The Chancellor’s Achievement Scholarship is designed for entering non-resident freshmen in the top 25% of CU-Boulder’s admitted non-resident freshman class. Eligibility is based on high school grade point average and test scores.
Students are automatically considered for CU-Boulder's Chancellor’s Achievement Scholarship upon submission of an admissions application to CU-Boulder. No additional application is required.
Students need to apply for admission to CU-Boulder no later than the January 15 freshman application decision deadline.
Students will receive a notification from the CU-Boulder Office of Admissions in the form of an official letter. Notification will depend on when the student is admitted to the University, and will typically arrive within a few weeks of the student receiving their admission decision. Letters will be sent to students beginning in December.
The Chancellor’s Achievement Scholarship is a total of $15,000, paid over 4 years ($5,000 each for the freshman and sophomore years and $2,500 each for the junior and senior years).
The scholarship is automatically accepted once you have confirmed your intent to enroll at CU-Boulder. Your confirmation must be postmarked by the May 1 deadline.
The funds for each year will be equally divided between the fall and spring semesters and will be credited to your CU-Boulder tuition and fees bill.
To be eligible to receive the award in a given semester, you must:
- enroll in a minimum of 12 credit hours each fall and spring semester at CU-Boulder;
- remain a non-resident for tuition purposes;
- meet the Office of Financial Aid’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards.
To renew the award in subsequent years, you must:
- maintain a minimum cumulative CU grade point average at the end of the designated academic year.
- At the end of the freshman year (after the 2nd semester at CU), the requirement is a minimum 2.50 cumulative GPA.
- At the end of the sophomore and junior years (after the 4th and 6th semesters at CU), the requirement is a minimum 2.75 cumulative GPA.
- successfully complete a minimum of 12 credit hours each fall and spring semester at CU-Boulder;
- remain a non-resident for tuition purposes;
- meet the Office of Financial Aid’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards.
*These apply to students admitted fall 2009 or later.
You may defer your admission to CU-Boulder for up to 1 year and still retain the scholarship. You must contact the Office of Admissions to formally request a deferral.
Yes, until the May 1st confirmation deadline, you may submit official copies of your scores to the Office of Admissions. Please email jennifer.mcduffie@colorado.edu in the Office of Admissions to request reconsideration after you have submitted your updated test scores.
Typically, seventh semester grades alone do not change a student’s eligibility for the scholarship. Scholarship eligibility is determined based on a combination of factors, including a student’s GPA and test scores. Both sets of standards must have changed significantly in order to be meaningful for scholarship reconsideration.
Since the scholarship is provided on a semester by semester basis, you are limited to receiving a single semester’s award amount at a time. If you graduate in fewer than four years, the remainder of the benefit is forfeited. However, if you continue to be enrolled at CU-Boulder in a graduate program, the scholarship will be extended until you have graduated or until you’ve utilized the maximum 8 semesters of the award.
Summer school is not typically funded. However, if you will be enrolled in summer school at CU-Boulder in a minimum of 12 credit hours and meet the renewal criteria as of the end of the previous spring semester, you may request to receive a semester’s scholarship award in the summer in lieu of receiving it in the fall or spring. You must contact Scholarship Services to make the request. You will not be automatically credited with the scholarship.
The Chancellor’s Achievement Scholarship is only awarded to non-resident students. Therefore, if you become an in-state resident, the remainder of the award is forfeited effective with the semester that your residency is changed.
Yes, if you are participating in a CU-Boulder sponsored Study Abroad program.
If you are not enrolled in at least 12 credit hours at CU-Boulder at the start of a semester, as of the university’s census date (the third Friday of the semester), the scholarship will be cancelled effective with that semester and the remainder of the scholarship will be forfeited. The cancellation is permanent and the scholarship cannot be reinstated. Courses taken for no-credit through Continuing Education and Professional Studies do not count toward the minimum credit hours.
Your academic progress and enrollment will be reviewed at the beginning of and at the completion of each fall and spring semester:
- At the beginning of each fall and spring semester, you must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours at CU-Boulder by no later than the university’s census date (the third Friday of the semester). Courses taken for no-credit through Continuing Education and Professional Studies do not count toward the minimum credit hours.
- At the end of the fall semester, you must be meeting the Office of Financial Aid’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy or your scholarship will be cancelled effective with the spring semester and the remainder of the scholarship will be forfeited. You will be responsible for the full amount of non-resident undergraduate tuition beginning in the spring semester.
- At the end of the spring semester, you must have successfully completed at least 12 credits in each the fall and spring semesters at CU-Boulder, have achieved a minimum cumulative grade point average based on your grade level (see the question above on renewal criteria) , and must be meeting the Office of Financial Aid’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy.
No, unfortunately the cancellation is permanent and the award will not be reinstated.
No, a student must meet the renewal conditions for the next year based on credit hours earned in the previous fall and spring semesters and on the cumulative GPA at the end of the spring semester. Summer course work at CU-Boulder does not count toward meeting the renewal standards. However, given that the grades from summer courses taken at CU are included in your cumulative GPA, the courses will impact your eligibility at the end of the following spring semester.
The scholarship will be available upon your return to CU-Boulder, assuming that the renewal conditions have been met. You will have the same number of semesters and dollars remaining as if you had not participated in Time Out program.
A student who withdraws from the university without going on the Time Out Program will forfeit the remainder of the scholarship.
As stated in the Registrar’s Course Repetition Rules, there will be no retroactive transactions done as a result of completing the Course Repetition program - for example, any past probation or suspension changes will not be removed, nor will eligibility decisions for dean's list, athletic or financial aid eligibility, etc. You may not regain your eligibility for the Chancellor’s Achievement Scholarship as a result of Course Repetition.
The cost of attendance (COA), also known as the cost of education or "budget", is the total amount it should cost a student to go to school. This amount includes tuition and fees, room and board, and allowances for books and supplies, transportation, and personal and incidental expenses. Any financial aid that you receive, including the Chancellor’s Achievement Scholarship, cannot exceed your Cost of Attendance. If it does, you may have aid adjusted and/or cancelled, depending on your individual circumstances.
You may contact Scholarship Services at 303-492-4533 or schlp@colorado.edu.
