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Office of Financial Aid
University of Mississippi

Terms and Conditions for the
Ole Miss First General Scholars Award

The Ole Miss First Leadership Scholar will receive $4,500.00 per year ($2,250.00 per semester for eight semesters. In addition to maintaining a 3.0 cumulative grade point average as a full-time student (12 hours), the scholar’s roles and responsibilities include:

  • Establishing a connection with the donor – This can be done by sending a letter to the donor thanking him/her for the scholarship and updating the donor of goals, progress, activities, etc. The donor will also communicate with the scholar.
  • Staying connected with a donor/mentor – The scholar’s mentor may be the donor, or someone the donor designates to be a mentor. The relationship the scholar will have with the mentor should be a special one. The mentor can share his/her own Ole Miss experience, help the scholar through a difficult time, advise on career choices, and just stay in touch by phone or email as well as meeting the scholar on campus.
  • Attending presentations by featured speakers – There will be prominent members of the Ole Miss family invited to speak about leadership, career paths, etc. The scholar will be expected to attend with other scholars from the Honors College, Lott Institute, Winter Institute, Croft Institute, and the Ole Miss Women’s Council Scholars.
  • Attending an overnight seminar – There will be an overnight seminar annually lead by an established leadership trainer. The scholar will be expected to attend with the OMF Scholars, Ole Miss Women’s Council Scholars, and other invited scholars.
  • Participating in a cluster group –The scholar will be assigned to a cluster group of OMF Scholars led by a graduate student. This group leader will stay in contact via e-mail, meet with the assigned cluster group or individually with the scholar, and schedule occasional dinners to hear a speaker on leadership.
  • Joining campus organizations during the first year with expectations of leadership in these organizations in later years.
  • This scholarship is payable in equal installments between fall and spring semester.
  • Full-time enrollment of at least 12 hours each semester is required.
  • Independent Study classes (also known as correspondence courses or iStudy) can only be used to count towards the full-time enrollment requirement if they are semester-based – not Flex courses. In addition, the scholarship amount may be reduced if students are enrolled in iStudy classes ONLY that term.
  • Eligibility for future years is conditional upon your maintaining at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale on all course work attempted at The University of Mississippi only (not transfer grades).
  • Maximum eligibility is limited to eight consecutive regular semesters (fall and spring only) or once a bachelor’s degree is received. This scholarship will not pay for winter intersession, summer intersession, or any other summer terms.
  • Renewal eligibility for subsequent years will be determined at the end of each Spring semester. Warning notices may be issued if the student goes below the 3.0 mark at the end of the Fall Semester.
  • If you withdraw from the University within the 100% institutional refund period (the first 10 days of classes), any scholarship that has already credited to your bursar account must be repaid in full.
  • If you withdraw from the university and attend another college, you will forfeit your scholarship unless prior arrangements have been made with the University Of Mississippi Office Of Financial Aid.
  • You must prepare a letter during your first term of enrollment thanking the donor for your scholarship. Please visit https://finaid.olemiss.edu/donorthank/ for directions.  Failure to comply with this expectation will result in termination of your scholarship.
  • If this scholarship, combined with any other financial aid, exceeds the overall student budget determined for each student by the Office of Financial Aid, it may cause a reduction in some of your financial aid. This scholarship will not be reduced unless directed by a representative of the Ole Miss First Program or the UM Foundation, but the Office of Financial Aid reserves the right to review packages and reduce other aid if necessary during and after the academic year per federal or state regulations.