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Outside Scholarships

Finding Additional Scholarships

The scholarships awarded by St. Thomas are just the beginning. Outside scholarships can help cut the cost even more; here are some good places to find them.

St. Thomas students can also refer to the $cholartips page on One St Thomas, a curated list of outside scholarship opportunities.

Reporting Your Scholarships

Please let the Financial Aid office know about any scholarship you receive from any source other than the University of St. Thomas by reporting it in the financial aid award section of Murphy Online.

Fast Facts

$3M

in private scholarships received every year by St. Thomas students

700,000

scholarships available nationally from 25,000 scholarship providers

Jr. Year

of high school, in spring, is the perfect time to start the scholarship search

Advice on Managing Your Search for Scholarships

The process to find, research, apply, and follow-up with multiple external opportunities can be overwhelming. Here are our suggestions on managing that process.

  1. Set up a separate email account to list on applications and to use in profiles you build on scholarship search websites. You don't want them to spam your normal inbox.
  2. Never provide your Social Security Number unless you are applying for a federal or state government based scholarship. When in doubt, ask a financial aid professional.
  3. Do not pay money to complete a scholarship application.
  4. Set reasonable goals and stick to them. Instead of trying to apply for 20 scholarships you have a small chance of receiving, apply for five that you have a better chance at and put all your energy into them.
  5. Make sure you meet all of the eligibility criteria before you submit an application.
  6. Complete the application fully. Don't leave any item blank.
  7. Write a creative and concise essay. Be as personal and specific as possible.
  8. Keep track of deadlines and don't wait until the last minute.
  9. Proofread the entire application before submitting it.
  10. If an organization is promising something that seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Scholarship Disbursement

Most of the time, the donor of your scholarship will provide details about how and when the funds will be disbursed. Please contact the donor if you have questions regarding your private scholarship.

If your donor sends a check to you, endorse the check, if needed, and forward it to the Financial Aid Office. If the donor sends the check to the Financial Aid Office, you will be contacted by email if your scholarship check requires your signature. Private scholarship checks will be applied to your student account as they are received.

Unless your donor provides specific instructions, private scholarships will be credited to your student account in full provided you are enrolled as a full-time student.