Ole Miss is one of the easier flagship universities in the country to get into, and one of the harder ones to figure out. Roughly 97 out of every 100 applicants are admitted, so for most families the real question was never will my student get in. It is what will this actually cost us.
That answer depends almost entirely on two numbers: your student’s GPA and their test score. Ole Miss publishes one of the most detailed automatic merit charts of any SEC school, and it does something unusual. The out-of-state chart includes a “no test score” column. A student with a 3.75 GPA who never sits for the ACT still gets $8,000 a year, automatically. That is rare, and it is worth knowing before you decide whether to send scores.
The other thing to know up front: about 70 percent of Ole Miss freshmen come from outside Mississippi. This is not a school where out-of-state students are an afterthought. The merit chart is built to pull them in.
MS residents: GPA 3.0+ and ACT 23+ • Non-residents: GPA 3.0+, no test score required
Benchmarks for top-tier awards.
Testing Policy
Test-optional
Superscores ACT/SAT.
Key Deadlines
Priority: Jan 10 • FAFSA: Mar 1
Full-Tuition / Full-Ride
Academic Excellence National Merit; Stamps Scholarship
Honors College
Honors Program Available
Residency & Waivers
ACM
🚨 Easy-to-Miss “Gotchas” at Ole Miss (Read This First)
Rolling admission fools people into missing January 10. There is no hard admissions deadline, so families assume there is no scholarship deadline either. There is. January 10 is when Stamps, the Women’s Council awards, Ole Miss First, every departmental award, and the Honors College all close. Getting admitted in March does not get that money back.
The two merit charts are on different years. As of this writing, the Mississippi resident chart on Ole Miss’s site is labeled 2025-2026 while the non-resident chart is labeled 2026-2027. If you are comparing an in-state student to an out-of-state one, you may be comparing two different years without realizing it.
Past a 33 ACT, in-state students earn nothing extra. The resident Academic Merit award is capped at the value of Year One tuition for anyone with a 33 or higher. A 35 gets the same dollar amount as a 33. If your student is already at 33, retesting buys bragging rights, not money.
The National Merit package replaces your chart award, it does not add to it. Semifinalists and Finalists get full tuition plus a standard double room instead of the Academic Merit chart amount, not on top of it.
Honors now has a November 1 early deadline. Starting with Fall 2027 entry, the Honors College application runs through the Competitive Academic Programs Application, with early action on November 1 and a final deadline of January 10.
FAQ
Is this college test-optional? Yes — University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) is test-optional.
What is the middle 50% ACT/SAT? ACT: 21-29; SAT: 1000-1200.
Average net price? About $13,164/year after aid.
Does this school use waivers/reciprocity?
Yes — participates in ACM.
💰 Cost of Attendance at University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) 2026-2027
📅 2027–2028 Planning Note: The costs below reflect the most recently published figures (2026–2027). Universities typically finalize the next year’s rates in the spring, and we’ll update this page once official 2027–2028 numbers are released.
Planning tip: At large public universities, tuition, fees, and housing usually increase modestly each year (often in the 2–5% range). For early budgeting, families may want to plan for roughly $1,000–$1,500 more in-state or $2,000–$3,000 more out-of-state in total direct costs once new rates are published.
Category (2026–2027)
In-State
Out-of-State
Tuition & Mandatory Fees (2 semesters)
$10,438
$31,228
Housing & Meals (typical)
$13,610
$13,610
Total (Direct Costs)
$24,048
$44,838
Average Federal Net Price: $13,164 — this is what families actually paid after grants and scholarships (no loans), based on the most recent federal data. Your specific cost could be significantly lower or higher depending on your financial aid eligibility and merit scholarships. New to Net Price & SAI? Read our guide.
The Out-of-State Gap, and How Ole Miss Closes It
Non-residents pay about $20,790 more per year in tuition than Mississippi residents. That sounds brutal until you look at the automatic merit chart, where the top non-resident award is $20,160 per year and is applied specifically toward the non-resident fee. A student with a 3.5 GPA and a 32 ACT is essentially paying in-state rates. Mississippi also participates in the Academic Common Market (ACM) for approved majors through SREB state certification, which is a separate pathway worth checking if your major qualifies.
FAQ — Cost of Attendance at Ole Miss
Why is out-of-state tuition three times the in-state rate?
Because Mississippi taxpayers subsidize resident tuition and not non-resident tuition. Residents pay $428.25 per credit hour. Non-residents pay $1,294.50. Over 24 credit hours a year, that gap comes to roughly $20,790. The good news is that Ole Miss hands most of that back to strong students through the automatic merit chart, with no separate application.
Do housing and meals cost more for out-of-state students?
No. Housing and food are billed identically regardless of where you live. Only tuition changes with residency. Ole Miss estimates housing at $8,030 and food at $5,580 for a student in campus housing, and those numbers apply to everyone.
Why is the housing estimate a single number when dorms vary so much?
Because it is an average. Ole Miss states the actual range runs from about $6,134 to $16,000 depending on the building and room style. If your student lands in an older traditional hall, you will come in well under the estimate. Suite and apartment-style housing pushes you well over it. Ask specifically which halls the freshman housing lottery typically assigns.
What is not in the direct-cost table above?
Books and supplies (about $1,200), personal expenses (about $3,500), and transportation (about $3,400). Ole Miss does not bill you for these, so they are not in the direct-cost total, but they are real. Budget another $8,000 or so a year on top, and more if your student is flying home from a distance.
Can out-of-state students get in-state tuition at Ole Miss?
Not through a simple residency reclassification, no. Mississippi’s rules are strict and moving to the state to attend college does not qualify you. The realistic paths are the automatic merit chart (which functions as a non-resident fee waiver at the top bands), the Academic Common Market for approved majors, or the J. Means award if you live in Shelby, Tipton, or Fayette County in Tennessee.
Will my scholarship keep up as tuition rises?
Mostly no, and this catches people. The automatic merit awards are fixed dollar amounts renewable for four years. Tuition typically climbs a few percent annually. So a $10,000 award covers a slightly smaller share of the bill each year. The one exception works in reverse: the 33+ ACT resident award is locked to Year One tuition and stays locked there, which means it also does not grow.
Does Ole Miss require the CSS Profile?
No. FAFSA only. The school code is 002440. File by March 1 if you want to be considered for Ole Miss Opportunity, the Red and Blue Scholarship, or Luckyday.
August 1: Admissions application opens. Automatic merit is decided off your admission file, so applying early just means knowing your number early.
November 1: Honors College early action deadline (new, starting with Fall 2027 entry).
January 10: The big one. Freshman Scholarship Application and Competitive Academic Programs Application both close. Everything competitive lives behind this date.
February 1: Suggested priority date for non-resident admission, since Ole Miss admits on a rolling basis until capacity is reached.
March 1: FAFSA priority for Ole Miss Opportunity, Luckyday, and need-based aid.
April 1: Red and Blue Scholarship awarding priority. Luckyday decisions announced.
Parent rule of thumb: Ole Miss has no admissions deadline that will hurt you, and one scholarship deadline that absolutely will. Circle January 10 and work backward from it.
Automatic Merit Scholarships — Ole Miss
These are awarded off your admission file. No essay, no interview, no separate application. Get admitted with the right GPA and test score and the money is yours. Ole Miss does superscore both the ACT and the SAT, so if your student tested more than once, their best section scores get combined. Subject scores have to come from the same exam type, so you cannot mix ACT and SAT sections.
Read the chart that matches your residency. Ole Miss runs two completely separate automatic merit charts. The Mississippi resident chart is built around ACT bands and adds the 1848 Scholarship on top for students at 3.5 GPA or higher. The non-resident chart is built around GPA bands and includes a column for students who submit no test score at all. Same school, very different math.
Find your student's tier
Enter the numbers you have. We'll highlight the automatic award your student would actually get and tuck the rest out of the way. Leave it blank to browse everything.
Residency
Based on published cutoffs for entering freshmen. Always verify with the college before finalizing plans.
One award, not a pile. Colleges apply your student's single best automatic award. Automatic scholarships almost never stack with each other, though some stack with housing, departmental, or outside money. The stacking notes on each card tell you which.
At 33+ ACT the stipend is set to the value of Year One tuition and capped there for the life of the scholarship. A 36 ACT receives the same amount as a 33.
Stacks with the resident Academic Merit Scholarship. Amounts appear combined in the Total column of the Ole Miss resident chart.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Nobody wins the 1848. It is a line item that appears if your GPA clears 3.5 and your ACT lands between 23 and 28 as a Mississippi resident. No essay, no committee, no interview. The part worth understanding is that it stacks on top of your Academic Merit award rather than replacing it, so an in-state student in these bands is looking at two awards, not one.
Automatic
1848 Scholarship (MS Resident, 3.5 GPA, 29+ ACT)
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$4,000/yr
✔ Stackable
🏫 3.5+ GPA✎ ~29 ACT✎ ~1330 SAT
✚
Stacking & Combining
Stacks with the resident Academic Merit Scholarship. Amounts appear combined in the Total column of the Ole Miss resident chart.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Same award as the lower 1848 band, double the money, and the entire difference is one ACT point. A 28 pays $2,000 a year and a 29 pays $4,000. For a Mississippi student sitting at 28 with a 3.5, that single point is worth $8,000 across four years. Retake the test.
Automatic
Academic Merit (Non-Resident, 3.0-3.49 GPA, no test score)
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$3,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
🏫 3.0+ GPA
✚
Stacking & Combining
Does not stack with the Academic Success Non-Resident scholarship.
Does not stack with the Academic Success Non-Resident scholarship.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Strong admitted students.
Automatic
Mississippi Star Student Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$2,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ One Star Student per Mississippi high school.
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: One Star Student per Mississippi high school. At a small school that is a realistic target for a strong junior. At a large competitive one it is a long shot. Either way the selection happens at your high school and not at Ole Miss, so the conversation to have is with your counselor about how your school makes the pick.
Automatic
High School Valedictorian / Salutatorian Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$2,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Top two ranked students per high school; school must rank its class.
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Only two students per graduating class can claim this, and only if your high school still officially ranks. A growing number no longer do, which quietly closes the door on strong students at those schools through no fault of their own. Where the school does rank and your student is one or two, it is $8,000 over four years, and the school will need to certify it in writing.
Automatic
Mississippi All-Star Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$1,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Top 20 Mississippi Economic Council All-Stars only.
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Twenty students in the entire state of Mississippi are named All-Star Scholars each year. Realistically you either already know you are one of them or this is not yours. At $1,000 a year the money is modest, and its real value is that it stacks on top of everything else you earned. Do not build a plan around it.
Automatic
Student Body President Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$1,500/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Top elected student body / student council president only.
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
President of the whole student body or student council. Not class president, not club president, not vice president. That distinction disqualifies most students who assume they qualify. If your student genuinely held the top seat, it is $6,000 over four years in exchange for documenting it during the first term.
Automatic
Eagle Scout / Gold Award Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$1,500/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires Eagle Scout or Girl Scout Gold Award.
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Nobody wins this at eighteen. You won it at fifteen, when you started the project. There is no application and no committee, so if you hold the rank, $1,500 a year stacks on top of whatever merit award you already earned. The place families slip is assuming Ole Miss already knows. It has to be documented during your first term or the $6,000 quietly never arrives.
Automatic
Boys State / Girls State Governor Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$1,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ State Governor or Boys/Girls Nation delegate only.
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: One student per state per year is elected governor at Boys or Girls State. If that is your student, they already know. Everyone else should read this line and move on, because there is no application that opens this door — only an election that happened the summer before senior year.
Automatic
Mississippi Boys State / Girls State Participant Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies Non-Renewable
$1,000
✘ Not stackable
⚠ One year only; Mississippi Boys/Girls State participants.
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Simply attending Boys State or Girls State is worth $1,000, one year only, not renewable. It is the most accessible award on this page for a student with that experience and it costs nothing but reporting it. Just do not mistake a single $1,000 for a meaningful piece of a four-year budget.
Automatic
AICE Cambridge Diploma Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$2,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Mississippi and Memphis-area residents holding the AICE Cambridge Diploma.
🏫 3.0+ GPA
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: You qualify for this by a curriculum choice made in ninth or tenth grade, not by anything done during application season. If your high school offers the Cambridge AICE track and your student completed the full diploma, it is $8,000 over four years for paperwork. If your school does not offer it, there is no path in, which is worth knowing so you stop looking.
Automaticnational merit
National Merit Finalist Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$1,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires National Merit Finalist status with Ole Miss named first choice.
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Small on its own at $1,000 a year, and it comes with a string most families skim past — you generally have to name Ole Miss your first-choice school with National Merit to collect. That designation carries its own deadline and is a real decision rather than a formality. Finalists should sequence it deliberately instead of clicking through it.
Automaticnational merit
Barnard Scholarship (National Merit Finalist)
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$5,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires National Merit Finalist status.
🏫 3.0+ GPA
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Reserved for National Merit Finalists, which means that same October PSAT decided this one too. For a Finalist, the thing to understand is that Ole Miss layers several Finalist-specific awards rather than offering one. Barnard is a piece of that stack, not the package. Finalists should ask financial aid to put the combined total in writing before comparing offers.
Automatic
Academic Success Non-Resident Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$3,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
🏫 3.8+ GPA
✚
Stacking & Combining
Does not stack with the non-resident Academic Merit Scholarship.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: This is what is left for a non-resident with a strong GPA who did not land the larger Academic Merit award. Three thousand a year barely dents the full non-resident price. Families who land here should read it as a signal to go hunting through the departmental and hidden-gem awards, not as an answer to the affordability question.
Automatic
STEM Major Non-Resident Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$2,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires enrollment in a listed STEM major.
🏫 3.5+ GPA✎ ~28 ACT
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Two thousand a year for declaring a STEM major you were probably declaring anyway, so it is close to free money — but read the major list carefully. It names specific degree programs rather than anything broadly scientific, and switching out later is a conversation with financial aid rather than a shrug. It stacks with the non-resident merit chart and does not replace it.
Full TuitionAutomaticNational Merit Semifinalist or Finalistnational merit
Academic Excellence National Merit Semifinalist / Finalist Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
Full Tuition
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires National Merit Semifinalist or Finalist standing.
🏫 3.0+ GPAEntering freshmen with National Merit Semifinalist or Finalist status and a 3.0 or higher high school GPA. Open to residents and non-residents alike.
✚
Stacking & Combining
Cannot be stacked with the Academic Merit awards. Non-resident version also covers the full non-resident fee.
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Strategic Detail
Covers full tuition plus the standard cost of a double-occupancy campus residence hall room.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
The gate here is not Ole Miss. It is the PSAT taken in October of junior year, before most families are thinking about scholarships at all. If you cleared your state's Semifinalist cutoff, this is close to automatic and it covers full tuition, which for a non-resident is the largest award on the board. If you did not, there is no essay and no appeal that gets you in. Everything was decided by a test most students treat as practice.
Automatic
J. Means Non-Resident Scholarship (Shelby, Tipton, Fayette Counties, TN)
📅 Deadline: Varies ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$5,000–$8,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Shelby, Tipton, and Fayette County, Tennessee residents only.
🏫 3.0+ GPA✎ ~24 ACT
💡
Strategic Detail
Alternate path: 3.75+ GPA with no test score or an ACT of 23 and below.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: This is a Memphis award wearing a formal name. Live in Shelby, Tipton, or Fayette County with a 3.0 and Ole Miss offsets $5,000 to $8,000 a year of the non-resident price. Families just north of the state line should check this before writing Ole Miss off as an out-of-state-priced school, because it changes the comparison against Tennessee publics considerably.
Automatic
Red & Blue Scholarship
📅 Deadline: April 1 Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
💡
Strategic Detail
Individually calculated to meet a set percentage of demonstrated need as a freshman.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: There is no chart for this one and no announced amount. Ole Miss calculates it individually after everything else is counted, which makes it invisible in advance. That is exactly why the April 1 date matters, because miss it and you never find out what you would have gotten. Treat it as a gap-filler you apply for on time and then forget, not a number you can plan around.
⚠ Family income at or below $40,000, Pell-eligible, SAI no higher than 6,655.
🏫 3.0+ GPAMississippi resident, U.S. citizen or permanent resident, first-time full-time degree-seeking freshman. Family income on the FAFSA at or below $40,000, Pell eligible, SAI no higher than 6,655, and a 3.0 high school GPA.
💡
Strategic Detail
Guarantee covering tuition plus meals and UM-managed housing, calculated to fill the gap after other aid. Valued at $20,942 for 2025-2026 plus $500 for books.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: This is a guarantee rather than a competition. A Mississippi family under $40,000 in income with a Pell-eligible student holding a 3.0 gets basic cost covered, filled in after every other grant is counted. That structure means winning other scholarships does not add cash — it changes who pays. The FAFSA by March 1 and the state aid application by March 31 are what decide it, and missing either forfeits the guarantee outright.
App RequiredChildren of UM employees only
Child of Faculty or Staff Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Children of full-time permanent University of Mississippi employees only.
Students whose parents are full-time permanent employees of the University of Mississippi main campus or its branch campuses.
📄
How to Apply
Submit the application via Scholarship Universe for the 2026-27 aid year.
💡
Strategic Detail
One-half tuition per semester; full tuition for children of employees hired before July 1, 1977.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: If a parent works full-time and permanent at Ole Miss, this covers half of tuition each semester, and full tuition if that parent was hired before July 1977. The catch is procedural — it runs through Scholarship Universe rather than the Freshman Scholarship Application, so families who complete only the freshman form never see it. Apply every aid year, because it does not roll forward on its own.
AutomaticFive Mississippi counties only
Sumners Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Attala, Carroll, Choctaw, Montgomery, or Webster County, Mississippi residents only.
Students who are residents of Attala, Carroll, Choctaw, Montgomery, or Webster County in Mississippi.
💡
Strategic Detail
Award amounts published on the separate Sumners Scholarship page; not listed on the main freshman chart.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Attala, Carroll, Choctaw, Montgomery, or Webster County is the entire eligible universe, which comes to a very small number of graduating seniors a year. Ole Miss does not publish the amount, and that opacity is precisely why families in those counties should call financial aid at 800-891-4596 rather than wait to be told. Few awards on this list have a better ratio of eligible students to available money.
Data last verified Aug 7, 2026.* GPA/test bands are estimates based on official selectivity and prior cohort profiles. "Who Actually Wins" insights are pulled from external peer-sourced data where students and parents have reported real-world award results. Because colleges can change funding thresholds and deadlines at any time, always verify these details with the institution before finalizing your application strategy.
Note: The Academic Merit chart award and the Academic Excellence National Merit package do not stack. Neither do the non-resident Academic Merit and Academic Success awards. In each case Ole Miss gives the higher of the two. The recognition awards (Valedictorian, Star Student, Eagle Scout, and so on) do stack on top of your chart award.
Automatic Merit — FAQs (Ole Miss)
Is there a deadline for automatic merit?
Not a calendar deadline in the usual sense. Ole Miss says qualifying test scores must be taken before you enroll as a new freshman. In practice, apply and get your scores in during the fall so your award appears when you are still comparing offers.
Does Ole Miss superscore?
Yes, for both the ACT and the SAT. This is a meaningful advantage over some SEC peers that only count a single sitting. If your student is one point below a band, retesting is worth it because only the better section scores carry forward.
What is the 1848 Scholarship and who gets it?
It is an add-on for Mississippi residents with at least a 3.5 GPA and a 23 ACT. It is worth $2,000 a year in the ACT 23 through 28 bands and doubles to $4,000 at a 29 ACT. That single point is the highest-value test point on the entire resident chart, because you pick up both the 1848 jump and a bump in the base Academic Merit award at the same time.
My student is test-optional. Do they lose all merit?
If they are a non-resident, no. The non-resident chart has a dedicated no-test-score column paying $3,000 to $8,000 a year depending on GPA. Mississippi residents are different: the resident Academic Merit chart requires a 23 ACT or SAT equivalent, so an in-state student with no score does not qualify for the chart award.
What is the most an out-of-state student can get automatically?
$20,160 a year, at a 3.5 GPA or higher with a 32+ ACT. That figure is applied toward the non-resident fee specifically, which is why it lands so close to erasing the out-of-state penalty entirely.
Are these renewable, and what does it take to keep them?
Renewable for up to four years with full-time enrollment of at least 12 hours per semester and satisfactory progress. Check the specific terms and conditions page for your award, since the required GPA varies. Note the 1848 Scholarship also requires that your student entered Ole Miss with no more than 11 hours of post-high-school college credit.
Do the recognition awards stack?
Generally yes. Valedictorian or Salutatorian ($2,000/yr), Mississippi Star Student ($2,000/yr), Eagle Scout or Gold Award ($1,500/yr), Student Body President ($1,500/yr), AICE Cambridge Diploma ($2,000/yr), and Boys or Girls State ($1,000/yr) are add-ons. Most require you to send documentation to the Office of Financial Aid within your first term, so do not assume the university already knows.
Every competitive award at Ole Miss runs through one form: the Freshman Scholarship Application, submitted through Scholarship Universe after you apply for admission. One application, one deadline of January 10, and it feeds Stamps, Newman, Carrier, the Women’s Council awards, Ole Miss First, Lott Leadership, and every departmental fund on campus. Miss that date and none of it is available, no matter how strong the student is.
✅ Can You Stack Scholarships at Ole Miss?
Aid Type
Stacks with Merit?
Ole Miss Parent Translation
Academic Merit chart + 1848
Yes
For Mississippi residents these are designed to combine. The chart already shows you the combined total.
Academic Merit vs. National Merit package
No, replaces
Ole Miss states these cannot be stacked. A Semifinalist or Finalist gets full tuition plus a standard double room instead of the chart award.
Non-Resident Merit vs. Academic Success NR
No, replaces
The $3,000 Academic Success award is a floor for 3.75+ GPA students. If the chart pays more, you take the chart.
Competitive awards (Newman, Carrier, OMWC, Ole Miss First)
Usually yes
These are packaged on top of automatic merit, subject to Ole Miss overaward rules and the cost-of-attendance ceiling.
Honors College scholarships
Yes
Honors money layers on top of university merit. This is how a student ends up at or near a full ride without winning Stamps.
These are the gap fillers. Same January 10 application, and most families never look for them.
Need-based grants and Ole Miss Opportunity
Coordinates
Ole Miss Opportunity fills the gap after other gift aid, so more merit does not mean a bigger total, it means less need-based money is required. FAFSA timing matters.
The honest picture at Ole Miss: the automatic chart does the heavy lifting, and the competitive awards are the layer on top that separates a good offer from a great one. Unlike some peer schools, the biggest number on your award letter will usually not come from an essay contest. It will come from a chart your student qualified for months earlier.
App Required
Ole Miss First Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$4,500/yr
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission to Ole Miss, then complete the online Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10 before your fall semester. Some awards may also require the FAFSA.
💡
Strategic Detail
A $4,500-per-year award, $18,000 over four years, that comes packaged with the Ole Miss First leadership and mentoring community. Same routine as the other competitive awards, get admitted and file the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10.
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Who Actually Wins
Well-rounded students a notch below the Newman and Carrier tier, solid grades plus genuine involvement, especially those who look like they will plug into a service-and-leadership cohort. Having need documented on a FAFSA can help for some of the funds behind this award.
App Required
First-Generation Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Being first-generation does not trigger this automatically, and that misunderstanding costs families more than any other on this page. The awards sit scattered across departmental and special-programs processes rather than one central pot, and deadlines vary by unit. A first-gen student should call financial aid and ask which specific first-generation funds they are being considered for, because the answer is rarely all of them.
App RequiredMississippi residents only
W.R. Newman Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$10,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Limited to Mississippi residents.
Entering freshmen who are Mississippi residents. Exceptional academic and leadership record required.
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission to Ole Miss, then complete the online Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10 before your fall semester.
💡
Strategic Detail
A $10,000-per-year award, worth $40,000 over four years, for Mississippi freshmen. There is no extra essay portal to hunt down. The Freshman Scholarship Application you file by January 10 covers it.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Mississippi students who look like campus leaders on paper, not just strong test-takers. The committee is picking a handful of students with both a top academic record and real leadership resume, think class presidents and team captains with big GPAs.
App Required
Luckyday Success Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Varies Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Same eighty-student cohort and the same Mississippi-plus-need profile as the main Luckyday award, at $24,000 over four years. Need and service carry real weight in the selection, so this is not a scholarship won on test scores. In-state families with genuine financial need and a service record should treat it as one of the best-value applications available to them in the state.
App Required
Stamps Impact Prize
📅 Deadline: Varies Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
Current Ole Miss undergraduates with a student-initiated research or creative project and a faculty mentor willing to endorse it.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Between 26 and 30 of these go out each year to students already on campus, judged on the proposal rather than the transcript — a sophomore with a specific, achievable, self-directed project beats a senior with a 4.0 and a vague idea. It is separate from the Stamps Scholarship awarded at entry, and many students never learn that. Two cycles a year means missing the fall round is not fatal.
Full RideApp Required
Stamps Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
Full Ride
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission to Ole Miss, then complete the online Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10 before your fall semester.
💡
Strategic Detail
This is the biggest scholarship Ole Miss offers. It covers whatever cost of attendance is left after your other awards, and on top of that comes a $12,000 fund you can spend on things like studying abroad or doing research. One application, the Freshman Scholarship Application, puts you in the running.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Think national-caliber applicants. Ole Miss runs one of the largest Stamps programs in the country, but each class is still tiny, so winners tend to be students with top grades and test scores plus a genuinely standout leadership story. If you would be competitive at highly selective private schools, this is worth a real effort.
App RequiredMississippi residents only
Robert M. Carrier Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$10,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Limited to Mississippi residents.
Entering freshmen who are Mississippi residents. Exceptional academic and leadership record required.
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission to Ole Miss, then complete the online Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10 before your fall semester.
💡
Strategic Detail
Same shape as the Newman award, $10,000 a year for four years for Mississippi freshmen with a standout record. One Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10 puts you in consideration for both.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
The same profile that wins Newman, top Mississippi students who pair excellent grades with a visible leadership track record. Ole Miss uses one application to sort candidates into these named awards, so your job is simply to be one of the strongest in-state files in the pool.
App Required
Ole Miss Women's Council Scholarships
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$10,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission to Ole Miss, then complete the online Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10 before your fall semester. Some awards may also require the FAFSA.
💡
Strategic Detail
Despite the name, these $10,000-per-year awards go to both men and women. They come with something most scholarships do not, a built-in mentoring and leadership program run by the Ole Miss Women's Council. File the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10, and have a FAFSA on file since some awards consider need.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Students the council sees as future leaders worth investing in personally, not just financially. Grades matter, but so does a story that suggests you will show up for mentoring and give back. Financial need can tip the scales on some of these awards.
App Required
Luckyday Scholarship
📅 Deadline: FAFSA by March 1 · 📢 Results: By April 1 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$2,000–$6,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
🏫 3.5+ GPA👥 ~80 new freshmen each year winners/yrEntering freshmen from Mississippi with a 3.5 or higher GPA. Priority goes to students with remaining financial need after other scholarships and grants. Selection weighs grades, test scores, financial need, leadership, activities, and the Luckyday essay.
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission, complete the Freshman Scholarship Application including the Luckyday essay by January 10, and file a complete valid FAFSA by March 1. Awards are announced by April 1.
✎ Essays
💡
Strategic Detail
One of the most important awards on this list for Mississippi families, worth $2,000 to $6,000 a year with 80 spots for new freshmen. It is not just money, Luckyday Scholars live together their first year and get mentoring and programming all four years. The FAFSA deadline matters here, get it in by March 1 and make sure every signature and verification step is done.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Mississippi students with a 3.5 or better who have real remaining need after their automatic merit awards, plus a leadership story and a strong essay. Straight-A students from higher-income families usually lose out here, the need priority is genuine. If money is the thing standing between your student and Ole Miss, this is the one to work hardest on.
App RequiredRequires school nomination
Chancellor's Leadership Class Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 Non-Renewable
$1,000
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires nomination by a high school official and selection by a university committee.
Entering freshmen demonstrating strong leadership. Students must be both nominated by a school official and selected by a university committee.
📄
How to Apply
School officials nominate students, with Mississippi and many out-of-state principals contacted by mid-February. Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. A university committee makes the final selection.
💡
Strategic Detail
A $1,000 first-year-only award for students their high school puts forward as leaders. You cannot apply for this one directly, your principal or counselor nominates you, so it is worth letting them know you are heading to Ole Miss and would love to be considered.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: The student a principal thinks of first when a nomination form lands on their desk, usually a visible school leader with a good relationship with the front office. The dollar amount is small and it does not renew, so treat it as a nice bonus rather than a financial plan.
Data last verified Aug 7, 2026.* GPA/test bands are estimates based on official selectivity and prior cohort profiles. "Who Actually Wins" insights are pulled from external peer-sourced data where students and parents have reported real-world award results. Because colleges can change funding thresholds and deadlines at any time, always verify these details with the institution before finalizing your application strategy.
❓ Flagship / Competitive Scholarship FAQs
What is the deadline for competitive scholarships? January 10, prior to fall admission, for the Freshman Scholarship Application and the Competitive Academic Programs Application. Luckyday has a second gate: the FAFSA must be complete and valid by March 1, with decisions announced by April 1.
Is Ole Miss a Stamps Scholarship partner?
Yes. The Stamps Scholarship at Ole Miss covers up to the full cost of attendance after other awards, plus a $12,000 enrichment stipend for study abroad, research, and similar pursuits. It sits inside the Chancellor’s Scholars Program, and it is the most competitive award on campus. Treat it as a reach even for exceptional students.
What is the difference between the Newman and Carrier scholarships?
Practically nothing from a family’s point of view. Both are worth $10,000 a year ($40,000 total), both are limited to Mississippi residents, both require an exceptional academic and leadership record, and both come off the same January 10 application. Ole Miss simply lists them as two separate donor funds.
What is Ole Miss First?
A $4,500 per year award ($18,000 total) funded through the Ole Miss First program, weighing academic and leadership record. Some awards under this umbrella are need-based and may require a FAFSA, so file one even if you assume you will not qualify.
How competitive is Luckyday?
Eighty new freshmen are chosen each year. It is limited to Mississippi residents with a 3.5 GPA or higher, and priority goes to students with remaining financial need after other scholarships. Selection weighs grades, test scores, need, leadership, activities, and the Luckyday essay, so this is one where the writing genuinely matters.
Are the Women’s Council scholarships only for women?
No. Ole Miss states the Women’s Council awards go to young men and women entering the freshman class, unless a specific named scholarship says otherwise. They are worth $10,000 a year, and some are need-based and require a FAFSA.
What should my student prepare?
A strong activity record and essays that sound like a seventeen-year-old wrote them. Our Essay Toolkit and Brag Sheet Builder can help organize achievements before the January 10 rush.
🧠 Parent Strategy: The Ole Miss “Declare Early” Rule
Here is the thing most families miss. At Ole Miss, the departmental scholarship money is enormous and it is gated on which major your student names on the application. There are four separate accountancy funds worth $3,000 a year each. There is a $10,000 a year business scholarship. Engineering has more than a dozen named funds paying $2,000 to $6,000 a year. All of them come off the same January 10 form.
Name an intended major on the admission application, even if your student is not certain. Undecided is not eligible for major-specific funds.
Then call the department directly. Accountancy is 662-915-7468. Engineering is 662-915-7007. Business is 662-915-5820. Ask what else exists that is not on the website.
Check the two off-calendar awards separately: Freedom Studies closes August 1, and the German language program closes January 15.
Parent translation: your student’s automatic merit arrives no matter what. The departmental money only arrives if somebody asked for it.
💎 Hidden Gem Scholarships
These are not automatic, and most of them will never appear in a campus tour presentation. Several are tied to programs that make Ole Miss genuinely distinctive nationally, and a few have applicant pools small enough that a qualified student has real odds.
App Required
Roger and Susie Friou Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$3,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. For details, contact the Patterson School of Accountancy at 662-915-7468.
💡
Strategic Detail
A $3,000-per-year award, $12,000 total, from the Patterson School of Accountancy, one of the most respected accounting programs in the country. This one is open to transfer students as well as freshmen, which most named awards are not.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Students who commit to the accountancy major before they arrive. Patterson's reputation draws serious accounting students, but the applicant pool for its named awards is still just accountancy majors who filed by January 10, far smaller odds than the university-wide pool. Transfers coming from community college with strong grades have a genuine shot here.
App Required
McCarty Family Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$3,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. For details, contact the Patterson School of Accountancy at 662-915-7468.
💡
Strategic Detail
A $3,000-per-year award, $12,000 over four years, for entering freshmen headed into the Patterson School of Accountancy. The January 10 Freshman Scholarship Application covers it, no separate departmental form.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Freshmen who declare accountancy early and bring solid grades. The Patterson school hands out several near-identical named awards, so committed accounting students who simply file on time are competing in one of the friendliest pools at the university.
App Required
James W. Davis Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$3,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. For details, contact the Patterson School of Accountancy at 662-915-7468.
💡
Strategic Detail
Another of the Patterson School of Accountancy's named awards, $3,000 a year, $12,000 over four years, for entering freshmen in the accountancy program. One January 10 application puts you in the running for the whole set.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: The same profile as the McCarty award, accountancy-committed freshmen with good numbers. The committee spreads these four named awards across its strongest incoming majors, so think of them as one competition with four winners rather than four separate contests.
App Required
Gene Peery Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$3,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. For details, contact the Patterson School of Accountancy at 662-915-7468.
💡
Strategic Detail
A $3,000-per-year Patterson School of Accountancy award, $12,000 total, and like the Friou it is open to transfer students, not just freshmen. The January 10 Freshman Scholarship Application is the only form.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Accountancy majors, freshman or transfer, with strong records who filed on time. For a community-college student transferring into accounting, this and the Friou are two of the few named awards on campus that explicitly welcome them.
App Required
Chinese Language Flagship Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$8,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. Late applications may be considered. For details, visit the Chinese Language Flagship Program page, call 662-913-7298, or email chinese@olemiss.edu.
💡
Strategic Detail
An $8,000-per-year award, $32,000 over four years, for students who commit to the Chinese Language Flagship, a federal-partnership program that takes you from any starting level to professional fluency, with summers in China and a capstone year abroad built in. Study abroad support of up to $24,000 comes on top of the base award. No prior Chinese is required, just the commitment.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Students willing to organize their college years around mastering Mandarin, intensive summers included. Grades matter, but the committee is mostly betting on follow-through. Because so few applicants are ready to make that commitment, a strong student who genuinely wants this is competing against a very short list.
App Required
Arabic Language Flagship Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$8,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. Late applications may be considered. For details, visit the Arabic Language Flagship Program page, call 662-915-7298, or email arabic@olemiss.edu.
💡
Strategic Detail
An $8,000-per-year award, $32,000 over four years, for students who commit to the Arabic Language Flagship, with summers in Jordan and Morocco and a full capstone year in Morocco. Study abroad support of up to $30,000 stacks on top of the base award. No prior Arabic is required.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Students ready to build their degree around Arabic fluency, including a year abroad most undergraduates never attempt. The pool of applicants willing to sign up for that is tiny, so a solid student with genuine commitment and a clear reason, future foreign service, intelligence, international business, stands out fast.
App Required
Henry C. Brevard, Jr., Engineering Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$2,000–$6,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. For details, contact School of Engineering Student Support at 662-915-7007 or engineer@olemiss.edu.
💡
Strategic Detail
A named School of Engineering award worth $2,000 to $6,000 a year, $8,000 to $24,000 over four years, for engineering and computer science students. Freshmen and transfers both qualify, and the January 10 Freshman Scholarship Application is the only form.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Engineering-committed students with strong math and science records. Because computer science counts and transfers are welcome, this reaches students many named awards exclude, a CS-bound community college transfer with good grades is exactly who should be filing for this.
App Required
John G. Adler Engineering Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$2,000–$6,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. For details, contact School of Engineering Student Support at 662-915-7007 or engineer@olemiss.edu.
💡
Strategic Detail
The Adler award mirrors the Brevard, $2,000 to $6,000 a year for engineering and computer science students, freshmen or transfers, with the same January 10 application covering both. Between these two and the school's broader endowment list, an engineering student has several chances from a single form.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
The same pool as the Brevard, engineering and CS majors with solid academics who filed by the deadline. The school assigns its named awards internally, so students should treat all the engineering scholarships as one application, one deadline, several possible outcomes.
App Required
Ole Miss Band / School of Music Scholarships
📅 Deadline: Varies Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Non-majors can earn these, since ensemble participation counts, and that surprises families who assume music money is only for music majors. The gate is an audition on a date the School of Music posts annually, often by February, and it runs separately from every other scholarship deadline. Miss the audition window and there is no paper appeal.
App Required
Study Abroad Scholarships - Study Abroad Office
📅 Deadline: Varies Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
This is not freshman money. It becomes relevant sophomore or junior year, which is exactly why students forget it exists. Awards are modest and tied to specific terms and programs, with deadlines set per program rather than one campus-wide date. The applications that win connect the destination to an academic reason rather than a travel wish.
App Required
College of Liberal Arts Scholarships
📅 Deadline: Varies Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
There is no separate Liberal Arts form. These come out of the same freshman scholarship application everyone already files, which means students who miss out mostly missed January 10. Amounts run modest, from a few hundred to a few thousand a year. The right expectation is a supplement to your merit award rather than a second major award.
App RequiredAccountancy majors
Patterson School of Accountancy Scholarships
📅 Deadline: Varies Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires actively pursuing a degree in accountancy.
Entering freshmen and, for some funds, transfer students actively pursuing degrees in accountancy. Strong academic and leadership record considered.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Four separate named funds sit behind a single application, which makes the odds meaningfully better than a typical named award where one fund means one winner. Patterson is among the strongest accountancy programs at any public university, so the students applying are serious about it. Declaring accountancy at application time rather than sophomore year is what puts you in the pool at all.
App Required
Lott Leadership Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. For details, contact the Lott Leadership Institute at 662-915-3189 or leader@olemiss.edu.
💡
Strategic Detail
The Lott Leadership Institute funds scholarships for its public policy leadership majors, amounts vary by student. If your student is drawn to politics, government, or public service, majoring here opens a scholarship door most applicants never see.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Students who commit to the public policy leadership major, not just anyone interested in politics. The Lott Institute is small and selective, so winners tend to be debate captains, student government types, and civic-minded kids with strong academics who can articulate why policy is their path.
App RequiredU.S. citizens and permanent residents only
Chinese and Arabic Language Flagship Scholarships
📅 Deadline: Varies Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents only.
Entering freshmen with strong academic records who commit to reaching superior proficiency in Mandarin Chinese or Arabic. Students begin with eight weeks of intensive summer study before freshman year and spend multiple summers abroad.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Prior Chinese or Arabic experience is not required, which is the single most surprising fact on this page, and students rule themselves out over it constantly. What the program actually demands is a four-year commitment including intensive summers abroad. The money is large and so is the runway, and students who bail in year two leave a great deal on the table.
App RequiredInternational studies majors
Croft Scholarship (International Studies)
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$8,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires pursuing a degree in international studies through the Croft Institute.
Entering freshmen with strong academic and leadership records who demonstrate an interest in international studies and are pursuing the international studies degree.
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. For details, contact the Croft Institute at 662-915-1500 or croft@olemiss.edu.
💡
Strategic Detail
An $8,000-per-year award, $32,000 over four years, tied to the Croft Institute for International Studies. Croft is one of the most respected programs on campus, small classes, language immersion, study abroad built in. The scholarship follows admission to the program.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Students who get into Croft itself, which is the real gate, it is a selective cohort program. Winners usually have strong grades, foreign language experience or clear international interests, and can explain why global affairs is more than a passing interest.
App RequiredMississippi high school graduatesBusiness majors
Christine and Clarence Day Business Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$10,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Limited to Mississippi high school graduates pursuing business degrees.
Entering freshmen who are Mississippi high school graduates pursuing business degrees. Outstanding academic and leadership record required.
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. For details, contact the School of Business Administration at 662-915-5820.
💡
Strategic Detail
A $10,000-per-year award, $40,000 total, for Mississippi high school graduates heading into the business school. That is Newman-and-Carrier-level money hiding inside a single department, which is why it belongs on the hidden gem list.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Top Mississippi students who commit to a business major early. Because it lives in one school rather than the general pool, the applicant pool is smaller than the headline awards, a strong in-state student with leadership credentials and a clear business direction has better odds here than chasing the university-wide names.
App RequiredCenter for Manufacturing Excellence members
⚠ Requires selection as a member of the Center for Manufacturing Excellence.
Entering freshmen selected as a member of the Center for Manufacturing Excellence. Exceptional academic, service, and leadership record required.
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission, apply to the Center for Manufacturing Excellence, and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. For details, contact the CME at 662-915-2630 or cme@olemiss.edu.
💡
Strategic Detail
An $8,000-per-year award, $32,000 over four years, for students accepted into the Center for Manufacturing Excellence, a hands-on program that blends engineering, business, and accounting around modern manufacturing. Getting into the CME is the door, the scholarship is behind it.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Students who apply to and are selected for the CME cohort, usually kids who like building things and can show it, robotics teams, shop projects, engineering camps, paired with solid academics. Most applicants have never heard of the CME, which keeps this pool small.
App Required
Freedom Studies Scholarship
📅 Deadline: August 1 Non-Renewable
$2,500
✘ Not stackable
Students joining the Declaration of Independence Center community of Freedom Studies Scholars.
📄
How to Apply
Apply through the Declaration of Independence Center's Freedom Studies Scholars page by August 1.
💡
Strategic Detail
The Declaration of Independence Center pays $2,500 per semester to students in its Freedom Studies community. The August 1 deadline runs on its own calendar, later than everything else on this list, so it can catch students who missed the January scholarship cycle.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Students genuinely interested in American founding principles who take the time to find this center and apply, which most never do. If your student enjoys history, civics, or constitutional debate, the small applicant pool works strongly in their favor.
App Required
University Endowed and Foundation Scholarships
📅 Deadline: January 10 Non-Renewable
$500–$10,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. Have a FAFSA on file, since some funds require it.
💡
Strategic Detail
Ole Miss sits on a pile of donor-endowed scholarships worth anywhere from $500 to $10,000 a year, each with its own quirks, hometown, high school, major, family circumstance. You do not apply to them one by one. The single Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10 matches you against all of them, so filing it is the whole game.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Often students who happen to fit a donor's specific wishes, the right county, the right major, the right story. That randomness is good news, plenty of these funds go to solid-but-not-spectacular students who simply filed the application. Skipping the January 10 application is how families leave this money on the table.
App RequiredEngineering and computer science majors
Engineering Named Endowment Scholarships
📅 Deadline: January 10 Non-Renewable
$2,000–$6,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires actively pursuing a degree in engineering, including computer science.
Entering freshmen and transfer students actively pursuing degrees in engineering, including computer science.
📄
How to Apply
Apply for admission and complete the Freshman Scholarship Application by January 10. For details, contact School of Engineering Student Support at 662-915-7007 or engineer@olemiss.edu.
💡
Strategic Detail
Beyond the two headline engineering awards, the school keeps a long list of named endowments paying $2,000 to $6,000 a year to engineering and computer science students, including transfers. One January 10 application covers the whole list.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Engineering-committed students who file on time, the school spreads these across many funds, so decent grades plus a declared engineering or computer science path puts you in a much smaller pool than the university-wide awards. Transfers are explicitly welcome here, which is rare.
Data last verified Aug 7, 2026.* GPA/test bands are estimates based on official selectivity and prior cohort profiles. "Who Actually Wins" insights are pulled from external peer-sourced data where students and parents have reported real-world award results. Because colleges can change funding thresholds and deadlines at any time, always verify these details with the institution before finalizing your application strategy.
❓ Hidden Gems FAQ
Can these stack with automatic merit?
Generally yes. Departmental and donor awards are meant to layer on top, subject to Ole Miss overaward rules and the cost-of-attendance ceiling. The exceptions are the ones the university explicitly labels as replacements, which are covered in the stacking table above. Always read the award letter language rather than assuming.
What is Ole Miss Opportunity actually worth?
It is a guarantee, not a fixed scholarship. Ole Miss promises to cover tuition, UM-managed housing, and a meal allowance for eligible Mississippi residents, filling the gap after all other gift aid. For 2025-2026 that guarantee was valued at $20,942 plus $500 for books. You need family income at or below $40,000, Pell eligibility, an SAI no higher than 6,655, and a 3.0 GPA. It requires both a FAFSA by March 1 and the State of Mississippi Financial Aid Application.
Is the Chinese Language Flagship really that unusual?
Yes. Ole Miss is one of a small number of institutions nationally that host a Chinese Language Flagship, and it comes with $8,000 a year plus up to $24,000 in study abroad funding. The Arabic Flagship pays the same annual amount with up to $30,000 for study abroad. Both are open to students with no prior language background, which surprises nearly everyone. The catch is the commitment: intensive summer study before freshman year and multiple summers overseas.
What if there is no deadline listed on an award?
Default to January 10 and call the department. Most Ole Miss departmental and donor funds ride the Freshman Scholarship Application deadline. The known exceptions are Freedom Studies (August 1), the German intensive summer program (January 15), music and band auditions (dates posted annually, often by February), and study abroad awards (which vary by term and program).
Can current Ole Miss students apply for these?
Some, yes. Departmental and donor endowments frequently open to continuing students, and the Stamps Impact Prize runs two cycles a year specifically for enrolled undergraduates with a faculty-backed project. Study abroad funding and Luckyday Success are also available beyond the freshman year.
How will we know if we won something?
Award notifications post to the student’s Ole Miss account and go out by university email. Departmental awards often require an acceptance step after notification, so watch that inbox in late winter and early spring. If nothing has appeared by April and you applied by January 10, call the Office of Financial Aid at 800-891-4596.
The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College (usually just “SMBHC”) is open to every undergraduate major and is built around three things: critical thinking through reading and discussion, a required community action component each semester, and a senior capstone with a thesis. Admission is separate from admission to Ole Miss and it is competitive.
The number families need to see: Ole Miss states plainly that fewer than 5 percent of entering Honors freshmen receive an Honors College scholarship. Getting into SMBHC and getting SMBHC money are two very different outcomes. Plan on the first and treat the second as a bonus.
How to apply: Get admitted to Ole Miss first, then submit the SMBHC application through the Competitive Academic Programs Application (CAPApp).
Early Action: November 1
Final Deadline: January 10 (you must apply by this date to be considered for Honors scholarships)
What it takes: a résumé uploaded to the enrollment portal, a 300 to 500 word academic personal statement, a 500 to 700 word essay, and three letters of recommendation
No published test minimum. Review is holistic. Ole Miss does not publish an ACT or SAT cutoff for SMBHC admission or its scholarships.
A warning worth taking seriously. The SMBHC essay prompt asks students to describe a piece of art, music, or writing they found powerful and explain its impact. Ole Miss states directly that responses which appear to have been written in haste or generated by AI may affect the admission decision. This essay is read for style, grammar, imagination, and substance. It needs to sound like your student.
Honors College Scholarships
App Required
Annexstad Leaders for Tomorrow Honors Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$6,250/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires admission to the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for UM admission, then submit the SMBHC application through the Competitive Academic Programs portal by January 10, including the personal statement, essay, and three recommendation letters. Have a FAFSA on file to document need.
✎ Essays💌 Letters of Rec
💡
Strategic Detail
A $6,250-per-year honors award, $25,000 over four years, aimed at honors students whose families need the help and who have shown leadership in their schools or communities. The honors application plus a FAFSA covers it.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Honors-admitted students who combine real financial need with a leadership story, often first-in-family college students or kids who led through difficult circumstances. If need is part of your picture, this is the honors award where that becomes an advantage instead of a footnote.
App RequiredMississippi residents only
Walker Family Honors Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$3,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires admission to the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for UM admission, then submit the SMBHC application through the Competitive Academic Programs portal by January 10, including the personal statement, essay, and three recommendation letters. Have a FAFSA on file to document need.
✎ Essays💌 Letters of Rec
💡
Strategic Detail
A $3,000-per-year honors award, $12,000 over four years, for Mississippi students joining the Honors College whose families can show financial need. The honors application plus a FAFSA is all it takes to be considered.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Mississippi honors admits with documented need, usually students who also contend for the Annexstad or McDonnell-Barksdale awards. The dollar figure is the smallest of the SMBHC scholarships, so think of it as the award that catches strong in-state files the bigger named awards pass over.
App Required
Honors Research & Study Grants - SMBHC
📅 Deadline: Varies Non-Renewable
Varies
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires admission to the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.
Holistic / Status Based
🕵
Who Actually Wins
This is money for a sophomore or junior with a thesis, a research project, or a study abroad plan and a faculty member willing to back it, none of which an entering freshman has yet. The reason to know about it now is that the faculty relationship takes a year or two to build, and students who start looking in year three are late. The amounts are small; the funded project on a résumé is worth more than the check.
App Required
Everett Williams Honors Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$8,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires admission to the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for UM admission, then submit the SMBHC application through the Competitive Academic Programs portal by January 10, including the personal statement, essay, and three recommendation letters.
✎ Essays💌 Letters of Rec
💡
Strategic Detail
Another $8,000-per-year honors award, $32,000 over four years, open to all Honors College applicants. One honors application by January 10 covers this and every other SMBHC scholarship.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
The same top-of-pool honors admits who win the Raymond and Parker awards, the committee assigns the named scholarships, students just submit one outstanding application. Treat all the open honors awards as one competition with a handful of total winners.
App RequiredMississippi residents only
McDonnell-Barksdale Honors Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$8,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires admission to the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for UM admission, then submit the SMBHC application through the Competitive Academic Programs portal by the January 10 regular-decision deadline. The application includes an academic personal statement, an essay, and three recommendation letters, and it doubles as the scholarship application.
✎ Essays💌 Letters of Rec
💡
Strategic Detail
The flagship Honors College award, $8,000 a year, $32,000 over four years, reserved for Mississippi residents. There is no separate scholarship form, your Honors College application is the scholarship application, so the essay and three recommendation letters carry double weight.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: The strongest Mississippi files in the honors applicant pool, and it is a steep climb, fewer than one in twenty honors freshmen land any SMBHC scholarship. Winners typically pair top-of-class academics with a distinctive essay, this is where the writing genuinely decides it.
App Required
Doris Raymond Honors Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$8,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires admission to the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for UM admission, then submit the SMBHC application through the Competitive Academic Programs portal by January 10, including the personal statement, essay, and three recommendation letters.
✎ Essays💌 Letters of Rec
💡
Strategic Detail
An $8,000-per-year honors award, $32,000 over four years, open to any student admitted to the Honors College regardless of where they live. Past recipients have come from across the country and abroad. The Honors College application by January 10 is the only form.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Because it has no residency limit, this is the honors award out-of-state and international students realistically compete for. Expect winners with near-perfect academics and an essay that stands out in a pool where everyone has the numbers.
App Required
Harold Parker Memorial Honors Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$8,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires admission to the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for UM admission, then submit the SMBHC application through the Competitive Academic Programs portal by January 10, including the personal statement, essay, and three recommendation letters.
✎ Essays💌 Letters of Rec
💡
Strategic Detail
One of the Honors College's longest-running awards, $8,000 a year, $32,000 over four years, open to all honors applicants. Like the rest of the SMBHC awards, the honors application itself, due January 10, is the scholarship application.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
The same elite slice of the honors pool that wins the Raymond, top academics from anywhere, sorted mostly by the strength of the essay and recommendations. There is no way to target this specific award, you simply submit the strongest honors application you can.
App RequiredBusiness or STEM majors
Bill and Melanie Roper Honors Scholarship
📅 Deadline: January 10 ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$10,000/yr
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Requires admission to the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.
Holistic / Status Based
📄
How to Apply
Apply for UM admission, then submit the SMBHC application through the Competitive Academic Programs portal by January 10, including the personal statement, essay, and three recommendation letters.
✎ Essays💌 Letters of Rec
💡
Strategic Detail
The richest of the standard honors awards at $10,000 a year, $40,000 over four years, reserved for honors students in business or STEM fields. Your major on the honors application is what puts you in this lane.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Honors-caliber students who declare business or STEM from the start, in practice the future engineers, pre-med science majors, and finance kids with top numbers. If your student is honors-competitive and undecided between a STEM major and something else, declaring the STEM path keeps this award in play.
Data last verified Aug 7, 2026.* GPA/test bands are estimates based on official selectivity and prior cohort profiles. "Who Actually Wins" insights are pulled from external peer-sourced data where students and parents have reported real-world award results. Because colleges can change funding thresholds and deadlines at any time, always verify these details with the institution before finalizing your application strategy.
Your application for admission to the Honors College is also your scholarship application. There is no separate form, but you must apply by the January 10 regular deadline to be considered. These awards are available only to students enrolled in the Honors College.
Read the fine print on eligibility
McDonnell-Barksdale and Walker Family: Mississippi residents only. Walker also requires demonstrated financial need.
Roper: open only to business, science, technology, engineering, or math students.
Annexstad Leaders for Tomorrow: for applicants with financial need who show leadership potential, so it coordinates with your need-based package.
Doris Raymond, Harold Parker, and Everett Williams: open to all applicants regardless of residency. These are the ones an out-of-state family should focus on.
Honors College — FAQs (Ole Miss)
Is Honors admission automatic for high scorers?
No. There is a separate application with essays and three letters of recommendation, and review is holistic. A high test score alone does not get a student in, and Ole Miss publishes no score that guarantees it.
Do I have to apply by November 1?
No, but it is the early action date and applying early is generally the safer play. What matters more is the January 10 final deadline, because that is the cutoff for scholarship consideration.
Can out-of-state students get Honors scholarships?
Yes, for most of them. Doris Raymond, Harold Parker, Everett Williams, Roper, and Annexstad are all open to non-residents. Only McDonnell-Barksdale and Walker Family are limited to Mississippi residents.
Does Honors money stack with automatic merit?
Yes, within Ole Miss overaward rules and the cost-of-attendance ceiling. This is the realistic path to a very large package: a strong non-resident chart award plus an $8,000 or $10,000 Honors scholarship gets close to covering direct costs.
What if we do not get in as a freshman?
There is a second door. The Honors Scholars Program admits transfer and current Ole Miss students who have a 3.5 or higher GPA and at least 45 earned credit hours. Current UM students need one semester of post-high-school coursework first. The Fall 2026 deadline for that route is August 1, 2026.
What is required to graduate as an Honors Scholar?
The Honors Capstone with a thesis, practicum, or project, at least one additional three-hour honors course, the community action component every semester, and a 3.5 cumulative GPA. Ole Miss also sets checkpoints along the way: 3.2 after freshman year, 3.4 after sophomore year, 3.5 after junior year.
Ole Miss has a reputation problem, and it works in your favor. Most people picture the Grove, SEC football, and a big Southern campus, and stop there. What they miss is that the university runs a handful of small, selective, nationally distinctive programs that come with their own money attached. If your student fits one of them, the scholarship math changes completely.
Nationally Known Program: Patterson School of Accountancy — Ole Miss runs one of the most respected accountancy programs at any public university in the country, with a dedicated school rather than a department buried inside a business college. There are four separate named scholarship funds for entering accountancy students, each worth $12,000 over four years, and all four come off the same January 10 application. For a student who knows they want accounting, this is one of the strongest value propositions in the Southeast.
Chinese and Arabic Language Flagship Programs: Ole Miss is one of a small number of institutions nationally hosting a Chinese Language Flagship. Both programs pay $8,000 a year plus substantial study abroad funding, and neither requires prior language experience. The commitment is real (summers abroad, a capstone year overseas), but so is the money and the career runway.
Croft Institute for International Studies: a selective undergraduate program with its own $8,000 a year scholarship, aimed at students who want a genuinely international degree rather than a study abroad semester bolted onto a regular major.
Center for Manufacturing Excellence: a small cohort program that sits at the intersection of engineering and business, with the Toyota-Haley Barbour Scholarship at $8,000 a year attached to membership. Selection into the cohort is the gate, and the cohort is small.
School of Journalism and New Media: long one of the strongest draws at Ole Miss and a major reason communications is such a large field on campus.
School of Pharmacy: a full professional program with its own cost structure and its own early-entry pathway, worth investigating separately if pharmacy is on the table.
Lott Leadership Institute (Public Policy Leadership): a distinctive undergraduate major with its own scholarship, aimed at students headed toward government, law, or policy work.
Business and Engineering: the two largest scholarship pools outside the main merit charts. Business is the single biggest field of study on campus at roughly a quarter of bachelor’s degrees, and engineering has more named funds than any other department.
🔗 Official Ole Miss Links
Scholarship charts and deadlines change from year to year, and Ole Miss updates its resident and non-resident pages on different schedules. Use the official pages below to confirm anything before you build a budget around it.
Here is the honest summary of Ole Miss. Admission is close to a formality for most students, so the entire game is the merit chart. Find your student’s GPA and test score on the chart that matches your residency, and you will know within about five minutes what this school costs your family. Very few universities make it that legible.
For out-of-state families, Ole Miss is unusually generous and unusually transparent about it. The top non-resident award of $20,160 a year is built specifically to erase the non-resident fee, and the chart pays real money even to students who never take a standardized test. If your student has a strong transcript and a decent score, this is one of the few SEC flagships where an out-of-state price can land near an in-state one.
For Mississippi families, the 1848 Scholarship is the lever. Getting from a 28 to a 29 ACT is worth $2,500 a year, and Ole Miss Opportunity is a genuine promise for households under $40,000. Neither one requires an essay.
Two dates decide everything else. January 10 opens the door to Stamps, Newman, Carrier, the Women’s Council awards, every departmental fund, and the Honors College. March 1 is your FAFSA gate for need-based money and Luckyday. Rolling admission means nobody will chase you about either one, which is exactly why they get missed.
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