Scholarships
We’re Here to Help
Need help paying for college? We award over $10 million in scholarships each year. Scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement, extracurricular activities, volunteer services, employment and financial need.
Outside Scholarships
Outside scholarships are a great way to secure additional funding for your education, but it's important to stay alert for potential scams—legitimate scholarships will never require you to pay to apply. Always research the source, avoid sharing unnecessary personal information, and verify that opportunities are reputable. If you receive an outside scholarship, be sure to submit an Outside Resource Form to [email protected].
As a recipient of an outside scholarship or corporate sponsorship, please inform the donor to document the student name and semester with which the money applies to the check or letter included. All scholarship/sponsorship/endowment money should be sent to:
Financial Aid and Scholarships
East Texas A&M University
P.O. Box 3011
Commerce, TX 75429
Honors Program
The Honors College provides a highly personalized and challenging college experience that includes a four-year, premier scholarship package that covers tuition, fees, housing, a partial meal plan and money for textbooks for a select group of high-achieving freshman students.
The typical Honors College student has the following characteristics: ACT score of 27 and/or SAT score of 1200 (critical reading and math) and graduate in the top 10% of their high school class.
Beginning with the Fall 2021 application cycle, we will offer a test optional admission process in addition to the traditional admission process. Although standardized tests may provide useful information concerning an applicant’s ability to succeed at the college level, there is sufficient evidence that standardized testing does not reflect the true academic potential for all candidates. The Honors College prides itself on removing barriers for its students once they arrive on campus. A test optional admission policy allows us to extend this removal of potential barriers to exceptional students who may lack access to resources that would better prepare them for standardized tests. For more information, see our Test Optional Admissions page.
For more information about receiving an Honors Scholarship visit the Honors College website or email [email protected].
Donor Funded and Departmental Scholarship Opportunities
Admitted students can apply for donor-funded and departmental scholarship opportunities by completing our General Scholarship Application. Students admitted in a CBE (Competency-Based Education) program or accepted under the PSA program are not eligible to apply for donor-funded scholarships.
The 2024-2025 scholarship application cycle for donor-funded and departmental scholarships begins October 1, 2023. There will be three rounds of review of the applications. The priority deadline for most opportunities is January 15, 2024. There will be two additional deadlines March 15 and June 1. Any offers will need to be accepted by the acceptance deadlines for each of the three rounds. Any awards not accepted by the deadlines will be canceled and funds offered to other students. Canceled offers will not be reinstated. After applying, be sure to check the portal frequently for any new opportunities that may have opened up. Offer notifications will be sent via the student myLeo email address.
- Log in to myLEO and click on the APPS tab.
- Click on Scholarships.
- Click the “Sign-Up” button located in the upper, right corner of the page.
- Your LeoMail university email address and a user-created password is required to set up the account.
- A confirmation email will be sent to your LeoMail account, and you will need to click the link in the email in order to access the portal for the first time
- Log in to myLEO and click on the APPS tab.
- Click on Scholarships.
- Click the “Sign-In” button located in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
- Use your LeoMail university email address and your previously created password to sign in.
- Should you forget your password, click “Trouble Signing In” to enter your LeoMail email address, and then click “Recover Password”. A password reset email will be sent to you.
- Scholarship Portal (read-only)
When you first sign in to the Scholarship Portal, you will be in the General Scholarship Application. This application lets you apply for endowed and departmental scholarships. We will use this information to match you with scholarship opportunities. You will need to fill in all the questions. If any information is missing, you will be prompted to complete the missing information before you are able to submit the application.
Please pay close attention to the questions asked. There may be options that require selections such as “Other” or “Not Applicable.” For example, if the high school you attended is not shown in the “High School Name” section, you will select “Other,” and you will need to respond to the following statement: “If you chose ‘Other’ for High School Name, please specify.”
On the General Scholarship Application, you will also see an Applicant Record tab. The applicant information comes from our student information system. If you find that the information is incorrect, please e-mail [email protected] so that we can advise you on how to correct this information.
Once you have completely filled out the application, you will select “Finish” and “Continue.” You also have the option to save the application without submitting it until you are completely finished. You may do this by clicking on “Save and Keep Editing.”
Navigate to “Opportunities” then “Recommended.” The list of recommended opportunities shown is comprised of scholarships that will require you to answer additional questions, provide additional information or provide an essay.
In order for you to determine what information you need to submit for a particular scholarship, click on the “Apply” button next to the scholarship you would like to review. After completing the required information, you will click on “Finish and Submit.” Please note: This process will need to be repeated for each recommended scholarship for which you would like to be considered.
You will also notice the “All” tab on the “Opportunities” section. These are all of the scholarships available. Do not apply to any other scholarships listed on this tab. You should only apply to those scholarships on the “Recommended” tab.
On the “My Applications” tab you will see the scholarships that have been automatically matched with your information provided on the General Scholarship Application. You are automatically considered for these scholarships. No further action is required for these particular scholarships.
As you complete the additional information required for your recommended opportunities, those scholarships will appear in the “Current” section. Each scholarship will appear as a box, with the status in the top right corner.
You may also log in to view updates regarding your application status for various scholarship opportunities in the “Current” section during the application review process.
The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will notify applicants via their LeoMail account if a scholarship offer has been made.
The priority deadline to apply for most university donor-funded scholarships for the upcoming academic year is January 15. Scholarships with remaining funds to be awarded after the review of the applications by the priority deadline may be reopened for additional applications on a rolling basis until all funds have been committed.
Some donor-funded and departmental scholarships have rolling deadlines past the priority deadline.
Three Rounds For Donor-Funded Scholarship Review
- Priority Deadline – January 15, 2024
- Regular Deadline – March 15, 2024
- Final Remaining Deadline – June 1, 2024
Notice of Awards & Acceptance Deadlines
- Priority Deadline – February 9, 2024 – Must be accepted by March 1
- Regular Deadline – April 1, 2024 – Must be accepted by May 1
- Final Remaining Deadline – June 19, 2024 – Must be accepted by July 10
As new scholarship opportunities are added regularly, please continue to log in to the Scholarship Portal for any new scholarship opportunities that may become available.
Some recommended opportunities may require references. On the “Home” tab, you will see a tab titled, “Manage References.” When you add someone as a reference, we will contact them with instructions on how to upload their reference letter to complete the reference. You will see the status here. You may come back to this location to add additional references, if necessary.
It is suggested that you ask a reference for permission to use them as a reference. Once you have applied, let them know to expect an email with instructions. This will assist with the timely completion of your reference.
If you have additional questions regarding the Scholarship Portal or the General Scholarship Application, please email [email protected].