is 30 days prior to the start date of the semester. Students who submit their request before the priority deadline will be processed prior to the first day of classes, which may prevent late fees. 

3.Students with extenuating circumstances preventing them from meeting the standard renewal requirements by the conclusion of the academic year may submit a Scholarship Appeal Form and supporting documents (by the deadline) for review by the Scholarship Appeals Committee.

• Students with an approved Scholarship Appeal will be eligible to receive 80% of their original offered tuition scholarship award for the academic year following the year in which they were not renewed.
• Students placed in the automatic grace period cannot appeal the grace period since an approved appeal has the same outcome as an automatic grace period (receiving 80% of the original offered tuition scholarship).

Deferments

1. Eligibility for this tuition award is a total of eight consecutive semesters, interrupted only by an approved Scholarship Deferment Request from OSFA.
2. The student must be enrolled at least one semester at Arizona in order to apply for a deferment. New incoming students inquiring about deferring their Admission and/or Scholarships (who have not attended Arizona for at least 1 semester) may visit the admissions website for more information.
3. Students must visit the Office of the Registrar website in order to determine enrollment eligibility upon return to the University of Arizona.
   • Students who qualify for Back2UA but do not have an approved Scholarship Deferment from OSFA will not qualify for reinstatement of their merit award upon return to Arizona. 

Study Abroad

1. Students may use this tuition award on an UArizona-Sponsored Study Abroad program for a maximum of 1 year (two consecutive semesters) during the fall and spring semesters only. Students must be meeting the renewal criteria in order to qualify and participate in an eligible UArizona-Sponsored Study Abroad program.
   • Students participating in programs longer than one year or in two non-consecutive semesters must contact OSFA to inquire about their merit eligibility.
2. Students participating in an ineligible Study Abroad program will receive automatic scholarship deferments from OSFA as long as the student is meeting renewal requirements. Students participating in these programs will be notified by email of their scholarship deferment status prior to the start of the semester they plan to be away.
3. Renewal: Students who participate in an eligible study abroad program are still required to maintain a 3.00 cumulative GPA. Students receiving either direct or transfer credit from their study abroad program will have 15 units per semester waived for scholarship renewal purposes for each term(s) that they are in the program.
4. This tuition award can pay Study Abroad tuition charges only. If the Study Abroad tuition charges are less than the amount of this tuition award, this award will be adjusted to the amount of Study Abroad tuition charges. Any unused funds cannot be used for other expenses or be applied to future terms. 
5. Students on Non-UArizona-Sponsored Study Abroad programs must have an approved Scholarship Deferment Request from OSFA.

Withdrawal Policy

If a student withdraws on or after the first day of classes begin, the student forfeits that semester of scholarship eligibility. This scholarship may be reviewed for reinstatement in future semesters. However, that semester in which your scholarship(s) were lost are still counted against your total eligibility. Scholarships cannot be extended past the original semesters of eligibility. If you have other financial aid, you must review the withdrawal policy here.

Award Amount

National Scholars include National Merit Finalists and students selected for the following College Board National Recognition Programs: African American, Hispanic, Indigenous and Rural/Small Town.

The National Finalist Merit Scholarship award includes the college-sponsored, corporate-sponsored, or National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC)-sponsored awards in the total offered amount. Students must respond to NMSC requests to accept these awards. 

1. Arizona Residents: $18,000 per academic year
2. Non-Arizona Residents: the value of the original Arizona Tuition Award + $3,000 National Scholar Award. See "Arizona Tuition Award" for merit review and offer details.

Selection

This award is offered to the National Scholars who qualify by taking the Preliminary SATs (PSATs) in high school. The Office of Admission will be notified of a student's National Scholar status.  

If you are a National Merit Finalist, you must declare the University of Arizona as your first school of choice with National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) by their deadline. Visit the NMSC website. 

Availability 

Four consecutive years (8 semesters total) for fall and spring semesters only*; based on academic year renewal requirements. This award is not available for use in Arizona Online programs. 

Students who complete their undergraduate degree in less than 8 consecutive semesters may use the remaining semester(s) toward graduate tuition (only) at Arizona in the semester immediately following undergraduate degree completion. Students who meet the aforementioned criteria may notify the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) once admitted to an Arizona Graduate Degree-Seeking program and enrolled as a full-time graduate student. Students who are accepted into certain professional programs such as Pharmacy, which do not require the completion of a Bachelor’s degree, may qualify to use their remaining semester(s) of their merit tuition award towards this program after completing their undergraduate coursework and are admitted into the PharmD program at Arizona. Please contact OSFA to inquire about full eligibility requirements.

*Students who are enrolled in the College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture’s 5-year Bachelor of Architecture degree program will receive five consecutive years (ten semesters total) for fall and spring semesters only, based on academic year renewal requirements. 

Application 

A completed University of Arizona Admission Application for Fall 2023 serves as the application for this award.

Deadline 

Completed application by May 1, 2023.

Eligibility

1. Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or demonstrate lawful immigration status. DACA students are not eligible for this award. 
2. Students must be pursuing a first Bachelor's Degree for Undergraduate studies.
3. Enroll in courses at Arizona as a first-time, full-time, degree-seeking student (i.e. students who did not attend any higher education institution including Community Colleges, Universities, or International post-secondary education schools after high school graduation).
   • Summer enrollment immediately before attending fall term at Arizona does not impact eligibility. Dual enrollment (college enrollment during high school) and/or participation in non-credit bearing programs during and post high school do not impact eligibility. All attempted post-secondary credit at accredited and non-accredited institutions post-high school does impact eligibility.
4. The award must be used beginning Fall 2023 semester.

Renewal Criteria

Students must meet the standard, minimum renewal requirements by the conclusion of the academic year (fall, winter, spring and summer semesters) in order to receive the scholarship for the following academic year.

Standard Minimum Renewal Requirements are as follows:

Examples:

Wilma Wildcat – Year 1 Renewal

Wilma Wildcat – Year 2 Renewal

Wilma Wildcat – Year 3 Renewal

• Qualifying units within the academic year include: Arizona winter and summer courses, passing units from pass/fail courses, Grade Replacement Opportunity (GRO) units, prior academic year units (this includes non-degree seeking terms and terms before the student started their current program) and New Start courses.
• Non-Qualifying units include: failed, E grade, incomplete or I grades, consortium, Outreach College courses, correspondence, audit, course credit received from testing (including AP and CLEP credits) transfer units and units from other institutions.

Students not meeting the standard, minimum renewal criteria by the end of the spring semester (or summer, if enrolled in summer courses) see Grace Period and Reinstatement section below.

Multiple Awards and Tuition Programs

1. Students offered multiple awards that are designated to cover base tuition cannot receive more than 100% of the cost of tuition from the combination of the awards. The base tuition amount does not include differential tuition, fees, surcharges, room and board, books, or other expenses.
2. This award supersedes and replaces the Wildcat Tuition Award and the Flinn Semi-Finalist Tuition Award.
3. The National Scholars award package includes the college-sponsored, corporate-sponsored, or National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC)-sponsored awards. Students must respond to NMSC requests to accept these awards.
4. This award cannot be combined with ROTC tuition awards, the GI Bill, and some departmental tuition awards depending on type and amount.
5. Students in the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program are not eligible for this award.
6. This award will be reduced by the amount of the Qualified Tuition Reduction amount (QTR), or by the amount of other tuition reduction programs. Students offered multiple awards designated for base tuition, cannot receive more than 100% of base tuition. For more information about tuition rates, please visit the Bursar's website. 

Residency Change

This merit award was offered based on residency during the student's first year. If during the eight semesters of eligibility the student's residency changes and the student still qualifies for renewal, the student will be reevaluated based on the merit review of the respective first-year cohort for a potential resident merit award. Students should contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid once residency changes for a reevaluation. Non-Resident students who have earned an Arizona high school degree or General Education Diploma and qualify for 150% of Undergraduate Resident Tuition Rate do not qualify for this award.

How the award is applied

1. The award will disburse to a Bursar's student account approximately ten days before classes begin, once the student's lawful presence has been verified and the student is enrolled full-time (12+ units per term) at Arizona. Students are strongly encouraged to complete enough Arizona units each academic year to remain on track to graduate within four years, the maximum period this award covers.
2. This scholarship is applied to undergraduate tuition charged through the Bursar's Office at Arizona. Any amount in excess of base tuition will pay towards program or mandatory fees, differential tuition, room and board, books or other expenses. If your program does not charge tuition through the Bursar's student account, you are ineligible to use this award toward your tuition charges. 
3. The total award amount is for the academic year which is evenly split between the fall and spring semesters. Students who graduate in December are not eligible to receive the full academic year amount for one semester.
4. Award amounts may be split into two or more portions that add up to the grand total amount offered.

Grace Period

Students not meeting the standard, minimum renewal criteria posted above but who maintain the following requirements will be granted an automatic grace period for the following academic year.

1. Students are eligible for a grace period one time in their University of Arizona academic career. OSFA will automatically identify all students who meet the grace period requirements.

1. Students who are granted an automatic grace period will receive 80% of their original Merit Tuition Scholarship Award amount for the term(s) in which the grace period is active.
2. If the student meets all standard, minimum renewal criteria after the grace period academic year ends (see standard renewal requirements table above), the student will be renewed and receive 100% of their original Merit Tuition Scholarship Award amount during the preceding academic year. Alternatively, if the student meets all standard renewal criteria after one semester of being in the grace period, the student may be eligible for reinstatement of their original Merit Tuition Scholarship for the subsequent semester (at 100% of the original offered scholarship amount). See the Reinstatement section below for more information about this.

Examples:

Wilma Wildcat – Year 1 Renewal

Original Offered Merit Tuition Scholarship: Wildcat Distinction for $2,000

Wilma Wildcat – Year 2 Renewal

Wilma Wildcat – Year 3 Renewal

Reinstatement

1. Students failing to meet the standard renewal criteria by the conclusion of the spring semester but who are enrolled in the summer semester will automatically be reviewed by OSFA after the conclusion of the summer semester.
2. Students failing to meet the renewal criteria by the conclusion of the academic year (fall, winter, spring, and summer semesters) will either:

• Be placed the grace period as described above

or

• Not be renewed for the upcoming academic year

Students in either scenario above may become eligible for reinstatement if they raise their cumulative GPA to the minimum 3.00 and make up all missing Arizona units.

• Mid-year reinstatements during years 2-4 require students to be on track with an average of 15 Arizona units completed per fall and spring semesters of award eligibility.
• Students eligible for reinstatement will be awarded 100% of their original offered tuition scholarship for the term(s) following the semester(s) in which they regained eligibility. Note, the award amount for a single semester is never to exceed 50% of the original offered tuition scholarship.
• Scholarships are only eligible for reinstatement for four (4) consecutive years (eight (8) semesters total).
• Students must contact OSFA by the last day of the semester in which they are requesting reinstatement. 
• The priority deadline to contact OSFA and request reinstatement is 30 days prior to the start date of the semester. Students who submit their request before the priority deadline will be processed prior to the first day of classes, which may prevent late fees. 

3.Students with extenuating circumstances preventing them from meeting the standard renewal requirements by the conclusion of the academic year may submit a Scholarship Appeal Form and supporting documents (by the deadline) for review by the Scholarship Appeals Committee.

• Students with an approved Scholarship Appeal will be eligible to receive 80% of their original offered tuition scholarship award for the academic year following the year in which they were not renewed.
• Students placed in the automatic grace period cannot appeal the grace period since an approved appeal has the same outcome as an automatic grace period (receiving 80% of the original offered tuition scholarship).

Deferments

1. Eligibility for this tuition award is a total of eight consecutive semesters, interrupted only by an approved Scholarship Deferment Request from OSFA.
2. The student must be enrolled at least one semester at Arizona in order to apply for a deferment. New incoming students inquiring about deferring their Admission and/or Scholarships (who have not attended Arizona for at least 1 semester) may visit the admissions website for more information.
3. Students must visit the Office of the Registrar website in order to determine enrollment eligibility upon return to the University of Arizona.
   • Students who qualify for Back2UA but do not have an approved Scholarship Deferment from OSFA will not qualify for reinstatement of their merit award upon return to Arizona. 

Study Abroad

1. Students may use this tuition award on an UArizona-Sponsored Study Abroad program for a maximum of 1 year (two consecutive semesters) during the fall and spring semesters only. Students must be meeting the renewal criteria in order to qualify and participate in an eligible UArizona-Sponsored Study Abroad program.
   • Students participating in programs longer than one year or in two non-consecutive semesters must contact OSFA to inquire about their merit eligibility.
2. Students participating in an ineligible Study Abroad program will receive automatic scholarship deferments from OSFA as long as the student is meeting renewal requirements. Students participating in these programs will be notified by email of their scholarship deferment status prior to the start of the semester they plan to be away.
3. Renewal: Students who participate in an eligible study abroad program are still required to maintain a 3.00 cumulative GPA. Students receiving either direct or transfer credit from their study abroad program will have 15 units per semester waived for scholarship renewal purposes for each term(s) that they are in the program.
4. This tuition award can pay Study Abroad tuition charges only. If the Study Abroad tuition charges are less than the amount of this tuition award, this award will be adjusted to the amount of Study Abroad tuition charges. Any unused funds cannot be used for other expenses or be applied to future terms. 
5. Students on Non-UArizona-Sponsored Study Abroad programs must have an approved Scholarship Deferment Request from OSFA.

Withdrawal Policy

If a student withdraws on or after the first day of classes begin, the student forfeits that semester of scholarship eligibility. This scholarship may be reviewed for reinstatement in future semesters. However, that semester in which your scholarship(s) were lost are still counted against your total eligibility. Scholarships cannot be extended past the original semesters of eligibility. If you have other financial aid, you must review the withdrawal policy here.