Presidential Scholarship 2025-2026

2025-2026
WEBSITE: https://dos.sfsu.edu/presidential-scholars

• Scholarship Intent: The scholarship recognizes high achieving first time freshman who have distinguished themselves as scholars and leaders. The award provides full resident tuition and fees for up to four years of full-time study at SF State (pending budgetary approval and satisfactory completion of program requirements). Each year the scholarship is awarded to up to four (four) first-time Pell Grant eligible freshman from traditionally under-represented communities in the nine counties of the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma) as well as the surrounding counties of Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Merced, Sacramento, San Benito, San Joaquin, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, and Yolo.
  ***Criteria:* Non-Resident students (out of state) are not eligible to apply.
  Criteria: 3.5 or higher GPA.
  Presidential Scholar applicants are required to submit:
  1) Two letters of recommendation (from teachers, coaches, counselors or community members). IMPORTANT REFERENCE INFORMATION: The reference letters must be received via AcademicWorks no later than the application deadline in order for an application to be considered qualified and reviewed. This requires applicants to submit their application before the deadline, which includes providing the reference names and email addresses. References should be notified by the applicant that letters need to be submitted through AcademicWorks no later than a week before the application deadline to allow time to solve any potential issues. It is the applicants’ responsibility to notify their references about the timeline. Applicants should check their AcademicWorks student portal to ensure that reference letters have been submitted before the application deadline, re-sending reference letter requests for letters not submitted. Applications that do not have the required reference letter by the deadline will not be reviewed and are not eligible for the scholarship.
  2) A list of the applicant’s responsibilities to family, and advocacy or leadership at school, or within their community.
  3) A 500-word letter of application that describes the initiative the applicant took in one or more of the leadership roles listed, and that addresses the following question: Why do you want to study at San Francisco State University?
  4) Applicants must complete the Free Application for Federal Financial Aid (FAFSA) by January 6, 2025, and submit the Student Aid Index with their scholarship application.
  4) Finalists may be interviewed by video conference or phone as a part of the review and selection process.
  5) Recipients will be notified prior to the SF State admission offer acceptance deadline. Applicants do not have had to accepted their admission offer prior to this date to be considered for the scholarship.

Scholarship Award Requirements:
1) Selected scholars will be required to live in designated campus housing for their freshman and sophomore years. ADA accommodations will be made.
2) Scholars must participate in on and off-campus events to promote the importance of scholarship and service in the Bay Area.
3) Presidential Scholars must choose a faculty mentor from their major. The mentor, along with support from the Faculty Coordinator guides scholars in their short and long-term academic, professional, and community engagement goals.
4) Scholars must spend one semester on a study abroad program by their spring semester of their junior year to advance the Presidential Scholars mission of advancing and culturally and socially diverse society of life-long learners.
5) Any employment that the scholars have must be on campus.
6) To continue to receive the scholarship award, students must maintain a 3.5 GPA each semester and participate in all program activities.

• Major: Any
• Class Level: HS Seniors; Undergrad: N/A; Grad: N/A
• Enrollment Status: Entering
• Enrollment Requirement: Undergrad: FULL-TIME (12 UNITS); Grad: N/A
• Financial Need as determined by the FAFSA and/or CA Dream App: Yes, must be Pell Grant eligible
• Citizenship: Any (International students are not eligible to apply)
• GPA: HS GPA: 3.5; Undergrad GPA: N/A; Grad GPA: N/A
• Contact Person: Mia Reisweber
• Campus Address: SSB 403
• Street Address: 1600 Holloway, San Francisco, California 94132
• Phone Number: (415) 338-1042
• Email: mreisweber@sfsu.edu
• Web page: http://www.sfsu.edu/~vpsa/index.html
• Number of Awards: varies