First-year Student Scholarships
EIU's scholarship, grant and aid programs for first-year students can help you leave Eastern ready to take on the future, not worried about debt.
Part of our investment in your future is making sure your education is accessible and affordable. These scholarship and aid programs for new first-year students can help you do just that!
![First-Year Merit Scholarships](/scholarships/images/firstyearmerit.png)
First-Year Automatic Merit Scholarships
![Textbook Rental Grant](/admissions-test/images/textbookrentalgrant.png)
Textbook Rental Grant
![Panther Promise Tuition Waiver](/admissions-test/images/pantherpromise.png)
Panther Promise Tuition Waiver
![EIU Promise](/admissions-test/images/eiupromise.png)
EIU Promise
![EIU Local Scholars](/admissions-test/images/localscholars.png)
Local Scholars
![Automatic Panther Family Scholarship](/scholarships/images/pantherfamily.png)
Automatic Panther Family Scholarship
Join the EIU tradition and let your family legacy help pave the way for your success at Eastern Illinois University! For students with a GPA of 2.8 + above and an immediate family member who graduated from EIU.
![Panther First Generation Scholarship](/scholarships/images/firstgen.png)
First-Generation Scholarship
Are you the first in your family to pursue a college degree? At Eastern Illinois University, we celebrate your ambition and are here to support your journey! The First-Generation Student Scholarship is designed to help make your dream of higher education a reality.
![Honors Scholarships](/scholarships/images/honorsscholarships.png)
Honors Scholarships
![Student Success and Engagement Award](/admissions-test/images/successengagement.png)
Student Success & Engagement Award
![Community Ambassador Scholarship](/scholarships/images/commambassador.png)
Community Ambassador Scholarship
![Legacy Scholarship](/scholarships/images/legacy.png)
Legacy Scholarships
![EIU Cost Match Program](/scholarships/images/costmatch.png)
EIU Cost Match Program
![Academic Works Scholarship Search](/admissions-test/images/academicworks.png)
Departmental / Other Scholarships
Some scholarships and grants are automatically offered when you are admitted, but many more are listed in our Academic Works scholarship search system! The system will automatically match you to eligible scholarships. Once you are admitted, just visit Academic Works, sign in with your EIU netid and password, then fill out the general application.