Sterling Scholar Award

This scholarship is available beginning the Fall term and renewable for up to eight semesters (fall and spring), or until you receive a baccalaureate degree (whichever comes first), as long as you continue to meet scholarship renewal requirements and remain in good standing. This scholarship generally does not apply to summer enrollment or Learning Abroad programs.

Students must be enrolled full-time (at least 12 credit hours) by the last day to register for full-term courses each semester in order to be eligible to receive their scholarship award for the term. Failure to be full-time by the last day to register for full-term courses will result in the cancellation of your award and will impact your renewal eligibility.

To remain in good standing and continue to receive this award, you must enroll as a full-time student, and register for and successfully complete a minimum of 12 credit hours each semester.

Failure to maintain full-time status will result in the cancellation of your scholarship for that term and any subsequent terms.

Recipients are selected by the Deseret News and KSL Sterling Scholarship Program. Please note that the Wasatch Front Region is divided into the north, central, and south areas, yet together make up the Wasatch Front Region. Only those students who are recognized by the Deseret News-KSL Television sponsors as winners of the Wasatch Front Region and are reported to the University of Utah, are eligible for the Sterling Scholar Award.

Your scholarship may be renewed each year, provided you maintain at least a 3.60 cumulative GPA and complete at least twenty-four (24) credit hours during the two semesters of the academic year (i.e., fall and spring semesters).

The Sterling Scholarship Award applies only to tuition charges. This scholarship can be combined with any other university merit awards from UOSFA but cannot exceed the total cost of tuition and is only available to students earning their degree at the U’s main campus. This scholarship generally applies only to fall and spring semesters as long as all eligibility criteria are met. This award does not apply to enrollment or charges during the summer term unless you specifically request use of the scholarship during summer and you continue to meet all eligibility criteria (and use during a summer term counts toward your maximum number of terms of eligibility); to use your scholarship during a summer term, you must complete a UOSFA Summer Aid Application requesting to use the award. This scholarship does not generally apply to Learning Abroad programs.

Receipt of other scholarships could affect eligibility for, or the amount of, the Sterling Scholarship Award.

STEP 1: Create Your CIS Account and Activate your UMail Account

• If you have not created your Campus Information Services (CIS) account, visit cis.utah.edu as soon as possible.
• Your login info is your uNID# (found in your admissions letter) and your default password is your birthdate (MMDDYY).
• After creating your CIS account, activate your University e-mail account (UMail), also in CIS. All official university communication including financial offers will be sent to your UMail account.

STEP 2: Confirm Your Intent to Enroll to Accept the this Scholarship

• Confirm your intent to enroll with the Office of Admissions at admissions.utah.edu/confirm. At this same link, you can submit your enrollment deposit, or if the enrollment deposit is a financial challenge you may request a deposit extension.
• By confirming your intent to enroll, you are accepting your scholarship award and the terms outlined in this document. If for any reason you confirm your intent to enroll but want to decline your scholarship or the terms, you should submit your reasons in writing to UOSFA at financialaid@utah.edu.
• Your scholarship award generally is available until May 1, 2023. If you have not confirmed enrollment by that date, the scholarship may be cancelled. Please contact financialaid@utah.edu if you have not confirmed your enrollment by May 1, 2023.

Students receiving a scholarship, fellowship, or other financial aid administered by the University of Utah are required by state law to certify that they are eligible to receive the scholarship as a U.S. citizen or a citizen of another country who is lawfully present in the U.S. If students do not know whether they are in the U.S. lawfully, they should seek the advice of an immigration attorney before accepting this award.

Newly accepted freshmen who wish to defer their start date to a subsequent semester, and to request their scholarship be held, should first request an admission deferment through the Office of Admissions at admissions.utah.edu/apply/deferment.

Scholarship deferments may result in a change in the amount and/or value of the scholarship depending upon the subsequent term of entry or matriculation. 

Scholarship recipients considering a deferment should confirm by May 1, 2023 their intent to enroll in order to accept their scholarship. Students have until the first day of classes (August 21, 2023) to apply for a deferment. Students seeking deferment should submit their enrollment deposit to secure their seat as a matriculated student. You can submit the enrollment deposit, or if the enrollment deposit is a financial challenge, you may request a deposit extension, at admissions.utah.edu/confirm.

The University Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (UOSFA) will, in extenuating circumstances, allow a student to take a Leave of Absence from a scholarship once they are a continuing student. A continuing student will need to work with the Registrar’s Office on any type of Leave of Absence (https://registrar.utah.edu/handbook/leave.php) and be approved for a Leave of Absence through the official processes.

For questions regarding eligibility for either deferral or leave of absence, please contact UOSFA. 

For questions or concerns, please contact UOSFA at financialaid@utah.edu  or (801) 581-6211.