Top scholarships available to incoming freshmen include the George S. Mickelson Scholarship and the USD Presidential Alumni Scholarship. Both of these prestigious awards provide recipients with four-year, renewable scholarships given students meet the conditions of the award established by the University. Students visiting USD for the day will also have an opportunity to interview for the Law Honors Scholars Program, the Sanford School of Medicine’s Alumni Student Scholar Program and the Ullyot Scholarship, which is awarded to Native American students who are members of recognized tribes.

"This is a great day for USD to showcase our facilities, and our faculty and staff while also promoting the generosity of our alumni," explained Stephanie Moser, director of admissions at The U. "Historically, USD has been able to award top students with generous scholarship packages in large part because of our extraordinary alumni and the USD Foundation."

During Scholarship Interview Day at The U, students answer a series of questions from a panel of interviewers. Each interview group is a cross-section of campus life, including faculty, staff members, current scholarship winners and representatives from the community. Although these students represent the best of incoming freshmen who have scored a 27 or higher on their ACT or accrued a high school GPA of 3.75, the interview process creates an opportunity for USD to evaluate applicants on more than test scores and grades. Leadership ability, extracurricular activities, community involvement and academic excellence are factors in determining scholarship recipients.

"We often say The U is the best kept secret in the country and we want to share that secret with prospective students," noted Tina Keller, Ph.D., chairperson of USD's scholarship interview committee. According to Keller, the interview process is dual-purposed. "It acts as a recruiting tool for the university as well as a way to evaluate student potential."

In addition to Saturday’s interview process, students also participate in special sessions to learn more about The U’s honors program, undergraduate research as well as study abroad opportunities. A scholarship committee will finalize its recommendations and recipients will be notified of their award at a later date by the USD Department of Admissions.

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