By Will Geiger

Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.

Updated: July 14th, 2021

Scholarships are NOT only for students with perfect 4.0 GPAs, 1600 SATs, and a zillion extracurricular activities. In fact, there are a ton of scholarships for B students. One of the best sources of scholarships are from the colleges themselves. In fact, for most students, the majority of scholarship money will come from merit scholarships that are school specific (for more on how to think about scholarship funding, check out our ultimate guide to scholarships). They key to getting the most merit scholarship is crafting a really good list.

Curious on whether you will qualify for merit-based scholarships at a school? Scattergrams are a great way to see how you stack up against a college’s applicant pool as far as test scores and GPA. Every school’s merit scholarship process is different, but you should be towards the top of the applicant pool as far as grades and test scores in order to be competitive.

Notes on this list: Many of these schools have strong need-based financial aid programs as well, although this list solely focuses on merit-based financial aid programs.

Agnes Scott College (Decatur, GA)

• All students who apply by 1/15 are considered for scholarships ranging from $10,000-$25,000 per year
• Agnes Scott College also offers full tuition merit scholarships!
• Link: Merit scholarships at Agnes Scott

University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL)

• ‘Bama offers a wide range of merit programs available to students both in-state and out
• Link: Merit scholarships at Alabama

Allegheny College (Meadville, PA)

• The Allegheny Trustee Scholarship ranges from $10,000 to $30,000 per year for students
• Link: Merit scholarships at Allegheny

Auburn University (Auburn, AL)

• Offers the National Scholars Presidential Scholarship to National Merit Finalists and National Achievement Finalists
• This program awards full-tuition scholarships to students both in-state and out-of-state, along with several other perks (including a $1,000 technology stipend)
• Link: The National Scholars Presidential Scholarship

Berry College (Rome, GA)

• Berry offers scholarships in a variety of domains including academics, leadership, arts, music, theater, Model UN, and forensic speech
• Link: Merit scholarships at Berry

Brigham Young University-Idaho (Rexburg, ID)

• BYU-Idaho offers merit scholarships ranging from 25% tuition to 100% tuition
• Link: Merit scholarships at BYU-Idaho

Champlain College (Burlington, VT)

• Champlain College offers merit scholarships to over 90% of students
• Link: Merit scholarships at Champlain

Curry College (Milton, MA)

• Curry College offers merit scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $28,000 per year
• Link: Merit scholarships at Curry 

Greensboro College (Greensboro, NC)

• Greensboro College offers a number of scholarship programs that range from $5,000 per year to full tuition!
• Link: Merit scholarships at Greensboro College

Marlboro College (Marlboro, VT)

• Marlboro’s merit scholarships range from $8,000 to $16,500 per year
• Link: Merit scholarships at Marlboro College

Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI)

• Marquette offers a number of scholarship programs that go up to full tuition!
• Link: Merit scholarships at Marquette

Monmouth University (Long Branch, NJ)

• Monmouth offers a number of scholarships ranging from $2,000 to $25,000 per year
• Link: Merit scholarships at Monmouth

Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, OH)

• Offers $30,000 per year for students with a 3.4 GPA and test scores of at least a 1150 on the SAT or 23 on the ACT
• 97% of OWU students receive merit or need-based scholarships
• Link: Merit scholarships at OWU

Roanoke College (Roanoke, VA)

• Students with at least a 2.75 GPA and a 1020 SAT will receive a Maroon Award worth $8,500 per year
• Merit scholarships at Roanoke range up to $25,000 per year
• Link: Merit scholarships at Roanoke

Stetson University (DeLand, FL)

• Stetson offers the Presidential Scholarship Package, Faculty Scholarship Package, Deans Scholarship Package, and the Hatter Scholarship Package
• Stetson’s scholarships range from $10,000 to Full Tuition
• Link: Merit scholarships at Stetson

Transylvania College  (Lexington, KY)

• Transylvania College offers scholarships to students ranging from $7,000 to full tuition per year
• Students with a 3.0 GPA and a 23 ACT can qualify for a merit scholarship worth at least $7,000 per year
• Link: Merit scholarships at Transylvania College 

Wabash College  (Crawfordsville, IN)

• Wabash offers every student with a 3.0 GPA and a 20 ACT or 1020 SAT at least $17,000 in merit scholarship money
• Link: Merit scholarships at Wabash

Wentworth Institute  (Boston, MA)

• Wentworth’s scholarships range from $1,000 to $13,000 and no separate application is necessary
• Link: Merit scholarships at Wentworth Institute of Technology

Xavier University (Cincinnati, OH)

• Xavier offers merit scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $18,500 annually
• Link: Merit scholarships at Xavier

Summary of top college scholarships for B students:

• Agnes Scott College (Decatur, GA)
• University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL)
• Allegheny College (Meadville, PA)
• Auburn University (Auburn, AL)
• Berry College (Rome, GA)
• Brigham Young University-Idaho (Rexburg, ID)
• Champlain College (Burlington, VT)
• Curry College (Milton, MA)
• Greensboro College (Greensboro, NC)
• Marlboro College (Marlboro, VT)
• Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI)
• Monmouth University (Long Branch, NJ)
• Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, OH)
• Roanoke College (Roanoke, VA)
• Stetson University (DeLand, FL)
• Transylvania College  (Lexington, KY)
• Wabash College  (Crawfordsville, IN)
• Wentworth Institute  (Boston, MA)
• Xavier University (Cincinnati, OH