Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is offering a new scholarship opportunity for incoming students who graduated from the colleges and universities of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. This new Presidential Scholarship is a program designed to assist graduates from the Seminary’s partner undergraduate institutions as they continue their formation for service in the church.

With the cost of undergraduate education rising rapidly and average undergraduate student debt on the rise nationally, Concordia Seminary seeks to encourage future seminary students to attend a Concordia University System (CUS) school. These scholarships are available to eligible graduates of CUS schools who have applied to a program in Ministerial Formation at Concordia Seminary. This includes students enrolling in the Master of Divinity or Master of Arts in Deaconess Studies programs.

All concluding CUS students are eligible for a $500 scholarship.

• Applicant must be a current CUS student who has applied to a program in Ministerial Formation.
• Applicant must be graduating with a bachelor’s degree in the winter or spring of the current academic year.
• The applicant will have studied at a CUS school for a minimum of four (4) semesters before graduating.
• Applicant must receive his or her bachelor’s degree from a CUS school, but not necessarily in the pre-seminary program.

In addition, Concordia Seminary is offering larger scholarships to the most outstanding students from each school. The top three applicants from each institution will be awarded scholarships of $2000, $1500, or $1000. These scholarships will be awarded based on the following criteria:

1. Cumulative grade point average
2. Church experience: the student’s level of participation and leadership during high school years will be considered.
3. Campus experience: the student’s level of participation and leadership (including chapel, devotions, Bible study, service projects, etc.).
4. Pastor’s recommendation: strong endorsement from the student’s pastor, without reservation.
5. Recommendation from the admissions officer.

This scholarship is above and beyond any other financial aid the students will receive; receipt of this award will not affect, or be affected by, the amount of financial aid they receive from other organizations or programs. Once the student applies to the Seminary, he or she will automatically be considered for the awards; all information for scholarship consideration will come from the student’s applicant file. There’s no separate application to fill out. Applicants must submit their application to Concordia Seminary before the November 1, 2014 deadline.

“70% of college students now graduate with debt, with the average student debt rising from $31,000 to $33,000 in the last year alone,” observes President Dale Meyer. “Concordia Seminary wants to encourage our students to attend our excellent Concordia Universities and Colleges, and this is a small way to help them move into seminary with less expense. We want to make it less expensive for them as they continue to grow toward Gospel-centered ministry.”

Additional Information is available from Rev. Bill Wrede, Director of Admissions at 800.822.9545 or admissions@csl.edu.