Starting Fall Semester 2022, Winona State University will expand eligibility for the Resident Tuition Scholarship to offer in-state tuition rates for all students who meet WSU’s admissions criteria.
The WSU Resident Tuition Scholarship will automatically be applied for qualifying undergraduate and graduate students who are admitted to the university – no application needed. The scholarship also will be renewable for students with a 2.5 GPA who maintain good academic standing.
The Resident Tuition Scholarship will benefit students in many ways, said Interim Director of Admissions Kendra Weber, first by making it easier to access education.
This scholarship stands to benefit most, if not all, incoming students. Accessibility is of particular importance at Winona State, as close to 40 percent of our students are first-generation, meaning neither parent has a four-year degree.
Simplifying scholarships and other financing, Weber said, can help demystify university processes for individuals not familiar with higher education systems.
The Resident Tuition Scholarship will also make a Winona State University education affordable for a greater number of students and create broader appeal among prospective students from out of state.
“I was looking for a good-sized college, but one that wasn’t too big,” said Anna Kunau, of Davenport, Iowa.
I thought going out of state would be expensive, but I find WSU to be the perfect mixture of size, price, and experience. I get the experience I need for my program at a cost that is affordable to out of state students.
For out of state students like Kunau, who is in her first year studying nursing at WSU, affordability is a major benefit of the Resident Tuition Scholarship.
Paying the in-state tuition rate versus the out-of-state tuition rate equates roughly to a $6,500 annual scholarship.
“We know that many non-reciprocity students have chosen not to attend WSU if they didn’t receive the in-state rate,” added Weber, “so we’re looking to reverse this trend.”
The university continues to invest in other ways to keep a WSU education affordable for all students, including through financial aid, university scholarships and WSU Foundation scholarships. Winona State University and the WSU Foundation currently award more than $7.1 million in student scholarships annually, and the Foundation has created more than 100 new scholarships to support students in the last five years alone.
An overarching goal of the Resident Tuition Scholarship is to support equity in higher education, Weber said. The scholarship will be available to all students, including DREAMers, international students, and students who didn’t graduate from a Minnesota high school.
By providing additional financial support to students, WSU can help eliminate educational equity gaps and adapt its systems and cultures to meet the needs of students, Weber explained.
“We want all students to have the same level of access to the excellent education and opportunities we provide at WSU,” Weber continued. “This scholarship will help increase our overall enrollment as well as bring diversity of experience to our campus.”
For more information on WSU’s Resident Tuition Scholarship, financial aid and scholarship options, visit winona.edu/scholarships.
