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College of Engineering

First Year Students

Incoming Freshman Scholarships

The Fall 2026 incoming freshman engineering scholarship application start date coincides with the OneApp start date set by the Office of Student Financial Aid – tentatively set for September 15, 2025 but subject to change.

A high school cumulative GPA of 3.6 or higher is required to be eligible to apply for engineering incoming freshman scholarships.

Fill out the online scholarship application by 11:59 PM CST on January 6, 2026 to be considered.

Application Instructions:

How to Apply

Our scholarship applications are through a system called OneApp.

What account do I use to sign into OneApp?

  • Students who have already accepted their offer of admission will use their Net-ID account [netid]@iastate.edu.
  • If you have been admitted to Iowa State, but have not yet accepted your offer of admission, you will use your Admissions account.
  • Your Admissions account was created when you either registered for a campus visit or submitted your application for admission. You will be asked to convert your Admissions account to a Net-ID after you accept your offer of admission.

Register for a NetID 

  • After you have accepted your offer of admission, the next time you sign into your My Account page with your Admissions account, you will be prompted to register your Net-ID.
  • Use your 9 digit University ID to register – found in the acceptance packet that was mailed to you.
    • If you lost your packet, call our Admissions Office at 800-262-3810. (For security purposes, University IDs are not given via email.)
    • Contact the Solution Center if you experience a problem registering.
  • A confirmation screen will appear if you have successfully registered your Net-ID and converted your existing Admissions account to your university Net-ID. Your new Net-ID should be used to sign into all university systems.
    • It can sometimes take overnight for the account to become fully activated. It is recommended to wait overnight and attempt your first login the following day after creating the Net-ID.

Scholarship Applications

Step 1: General Application 

  • Click the yellow Sign In button in the top right corner to login to OneApp.
  • After completing all required questions, you must click Finish and Submit to advance on and see the Engineering Student Program Support – Freshman Applied Merit application in the Other Opportunities section of OneApp.

Step 2: Engineering Student Program Support – Freshman Applied Merit application

  • Click Save and Keep Editing to save and come back to it later.
  • Changes can be made up to January 6, 2026 at 11:59 PM CST.
    • You are responsible for ensuring changes are saved by clicking Update.
    • There are typically two rounds of reviews. If your application is reviewed in round 1, any changes made after a decision is sent to you will not be taken into account.
  • Don’t forget to also click “Finish and Submit” on both applications to guarantee consideration.

Scholarship Offer Information:

  • Iowa residents: $2,500/year
  • Domestic non-Iowa residents: $5,500/year
  • Guaranteed* for 2 years (4 semesters) if selected

Students must accept the offer of admission by May 1, 2026 in order to receive any scholarship they may be offered.

*Students must meet three requirements to continue the award their second year:

  1. Remain enrolled in the College of Engineering
  2. Achieve a 2.7 Fall 2026 cumulative GPA
  3. Complete the College of Engineering scholarship application in OneApp between November 1, 2026 and March 1, 2027

Frequently Asked Questions:

Students must meet a 3.6 or higher high school GPA to be eligible to apply. While initial award offers may be based on preliminary or self-reported academic information, all awards are contingent upon receipt of your official, final high school transcript. This scholarship requires your transcript verify you have met the 3.60 minimum GPA requirement to receive it.

Iowa State University is test optional, so ACT/SAT scores are not used to determine scholarship eligibility or selections.

Applications will be evaluated based on the quality of your essay responses. Advanced math, science, computer programming or other engineering-related coursework in high school may also affect scholarship decisions.

Each essay has a word limit of 500. A strong essay response will typically be at least 60% of that limit.

If you want to stand out, make sure that your essays have depth, questions are fully and authentically addressed, and that you have checked for spelling and grammar.

Typically, around 60% of applicants receive a scholarship offer.

Our merit scholarships are not department specific, so any engineering major is eligible. Undeclared Engineering majors are at no disadvantage to a student who has declared a department major at the time they apply for the scholarship.

No, the engineering merit scholarships are not gender specific. The Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) program (https://www.wise.iastate.edu/) provides scholarships specifically for women.

Financial need is not taken into consideration when selecting recipients for engineering merit scholarships. High school GPA is used to determine initial eligibility, and essay responses are used to make selections.

Yes, it can be combined with other scholarship offers from the university as long as the total of all awards is within the cost of attendance amount set by the university.

  • Remain continuously enrolled in the College of Engineering
  • Establish at least a 2.7 cumulative grade point average in the fall 2026 semester
  • Complete an online scholarship application beginning November 2026

* All three components must be met to continue for year two

  • Office of Student Financial Aid

    The Office of Student Financial Aid has a wealth of resources ready to help you finance your education, including university scholarships, grants, loans, net tuition calculators, and more.

  • International Education Programs

    Some scholarships are available specifically for study abroad experiences.