To watch a video presentation about the MUS Honor Scholarship, click here. (Broadband or DSL internet connection highly recommended).
A new policy for the MUSHS was implemented on March 1, 2007, which provides for an improved application and award process. The changes went into effect with students graduating in 2008.
In years past, each accredited Montana high school was awarded at least one Honor Scholarship. With the new policy, as opposed to each Montana high school being awarded a certain number of scholarships based on senior class enrollment, students who are eligible for the scholarship will be competing on a statewide basis, therefore a high school might not receive an Honor Scholarship at all. The MUS Honor Scholarship is not considered a “valedictorian” scholarship and because of the objective criteria used for scoring this scholarship, should not be considered an “entitlement.” There will be up to 200 scholarships offered per academic year.
To be eligible to receive the scholarship, students must meet the following criteria:
- Have a cumulative 3.4 GPA at the end of their 7th semester in high school;
- Meet the rigorous core requirements - Board of Regents Policy;
- Have been enrolled at a Montana Board of Public Education accredited high school for at least three years prior to graduation. During their senior year, the student must be enrolled in a Montana high school accredited by the Montana Board of Public Education;
- Have submitted ACT or SAT score to designated high school official prior to the February 15th application deadline;
- Will attend a Montana University System campus or eligible community college.
To apply for the scholarship, students must do the following:
- Take the ACT or SAT by December 2009, and submit the documented ACT or SAT score to designated high school official prior to the February 15th application deadline;
- Apply for admission and be accepted to a Montana University System campus or eligible community college by the February 15th application deadline;
- Complete an MUS Honor Scholarship application (available only from designated high school official);
- Attach a copy of the college acceptance letter from the eligible college to their MUS application;
- Submit the completed packet to their designated high school official by February 15th of their senior year.
Recipients will be selected based upon class ranking as determined by the student’s GPA and ACT or SAT score (the higher of the two if both tests are taken). If the SAT score is used, it will be converted to an ACT score using a comparability chart.
A composite scholarship score will be determined by assigning a value to the students GPA, and adding that value to the ACT score or converted SAT score.
Class rank will be determined as follows: The student(s) with the highest 7th semester GPA in the graduating class, will be assigned 30 points. The student(s) with the second highest GPA will be assigned 29 points and so on until either all students with a GPA of 3.4 and greater are ranked, or all 30 points have been assigned. The following is an example of assigning value to a GPA:
Sample GPA Ranking For MUSHS Scoring Purposes
| Name | GPA | Points |
| Carol | 4.0 | 30 |
| Katie | 3.9 | 29 |
| Brian | 3.9 | 29 |
| Larry | 3.8 | 28 |
The class rank score will then be added to the student’s ACT score, or converted SAT score, and the combination will produce a composite scholarship score. A high school which uses weighted grade point averages must use weighted averages for all students for which the weighting applies.
To retain the scholarship students must maintain a 3.4 cumulative GPA while enrolled in college. Students must also complete at least 30 credit hours after two semesters, 60 credit hours after four semesters and 90 credit hours after six semesters. If the student is not able to obtain the credits or maintain the GPA required due to circumstances beyond his/her control the student may appeal to the financial aid office.
The MUS Honor Scholarship policy can be found here.
