Eligibility

To be considered for the Terry Scholarship as an incoming freshman, you must:

• be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• be a Texas resident.
• be a graduate of a Texas high school or be homeschooled while residing in the state of Texas and receive a Texas high school diploma or equivalent.
• have a high school graduation date in Spring 2025 and be an incoming freshman college student for the Fall of 2025.
• be admitted to UNT as a full-time student for the 2025-2026 academic year.
• have a record of leadership in school and community.
• demonstrate strong academic abilities, as evidenced by grades.
• demonstrate financial need AND complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by March 2025.

Selection Criteria

The University of North Texas will review all applications and nominate a select number of candidates to the Terry Foundation, which will review the nominations and interview candidates before making awards. The University of North Texas serves as a nominating body only; the Terry Foundation makes all final decisions regarding scholarship awards.

The selection criteria used by the Foundation include financial need, academic achievement, and demonstrated leadership potential. Although financial need is an important factor in the selection process, a student need not qualify for federal assistance in order to meet the Terry Scholar selection criteria. Nevertheless, all applicants must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). 

The Terry Foundation will award scholarships to approximately half of the UNT nominees, with the number of awards likely not exceeding 24. Students who are selected for the UNT Terry Scholarship must live on-campus in a designated Terry Scholar living-learning community during their first year at UNT. 

Application Summary and Deadlines

• Before applying for the UNT Terry Scholarship, students must gain admission to UNT. To facilitate this sequence, applicants for the UNT Terry Scholarship are encouraged to apply for admission to UNT no later than Dec. 2^nd, 2024.  
• Applicants must submit a completed UNT Terry Scholarship application with their transcript(s) by 5:00 pm (CST) on January 7^th, 2025. There will be no exceptions to this deadline. 
• One letter of recommendation must be submitted by the stated recommender by 5:00 on (CST) on January 10^th, 2025. There will be no exceptions to this deadline. Recommenders will receive the recommendation submission instructions upon the student's submission of the UNT Terry application. 
• File a FAFSA online by March 2025

Selection Timeline and Applicant Notification

The UNT Terry selection process spans the academic year. A general timeline is outlined below.

• UNT Terry applications open in October and close in January.
• Applicants will receive notification of their application status in March. 
  • A select number of applicants nominated by UNT will be contacted by the Terry Foundation to schedule an interview.
  • Applicants who will not be moving forward will receive email notification from the UNT Terry Scholarship Program.
• Terry Foundation interviews typically occur in late-March to early-April.
• Students who interview with the Terry Foundation will receive final notification from the Terry Foundation before May 1st (subject to change).

Submitting your Terry Foundation Freshman Application

Applications must be completed to merit review. Completed applications are composed of the following components: Application, transcript(s), and one letter of recommendation. 

1. Application - Students must complete, digitally sign, and electronically submit the UNT Terry application by the upload deadline (Jan 7^th 2025, 5pm CST). Applicants should be filled out completely. Applicants will be unable to edit or change their application after submission and are thus advised to review their application carefully before officially submitting. 
    
2. Transcripts - Students must upload, as a part of their digital application, a copy of their transcript from every high school and college (dual credit institutions) that they have attended. The transcript should be the most recent version that is currently available to the student. Screenshots of grades should not be uploaded in the place of a transcript. 
   
   Applicants who have completed any hours of dual credit at the time of application are also required to submit a copy of their transcript from the institution(s) from which they received those credit hours.
   
   It is the applicant's responsibility to request a copy of their transcript(s) far enough in advance to have those before the upload deadline (Jan 7^th, 2025, 5pm CST). Late or missing transcripts will disqualify applicants.
    
3. One Letter of Recommendation – One letter of recommendation should be submitted by one of the applicant's teachers and should speak to the applicant's academic and leadership abilities.

   
   Applicants will be required to enter the email address of their recommender into the application. At the time of the application submission, an automatic email from terryscholars@unt.edu will be sent to the recommender's email address, as entered in the application, requesting a letter of recommendation for the applicant. The recommender will submit their letter by following the instructions in that email. 

   Letters of recommendation must be received by the recommender deadline (Jan 10^th, 2024, 5pm CST). It is the applicant's responsibility to check with their listed recommender, in advance of the deadline, to confirm the status of the letter. Late or missing letters of recommendation will disqualify applicants.

*Remember: The application must be filled out completely to be considered. A completed application with transcript(s) must be received by the 5pm CST January 7^th, 2025 student deadline. One letter of recommendation must be received by the 5pm CST January 10^th, 2025 recommender deadline. There will be no exceptions to these deadlines.*