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Scholarship Requirements

On-Campus Housing Requirement

While Wake Forest University has a three-year residency requirement for students, some merit scholarships include an extended four-year residency requirement.

Scholars who hold scholarships with a four-year residency requirement are expected to plan their housing accordingly and typically coordinate with peers to ensure their living arrangements align with scholarship expectations. They often live together in on-campus housing, which includes the Road Houses located on Polo Road and Deacon Place Apartments.

The following merit scholarships have the 4-year residency requirement:

  • Carswell Scholarship
  • Gordon Scholarship
  • Graylyn Scholarship
  • Leadership & Character Scholarship
  • Presidential Scholarship for Distinguished Achievement
  • Reynolds Scholarship
  • Stamps Scholarship

Merit scholarships not listed above do not carry a four-year on-campus residency requirement.

Tulips bloom outside Collins Residence early in the morning, on the campus of Wake Forest University, Wednesday, April 14, 2021.

Questions about the residency requirement? Email Acacia Fike-Nelson at fikenea@wfu.edu.

Full-Time Enrollment

Merit scholarships carry with them the requirement that students be enrolled full-time during the fall and spring semesters, a minimum of 12 credits per academic semester.

Questions about the full-time requirement? Email Acacia Fike-Nelson at fikenea@wfu.edu.

Apologia

What is the Apologia?

Apologia are typically 2-3 pages, double-spaced, and are designed to give students a chance to seriously consider the full arc of their year. To honestly recount difficulties and triumphs, be they intellectual, personal, or social, and to describe what the writer feels is most important to remember—in short, something that might be interesting to review at the conclusion of one’s undergraduate career. Primarily read by the Director of the Scholars Program, excerpts may be shared with the Scholarship Committee to provide a window into the student’s personal experience or to contribute to an overall picture of what topics are foremost on Demon Deacon minds.

Scholars Required to Submit an Apologia:

  • Carswell Scholars
  • Gordon Scholars
  • Graylyn Scholars
  • Leadership & Character Scholars
  • Presidential Scholars
  • Reynolds Scholars
  • Stamps Scholars

All other Merit Scholars are encouraged to submit an Apologia.

Submit your 2025 Apologia!