Utah Valley University has created a scholarship whose only entry requirement is something a large share of Utah high school graduates already do: take college classes before they finish high school.
The Freshman Concurrent Enrollment Merit Scholarship, launched in late August, offers first-year UVU students who earned credit through the university's own concurrent enrollment program $3,500 or $5,000 a year, in two tiers set by how many UVU credits they completed in high school. Both tiers are renewable for up to four years, which puts the ceiling at $20,000 toward a degree. The Daily Herald reported the launch on August 30; UVU's own release went out the week before.
The pitch, in the words of Senior Director of Concurrent Enrollment Spencer Childs, is that concurrent students arrive on campus already proven, and that UVU had never had an award that reflected it. He called it the first UVU scholarship built specifically to reward that effort.
What is stated
- Who: first-year UVU students who participated in UVU's Concurrent Enrollment Program in high school and earned college credit.
- How much: two tiers, $3,500 and $5,000 per year.
- How long: renewable for up to four years.
- What sets the tier: the number of UVU concurrent enrollment credits completed.
- How to get in: UVU concurrent enrollment students are automatically admitted as freshmen; the stated step is an official high school transcript submitted during senior year by February 1.
The published terms
UVU's scholarship page now spells out the details the first news reports left out.
The credit thresholds. The $3,500 Outstanding tier is for students with 15 to 29 UVU concurrent enrollment credits, and the $5,000 Exemplary tier is for 30 or more. The credits must be earned by July 1. Read uvu.edu/concurrent/merit-scholarship before planning a senior-year schedule around it.
The GPA floor. Students need a 3.6 unweighted high school GPA and a 3.5 cumulative UVU GPA, and they must be Utah residents.
Renewal conditions. The award renews for up to four years, or eight semesters, if the student keeps up the GPA and credit load the page sets: a 3.2 GPA with 12 credits a semester, or a 3.5 GPA with 15 credits, depending on the tier.
Stacking. It does not stack with UVU's other freshman merit scholarships; a student who qualifies for more than one gets the higher award.
Whether fall 2026 freshmen qualify. The page sets the transcript deadline at February 1, 2027, which reads as the class entering in fall 2027. A student who started UVU this fall with UVU concurrent credit should ask.
Why the timing matters in Utah County
Concurrent enrollment in Utah is unusually cheap — the state subsidizes it heavily — and Utah County's districts run it at scale through both UVU and other institutions. The practical effect of this scholarship is to put a dollar figure on a choice that juniors make in the next few months: which institution's concurrent courses to load up on.
A student at an Alpine, Provo or Nebo district high school choosing between two sections of the same subject, one carrying UVU credit and one carrying credit from a different university, now has a reason to pick the UVU section if UVU is a plausible destination. That is the incentive the university is openly buying. Childs said as much: the award is meant not only for students already in concurrent courses but for those who now have a reason to start.
Two cautions follow. First, concurrent credit is transferable in ways a scholarship is not — the credit is good at other Utah institutions, the scholarship is good only at UVU — so a student unsure where they will land should not let the award decide the course. Second, the tier structure rewards more UVU credits, and a schedule packed with concurrent courses is a college schedule in a high school building. It suits some sixteen-year-olds and not others.
Where this fits
UVU has long marketed affordability; this is another lever on the same message, aimed at the pipeline rather than the enrolled. For a family weighing the two schools, our BYU vs. UVU comparison is the fuller picture, and the UVU student guide covers what the first year on the Orem campus looks like. Residency matters too: the award is on top of in-state tuition, not a substitute for qualifying for it, and Utah residency rules trip up more incoming students than any scholarship deadline.
Sources: Utah Valley University news release, August 25–26, 2026; KSL, "'A reason to start': Utah Valley University launches scholarship for concurrent enrollment students," August 26, 2026; Daily Herald, "Rewarding high achievers: UVU launches new scholarship for high school students taking concurrent enrollment class," August 30, 2026. Dollar figures, credit thresholds, GPA and renewal rules and the February 1 deadline are as stated on UVU's scholarship page.
Related Guides
- UVU Student Guide — the first year on the Orem campus
- The UVU Hub — everything on the site about Utah Valley University
- BYU vs. UVU — the comparison families make
- Utah Residency and In-State Tuition — the rule this award sits on top of
- Orem High Schools Explained — the schools feeding UVU's concurrent program
- Lehi High vs. Skyridge High — the north-county pair
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Freshman Concurrent Enrollment Merit Scholarship?
How many credits do I need for each tier?
How do I apply?
Do credits from other universities' concurrent programs count?
Is this available to students starting UVU this fall?
Can it stack with other UVU scholarships?
Sources
The facts in this guide were checked against these sources. Hours, fees and rules change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the source before you go. How we make Provo.com.
- Qualifying UVU Concurrent Enrollment students can now earn up to $20,000 in UVU scholarship funds, Utah Valley University. Checked October 12, 2026.
- Rewarding high achievers: UVU launches new scholarship for high school students taking concurrent enrollment classes, Daily Herald (heraldextra.com). Checked October 12, 2026.