Following a last-minute influx of STARS applications for scholarship money from Murray State, the deadline was extended from Jan. 15 to Jan. 24 last week.

The University offers two types of scholarships, academic achievement and competitive scholarships. The competitive, non-need based scholarships are distributed based on the STARS applications primarily using funds donated privately to the MSU Foundation.

Approximately 1,000 of these scholarships are awarded in a given semester from Murray State departments, colleges and privately established endowments. The STARS application looks at a number of criteria including essay questions, letters of recommendation and past academic achievements to determine who is eligible.

Bob Jackson, associate vice president for Institutional Advancement, said despite the reported raise in applicants not only this semester, but for the entire academic year, this number of scholarships will not change.

Jackson said the last several days leading up to the STARS application’s original deadline were quite busy with students who had waited to apply for scholarship money. He said this flurry of activity and the overwhelming late response was one of the reasons they decided to push back the deadline.

“We want to make sure that every student who wants to apply for scholarships has the ability to make the application,” Jackson said. “We wanted to make sure one last time that new incoming freshmen in particular and transfer students knew about the application process.”

He said each year because of donations and endowments established by alumni and friends of the University, the Scholarship office is able to award more than $2 million in scholarships a year. He said the deadline for the STARS application has been extended in the past.

“It’s been advertised heavily through social media to make sure both existing students and incoming students know (the deadline) is extended,” Jackson said. “It’s going to give everyone an opportunity to apply if they desire to seek an academic scholarship from Murray State.”

Kelsey Meriwether, freshman from Henderson, Ky., said when applying for her STARS application that the process took a long time and had trouble completing it on her Mac computer. She said she understood why the University would extend the deadline.

Meriwether said, however, that while she thought it was nice of the University to give people extra time, it’s worse for those who met the deadline who now are introduced to added competition.

“Things like that have happened to me before,” she said. I’ve stayed up all night to finish a paper or something on time and I come into class and the teacher tells us we can turn it in tomorrow for full credit. It’s kind of upsetting.”

Jackson said students can expect to know if they have been awarded a scholarship some time in March.

 Story by Ben Manhanke, Assistant News Editor.