Financial Aid and Scholarships

Financial Aid is awarded to students that have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). JMU's priority deadline for courses that begin in the fall semester is March 1st of the prior spring semester. Once a student has been offered admission and paid their tuition deposit, JMU's Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships will work on processing your financial aid application and send you an award notification. For an estimate of financial aid that you may receive, please visit their website at:

http://www.jmu.edu/finaid/AidEstimator.shtml


Scholarships are limited at JMU to incoming transfer students. This is largely due to the fact that many of these scholarships are awarded in the early Spring by faculty members. Here are some resources to review some scholarship opportunities at JMU that are available for incoming transfer students:

  1. Thomas and Karyn Dingledine Scholarships:
    • Award amount is equivalent to full in-state tuition (currently $8,743) for two years at JMU
    • Two awards annually.
    • Application and recommendations must be postmarked no later than February 15, 2012.
    • Scholarship Criteria:
      1. Graduating from a Virginia Community College with a transferable A.A, A.S., or A.A&S. degree by the end of the Spring 2012 semester.
      2. Applying for admission to JMU to begin Summer 2012 or Fall 2012.
      3. Have a minimum cumulative college GPA of 3.5.
      4. At least 60% of your college credits must be completed from community college.
      5. At the time of application, at least one college-level transferable course must be completed in English, math, lab science, and social science.

  2. Scholarship Opportunities for Current Students

  3. Centennial Scholarship - for students with a high financial need

  4. Jack C. Smith Scholarship - for prospective transfer students majoring within our College of Business and graduating from Mountain Empire CC, Virginia Highlands CC, Southwest Virginia CC, or Wytheville CC.

  5. Madison Achievement Scholarships – Five two-year merit-based scholarships will be awarded based on the review of the admissions application. Priority will be given to students completing their second year of college. The scholarship is $3000 for the first year with the opportunity to be renewed for a second year at $3500.