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National Alumni Scholarship

The Drake University National Alumni Scholarship (NAS) is Drake’s most competitive scholarship program. National Alumni Scholarships are awarded to outstanding first-year students entering directly from high school who meet all criteria and complete the full application process. The 2026 National Alumni Scholarship program will be held virtually.

Application will open on November 1, 2025. The deadline for scholarship program is December 1, 2025. 

If you have not yet started your admission application, you must start it before you can set up a scholarship application.

 The Awards

  • One full tuition National Alumni Scholarship to Drake University. This award supersedes any other partial tuition scholarship offered.  
  • Three Carpenter Scholarships of $10,000 applied towards tuition at Drake University. The recipients will be the top three semi-finalists who complete their participation in a scholarship interview*. This award can be stacked on top of a student’s Presidential Scholarship (which ranges from $27,000-$35,000). 

All scholarships are renewable for an additional three years provided full-time enrollment and the required minimum cumulative GPA are maintained.

The Criteria

In order to apply to compete for these scholarship awards, a student must be entering directly from high school (starting in the summer or fall terms) and have a cumulative GPA of 3.8 or above on a 4.0 scale OR rank in the top five percent of their class (weighted GPAs are accepted).

In addition, our National Alumni Scholars are students who demonstrate achievements in other areas such as outstanding academic performance, often recognized by their school, state, or the national level; take responsibility and serve in leadership positions across a variety of activities or organizations making positive contributions to the greater good. Our scholars are students who demonstrate a strong work ethic and commitment to their extracurriculars, work experiences and/or volunteer engagements. Scholars show initiative and creativity through trying something new or unexpected and in how they overcame a hardship or adversity. Finally, scholars demonstrate a passion for their work and their studies. They have a love of learning evident in their achievements and expanding their own world.

Application Process

All eligible applicants must do the following in order to apply for consideration for these scholarships:

  • Complete the application for admission (and all required admission/application checklist items) by 11:59pm CST on December 1, 2025
  • Submit the (separate) National Alumni Scholarship application by 11:59pm CST on December 1, 2025

Applicants will be narrowed to a group of semi-finalists. Students selected as semi-finalists will be notified by January 29, 2026. Semi-finalists are required to participate in a virtual scholarship interview in order to compete for the full tuition National Alumni Scholarship or one of the three, $10,000 Carpenter Scholarships. 

The virtual National Alumni Scholarship Semi-Finalist Selection Interviews will take place:

  • Tuesday, February 3, 2026
  • Thursday, February 5, 2026
  • Sunday, February 8, 2026
  • Tuesday, February 10, 2026
  • Thursday, February 12, 2026

*Participation in the semi-finalist selection interviews of the National Alumni Scholarship is by invitation only to application semi-finalists. Semi-finalists are determined after a review of the information submitted within the National Alumni Scholarship application. In order to compete for the full tuition National Alumni Scholarship or $10,000 Carpenter scholarship consideration, the applicant will be able to select their interview time from the listed dates offered. Date and time selections will be reserved on a first-available basis.

No exceptions are permitted after the December 1, 2025 deadline.

The application deadline has passed for the National Alumni Scholarship. Notification of awards will be made by March 6, 2026.

Scholarship Details

The National Alumni Scholarship Program is Drake’s most competitive scholarship program. Multiple scholarships are available, up to full tuition. Scholarships under the National Alumni Scholarship program are awarded to outstanding first-year students entering directly from high school who meet all criteria and complete the full application process. To apply, students must complete the National Alumni Scholarship Application (available here) by December 1 of their senior year in high school. 

The Awards

  • One full tuition National Alumni Scholarship
  • Three George Carpenter Scholarships ($10,000/year)

These scholarships are available to full-time students during the fall and spring semesters, and are restricted to the cost of tuition. If a student receives other tuition-specific assistance that, in combination with the these scholarships, exceeds the student’s cost of tuition, these scholarships will be reduced so that the sum of all tuition-specific awards are equal to the student’s tuition charges (see Cost Specificity of Awards for more information).

See "George Carpenter Scholarship" for more information, including renewal requirements.

 

All scholarships require full-time enrollment (minimum of 12 credit hours per semester) and satisfactory academic progress. Individual scholarships may have additional eligibility or application requirements. 

Undergraduate scholarships are available only to students enrolled at the undergraduate level, for up to 4 years total or until a Bachelor's degree is earned (whichever comes first). Students entering one of Drake's joint undergraduate/graduate degree paths should refer to Program-Specific Policies to understand which years are designated as undergraduate-level for billing and financial aid purposes. Scholarships will renew automatically if all renewal requirements are satisfied.