A Little About Scholarships at MSU and in the NACOE

At MSU, financial scholarships come through many resources. Here are a few examples.

  1. The highest dollar, renewable awards come thorugh the Admissions process and presented to students as part of their inital financial package (WUE, Achievement, Premier, MUS STEM, etc.).
  2. Next are college (ie: NACOE) and department (ie: Civil, Mechanical, etc.) scholarship awards that are donor-directed according a vision and purpose of how they wish to support students pursuing engineering or computing degrees.
  3. Finally, companies and organizations outside of engineering and computing also wish to financially support aspiring students and often include internship or job opportunities (see our External MSU Scholarships page).

Applications are managed through Cat $cholarships, which is an application management portal (one portal, several applications). Students complete a general application and a college-specific (NACOE) application. These automatically match students to funds their responses align. Cat $cholarships also suggests additional applications for students to review and determine if they meet the qualifications and wish to provide additional responses (usually an essay or resume) in order to be considered. 

Scholarship committee members at the college and department level review applications and score them based on a rubric. Award selection committee members - senior staff and faculty - use data from application essays and scholarship criteria to identify scholarship award finalists.

STUDENTS MUST APPLY EVERY YEAR

All donors wish to invest in young adults who are working hard to meet their potential as a developing engineer or computer scientist.

Scholarship opportunities are directed to a range of charactertisc from broad to specific such as:

  • Pursing a major in the NACOE
  • Pursing specific major(s) in the NACOE,
  • Academic progress through an NACOE major
  • Academic achievement as an NACOE student
  • Particiular backgrounds or experience
  • Engagement within the NACOE community
  • Financial need

Scholarship application questions help the committee know more about each candidate. Their charge is to match pre-professional students to scholarship(s) and application questions help with them through the selection process.

The selection commiittee's goals are to align award recipients with the scholarship donor's purpose and recognize as many students as possible. 

Good to Great Scholarship Applications

The best scholarship applications describe to the selection committee how students actively direct their own personal development from a high school graduate interested in engineering or computer science to a new professional ready for the career field. This process happens over several years and includes many factors that a student engages with to reach personal and professional goals. Donors fund scholarships to support students who are maximizing on their academic experience. These includes: 

  1. Solid and steady academic progress.
  2. Engagement within their academic community. 
  3. Preparation for a professional role after college.

Donors may also focus on students from particular backgrounds or with interests in specific topics (e.g.: cyber security, construction, materials, etc.). Following is some advice from the NACOE Scholarship Committee to help students applying for the donor-directed funds in the NACOE.

Advice from NACOE Scholarship Committee Members
Topic College and Department Committees
General Application: Community Engagement Questions

List high school involvement (for incoming, first year students)

List college/university involvement (for continuing students)

List community service, work experience.

List awards and honors
Response Tips How were you engaged in high school or your home community? Did you hold a part-time job? How do you engage when you are busy? How did you direct your time and support your family? What behaviors are you bringing with you to college?

General Application: Essay Prompt

Explain to the selection committee why you are applying for an MSU scholarship. Include information about your financial need, your academic background and preparation, and how a scholarship might impact your MSU career. 
Response Tips

College is about continuing to develop as an expert and contributing member of society in ways that align with your interests. Focus on highlighting your personal growth, unique perspectives you may have as a result of your experience, ways you taken advantage of opportunities to learn and contribute to your community.  Share how you see yourself contributing to a college community, continuing to learn, and in what ways a college experience will help you become better and stronger as a member of the academic community. 

Scholarships may make the financial aspect easier, but very rarely will they meet all the costs of a college experience. Be mindful of presenting the case that it is someone else's responsibility to fund your college experience. Consider and communicate the role you are taking to invest in yourself with time, effort, and financial commitment. What is it you are wanting to do within a campus community that would be more likely to happen if you could work on campus versus off campus or work fewer hours each week to pay for groceries or rent.

NACOE Application

Engagement Questions

Please select all Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering (NACOE) student organization(s), program(s), and/or chapter(s) of which you are actively affiliated OR a member.

Please identify teaching support you provided this year for the college/department.

Please identify tutoring support you provided this year for the college/department.
Response Tips

Participating in clubs and organizations in the NACOE provide opportunity to 1) share what you know and 2) learn how you will use what you're learning in classes. You develop leadership skills and ability to work collaboratively on projects. These opportunities simulate the work force and help you define the type of colleague and employee you wish to be. 

Getting involved in an organization that aligns with your professional or personal interests shows you wish to be mentee and (eventually) act as a mentor to someone who would benefit from your encouragement and perspective. 

Scholarship selection committee members pay attention to who chooses to serve in leadership roles or support their peers through tutoring and faculty as lab assistants or test graders. This often informs who is selected for higher dollar awards as a way of compensation or recognition of the time they are giving to their academic community.

NACOE Application

Essay Prompt

Describe how engineering or computing fields interest you, how you have committed yourself to earning a degree in one of these fields, and how a scholarship will benefit your academic experience.

Max: 200 words
Response Tips What interests or excites you about problems in society? How would an engineering or computing degree allow you to help solve them? What compells you to learn how to solve problems as an engineer or computer scientist? Briefly describe how a scholarship will help you engage with experiences at MSU and build the expertise aligning with goals and interests.

NACOE Application: 

Research & Internship Questions

Please tell us about your undergraduate research experience.

Have you applied or completed at least 1 internship for either credit or experience?
Response Tips Share post high school experiencesr elated to these topics. If relevant, include how these are helping guide your development as an engineer or computer scientist in your NACOE essay prompt.

Additional Helpful Details for NACOE Students

On the "Financial Aid, Legacy, and Empower Status" page:

  • Log into your FAFSA account and confirm your application is complete and was submitted. 
  • Log into your MSU student account and review Financial Aid package. This should include your financial aid eligibility. Contact Office of Financial Aid if you have questions about your level of need and if this includes Pell Grants. 
  • Legacy Scholarships available through the MSU Foundation. Please review their website for further information. 
  • If you identify as a member of an underrepresented group in engineering or computer science, eligibility for these scholarships is determined by activity with student organizations and through information provided through Banner. Demographic data automatically filters students into the appropriate opportunities designed to widen access in these disciplines. If there are additional steps, you will be prompted within the Cat Scholarships application. 

Writing a Scholarship Essay

  • Scholarship committees are interested in how a scholarship will benefit your current academic experience.
  • If you are an undergraduate, how will the potential funds be used to enhance your experience?
  • What is your academic story as a student? What brought you to this point? What are you excited about now?
  • How are you involved in your academic community and what additional opportunities will be available through a scholarship award?

Answering the writing prompt in the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering (NACOE) application.

  • We are interested in your engagement strategy with our Engineering or Computer Science community from your Freshman year (or first semester). Describe how you already did this in high school and how you plan to repeat the process as part of the NACOE community.
  • The essay is a place to articulate how your experiences in and out of classes are synthesizing into areas of interest and expertise. 

New changes:

  • CatScholarships receives a controlled information feed from Banner which will help with completing your General Application.
  • Log into your FAFSA account and confirm your application is complete and was submitted. This is especially important if you expect to be eligible for financial need scholarships. 
  • Log into your MSU student account and review Financial Aid package. This should include your financial aid eligibility. Contact Financial Aid Services if you have questions about your level of need and if this includes Pell Grants. 
  • Legacy Scholarships available through the MSU Foundation. Please review their website for further information. 
    • If you identify as a member of an underrepresented group in engineering or computer science, eligibility for these scholarships is determined by activity with student organizations and through information provided through Banner. If there are additional steps, you will be prompted within the Cat Scholarships application. 

Writing a Scholarship Essay

  • Scholarship committees are interested in how a scholarship will benefit your current academic experience.
  • If you are an undergraduate, how will the potential funds be used to enhance your experience?
  • If you are a graduate, how will the potential funds be used to ehnhance your research agenda?
  • What is your academic story as a student? What brought you to this point? What are you excited about now?
  • How are you involved in your academic community and what additional opportunities will be available through a scholarship award?

Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering (NACOE) application: Answering the student engagement section and writing prompt. 

  • We are interested in your engagement strategy with our Engineering or Computer Science community from your Freshman year (or first semester).
  • If you are attending chapter meetings or events hosted by a club or organization? Do you play a role as an officer or committee lead? These experiences demonstrate your committment to and development of knowledge, skills and expertise in engineering or computing content.
  • Share any experiences you have enjoyed which sparked your interest in engineering or computer science (e.g.: FIRST Lego, Robotics, Engineering clubs or classes).