EUGENE, Ore. -- (Sept. 26, 2012) – Incoming students who achieve pinnacle academic levels in high school will be rewarded financially with two new scholarships at the University of Oregon that will double or triple scholarship values over current offerings. 

The new Summit and Apex Scholarships will be awarded to UO freshmen students starting in fall 2013. Incoming freshmen who apply for admission by Jan. 15, 2013, and meet the criteria will be automatically awarded the Summit or Apex scholarships.  No separate application is required.

Oregon top scholars are eligible for up to $20,000 over four years with the Summit Scholarship or $12,000 over four years with the Apex Scholarship, based on meeting minimum high school grade point averages and minimum scores on SAT or ACT tests.

“We want Oregon's students to stay in Oregon,” said UO President Michael Gottfredson.  “With these new programs, we are creating even more opportunities for Oregonians to attend a top public research institution.”

According to Roger Thompson, UO’s vice provost for Enrollment Management, the new scholarship program is expected to increase aid to Oregon's incoming students by nearly 50 percent and aims to attract an even greater number of student leaders to the university.

“The Summit and Apex scholarships will reward our incoming scholars for reaching the peak of high school achievement,” said Thompson. “Recipients of these scholarships will embody the UO’s motto, Mens Agitat Molem, or ‘minds move mountains’ with all the benefits of a UO education.”

The new scholarship program joins others including PathwayOregon, which covers the difference between other sources of financial aid and the total cost of tuition and fees for academically prepared Oregonians from lower income backgrounds, the Mary Corrigan and Richard Solari Scholarships for Oregonians from middle-income families and Diversity Excellence Scholarships.

Criteria for the new Summit and Apex scholarships:

Summit Scholarship: $20,000 total award ($5,000 per year for four years)

-       Oregon resident

-       Minimum 3.80 high school GPA on a 4.0 scale, and

-       Minimum 1200 SAT (for critical reading and math) or 26 ACT score

Apex Scholarship: $12,000 total award ($3,000 per year for four years)

-       Oregon resident

-       Minimum 3.65 high school GPA on a 4.0 scale, and

-       Minimum 1150 SAT (critical reading and math) or 25 ACT score

The scholarships will also be awarded to out-of-state students with adjustments to award levels due to higher tuition rates, with $8,000 per year or $4,000 per year for four years, respectively for the Summit and Apex Scholarships.

The scholarships are renewable, four-year awards requiring a minimum 3.0 cumulative UO GPA.  The scholarships can be combined with other scholarships to reduce the cost of attendance even further.

For more information, visit http://financialaid.uoregon.edu/scholarships.

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

MEDIA CONTACT:Joe Mosley, UO Communications, 541-346-3606, jmosley@uoregon.edu

Note: The University of Oregon is equipped with an on-campus television studio with satellite uplink capacity, and a radio studio with an ISDN phone line for broadcast-quality radio interviews.