Merit-Based Aid
Students who desire consideration for merit-based scholarships must submit their Clark University Application by January 1. The scholarships and awards available to first-year, domestic applicants to Clark are:
Achievement Award
This is a $48,000 four-year scholarship. Year-to-year continuation ($12,000 per year) requirements must also be met. Students whose financial need is greater than the amount of the scholarship may be eligible for additional assistance through a combination of grants, loans and work-study. Achievement scholars' average GPA is 3.72; average SAT is 1268 (CR+M)/29 ACT).
Making a Difference Scholarship
The Making a Difference Scholarship is awarded to domestic applicants who demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to social change. Past winners have been involved with community service organizations, political action groups, human rights campaigns and for-profit and non-profit social entrepreneurship. Clark recognizes that change agents come from all backgrounds and offer a wide variety of valuable and compelling perspectives. The thread that links scholarship recipients together is their dedication to using their talents and energy to make a difference.
The Making a Difference Scholarship is a $60,000 four-year scholarship ($15,000 per year). The scholarship includes a $2,500 taxable stipend and housing allowance to support an optional summer project that students may undertake in Worcester during the summer following their sophomore or junior year.
Finalists will be invited to interview. The most important criterion in the selection process will be the student’s record of exceptional contributions and commitment to “making a difference”. Candidates must be clearly admissible within the context of the applicant group. The average GPA and SAT scores respectively for Making a Difference Scholarship recipients are 3.4 and 1200 (Critical Reading and Math only).
A completed Clark University application (including official high school transcript and test scores) must be submitted by January 1.
Presidential Scholarship
The four Presidential Scholarships include the Carlson, Frazier, Goddard and Semple Scholarships. These named scholarship awards are given in honor of distinguished scholars and teachers whose impact in the sciences and social sciences at Clark University and beyond have challenged the conventions of their times. Students who have excelled in secondary school and whose academic achievement and personal qualities indicate they will perform at the highest level when they enroll at the University will be given top consideration for the awards. Eligible students who express an interest in science and choose to major in a natural science or mathematics will receive a Carlson Presidential Scholarship that includes support for summer research as described for the Traina Scholarship.
There is no separate application for this scholarship. Winners of these awards will receive a $60,000 four-year award ($15,000 per year) regardless of their family's financial need, provided year-to-year continuation requirements are met. Presidential scholars' average GPA is 3.89; average SAT is 1362 (CR+M)/ ACT 31.
Presidential Scholars are included at special events at Clark designed to bring them together with other outstanding students, faculty and alumni in social and intellectual settings. Presidential Scholars Day is held mid-February, by invitation only. The deadline for your admission application is January 1.
Traina Scholarship
A small number of the Presidential Scholarship candidates will be awarded the Traina Scholarship. Named for Richard P. Traina, Clark University president from 1984 to 2000, these prestigious scholarships go to students in the sciences who have truly distinguished secondary school records and personal achievements.
The Traina Scholarship is a $72,000 four-year award ($18,000 per year), provided year-to-year continuation requirements are met. The award also provides a $3,000 taxable summer stipend and housing for students in the sciences who choose to do research on campus following their junior year. Traina scholars' average GPA is 3.89; average SAT is 1391 (CR+M)/ ACT 31.
There is no separate application for this scholarship, but an on-campus interview is required of all candidates for the Traina Scholarship. Scholarship interviews will be held on Traina Scholars Day, which is held in mid-February, by invitation only. The admission application deadline is January 1.