Academic Competitions Scholarships

Many of the academic competitions offered by the Office of Pre-College Programs award scholarship opportunities to one of five summer programs: JumpStart, UM Summer Language Institute, Lott Leadership Institute, EdStart, Summer College, or Non-Credit Summer Immersion Programs.

Scholarship Guidelines

All scholarships are sponsored by the Division of Outreach and Continuing Education at the University of Mississippi, who reserves the right to change, update, or rescind any scholarship offer for any reason. All federal, state, and institutional financial aid rules will apply.

Competitions scholarships may only be used in the summer following a competition.
Eligible students may only use these scholarships for fees related to summer programs sponsored by the Office of Pre-College Programs.
Receiving a scholarship does not guarantee admission to a particular program nor a reserved spot in a particular program.
The student must meet all admission requirements and must participate in the residential option of the program, if a residential option exists.
The student will only be awarded one overall scholarship per competition/tournament.
Competitions scholarships are NOT stackable with other program scholarships offered by the Office of Pre-College Programs and its partners.
Scholarships may not be redeemed for cash value.

Students who earn these awards can utilize them in the following ways:

Graduating Seniors

Graduating seniors who place first, second, or third in an eligible competition will receive a tuition scholarship that can be used in one of two summer terms of the UM JumpStart program. The tuition scholarship amounts are:

Award/Placement	Amount
1st Place	6-credit-hour tuition scholarship
2nd Place	3-credit-hour tuition scholarship
3rd Place	3-credit-hour tuition scholarship

Notes:

Graduating seniors attending the University of Mississippi as incoming freshmen may only use these tuition scholarships for JumpStart tuition charges, not including non-resident fees.
Competitions scholarships cannot be used for fall or spring semester charges.

In Summer 2023, a 3-credit-hour tuition scholarship is worth $1,134 (based on regular, in-state undergraduate tuition at the University of Mississippi).

Rising 7th- through 12th-graders

Rising 7th- through 12th-grade students who place first, second, or third in an eligible competition will receive a scholarship for a summer program offered by the Office of Pre-College Programs at the University of Mississippi. Award amounts are:

Award/Placement	Credit Programs – Rising 10th - 12th Graders (EdStart, Lott Leadership Institute, Summer College, UM Summer Language Institute)	Non-Credit Programs – Rising 7th -12th Graders (one-week, non-credit experience programs)
1st Place	$1,000 off program fee	50% off program cost
2nd Place	$500 off program fee	25% off program cost
3rd Place	$250 off program fee	25% off program cost

Summer 2023

Credit programs: Please see the Cost Estimate page of your chosen summer program. The program fee is only a portion of the overall expense for this type of program. See Credit Programs cost estimate page for more details.
Non-credit programs: The 1st place scholarship award is worth up to $400 (based on highest program registration cost).

Rising 1st through 7th Graders

In the case of Ole Miss Chess Tournament and MSEF Region VII Lower Science Fair, rising 1st-through 6th-grade students who place first, second, or third in an eligible competition will receive a scholarship for our non-credit day camp summer programs (elementary and middle school) offered by the Office of Pre-College Programs at the University of Mississippi. Award amounts are:

Award/Placement	Non-Credit Day Camp Programs (Ecology Day Camp, Makers & Mechanisms, Rebel Quest)
1st Place	50% off program cost
2nd Place	25% off program cost
3rd Place	25% off program cost

Note: A competitions scholarship may be used for only one week of a chosen day camp.

For Summer 2023 day camp programs, the 1st place scholarship award is worth up to $97 for elementary-level and $125 for middle school-level day camps (one week only; based on highest program registration cost).

How to Redeem Your Competitions Scholarship

All scholarships must be redeemed in the summer following a competition for one of the above outlined programs. A scholarship certificate with information will be awarded at the competition.

To redeem a scholarship, students must complete the Academic Competitions Scholarship form and send in a copy of the certificate after being officially accepted into a summer program at the University of Mississippi.

Scholarships to any one session may not be stacked with another scholarships in the same session. For example, if a student receives a competition scholarship for half-tuition and another scholarship (i.e. competition, etc.) to Summer College, only one scholarship may be used per session. Therefore, one award could be applied to the first session and the other to second session.