Scholarships
FGCU STUDENTS
Please begin your search for financial assistance on the following webpage: http://www.fgcu.edu/AS/FinancialAid/index.html.
It provides important financial aid and scholarship information to help you access critical support for your educational journey at Florida Gulf Coast University. You will learn how to apply for federal, state, and institutional grants (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) and for FGCU Foundation, state, institutional, and private scholarships (https://itech.fgcu.edu/es-secured/financialaid/scholarships.asp).
To qualify for the maximum financial assistance possible, it is important to complete both the FAFSA and the Scholarship Application, whether or not you believe you will qualify for federal aid. Students are often pleasantly surprised when they take the time to complete both applications. Some scholarships are based solely on the county in which you live or on your major. By completing the FAFSA application you may also qualify for loans or to work on campus through the Work Study program.
To receive financial assistance, you do not have to be in dire straits financially or be a straight A or even a B student, but you may not receive financial assistance if you are on academic probation or warning. If you receive a scholarship award, you will be expected to provide a heartfelt thank-you letter and photograph to the family or company executives who so generously donated your award. You may also be invited to attend the popular President's Scholarship Luncheon to give personal thanks to your sponsor(s).
PLEASE NOTE: The Admission Application does NOT qualify you for financial consideration, but it MUST be submitted before you apply for scholarships. http://www.fgcu.edu/admissions.asp
SCHOLARSHIP SPONSORS
Florida Gulf Coast University encourages individuals, companies, and foundations to assist FGCU students. The State of Florida offers matching gift opportunities for many of these donated scholarship dollars.
The State of Florida is matching dollar-for-dollar any scholarship gift in support of First Generation students. First Generation students are students with financial need who have parents who have not graduated with a bachelor's degree or higher.
The State of Florida will match gifts of $100,000 or more that establish scholarship endowments. Any award criteria may be used except participation in athletics. The gift may be made outright, through a planned gift, or with a written pledge to contribute the gift in equal annual payments over a period of up to five years. Scholarship endowment gifts ranging from $100,000 to $599,999 will be matched at 50%; gifts ranging from $600,000 to $1 million will be matched at 70%; gifts ranging from $1,000,001 to $1.5 million will be matched at 75%; gifts ranging from $1,500,001 to $2 million will be matched at 80%; and gifts of $2,000,001 or more will be matched dollar-for-dollar.
Need-based Scholarships open doors to higher education and, through that, a better life for dedicated, persevering students who might not otherwise be able to afford to attend the University. Merit-based Scholarships attract outstanding undergraduates with top academic and leadership records who without competitive FGCU scholarships would accept offers from other schools and leave the region.
When you make a scholarship gift, you will be asked to name the fund and determine the award criteria. Typically, scholarships are based on GPA, major, county of residence, desired career, and/or community involvement or demonstrated leadership. If your gift establishes an endowment fund—a fund that will continue to produce annual awards in perpetuity—, awards will be approximately 4.5% of the December 31st market value.
Every fall you will receive a heartfelt letter and photograph from your student(s). You will also be invited to meet your student at the popular annual President's Scholarship Luncheon and hear his/her personal stories and words of appreciation.
For more information or to make a scholarship gift, please contact Judith Cassidy, FGCU Foundation, (239) 590-1058, jcassidy@fgcu.edu.
To Search for Scholarships:
Using the form at the bottom of this page:
- Please refer to the Legend for a description of the scholarship type depicted in parenthesis. Example: Scholarship Name (1)
- Select Undergraduate, Graduate or All
- Select Need Based, Merit Based, or All
- Enter what criteria you know about the scholarship. Example: If you want to see all scholarships for environmental majors, enter environmental in the criteria box. You will see all scholarships held in trust by the Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation that have the word environmental in the criteria section of the scholarship.
If you are unsure of a scholarship's criteria or you want to see all scholarships, click on the Just show me everything! button. You will see all scholarships held in trust by the Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation.
Legend (numbers in parenthesis):
- Presidential Endowed Scholarships
- Book Endowed Scholarships
- Endowed Scholarships
- Restricted Scholarships
- Business Ethics Scholarships
EIB Criteria refers to Business Ethics scholarships that were established under the State of Florida's Ethics in Business Scholarship Program Endowment and matched dollar-for-dollar, up to a program total of $500,000. Donors that established Ethics in Business Scholarship funds agreed to add state criteria to their own list of criteria.
The following four criteria are known as "EIB Criteria" for the purposes of this document. These criteria are required by the State of Florida. Any additional criteria added are those of the fund's donor(s):
- The recipient must be an undergraduate.
- The awards must be distributed based on need.
- The recipient must be enrolled in or have completed, and successfully passed with a grade of C or better, a business ethics course (MAN 2062 or MAN 3063) in, or prior to, the first semester of the scholarship. The student is then eligible throughout her/his FGCU school career for scholarship renewals provided that s/he continues to meet the other scholarship criteria.
- The recipient must demonstrate a commitment to serving their community (which is already a requirement of graduation at Florida Gulf Coast University).
- Legacy Endowed Scholarships
- Quasi-Endowed Scholarships
