International Scholarships & Financial Aid for International Students

What the award is

Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) states that it is able to award merit scholarships and other financial support for international students. The university defines international students as students who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents. If you are applying from Nigeria, you fall within that definition.

What it pays

The official text says students can receive up to $38,000 per year in merit scholarships, and that these are renewable for up to four years. The exact amount you are offered is not fixed at that figure; the text presents it as a maximum.

Beyond merit scholarships, the text says international students may be eligible for IWU-funded scholarships, loans, and campus-employment opportunities for additional financial support, also renewable for up to four years. It does not state amounts for those.

Who is eligible

• International students, defined by IWU as students who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents.
• Qualified international applicants with outstanding academic achievement and test scores on the required entrance exams.

The official text does not name Nigeria or any specific country or region. It also does not list nationality restrictions beyond the U.S. citizen/permanent resident distinction. If you need confirmation that your country is treated as eligible, check with the university directly.

How to be considered

The text states that students who complete the admissions application are automatically considered for scholarships. There is no separate scholarship application described. That means your admissions file is the scholarship file: your academic record, your entrance exam scores, and everything else you submit with the application.

For additional financial support, the text says international students may submit the CSS PROFILE. The PROFILE is described as providing a detailed analysis of an applicant's financial resources. The preferred filing date of the CSS PROFILE is March 1st.

What to prepare as an applicant from Nigeria

• Your complete admissions application, since automatic scholarship consideration depends on it.
• Entrance exam scores. The text refers to test scores on the required entrance exams but does not name which exams, so confirm the required tests with IWU admissions.
• Your academic records. IWU refers to outstanding academic achievement; Nigerian applicants should be ready to present their results in the format the university requires, and to explain the grading system if asked.
• The CSS PROFILE, if you want to be considered for additional financial support, filed by the preferred date of March 1st.

What the text does not cover

The official text does not state a deadline for the scholarship itself, only the preferred CSS PROFILE filing date of March 1st. It does not state the number of awards, the level of study (such as undergraduate or postgraduate), or the subjects covered. It does not state whether the award covers tuition only or also living costs, travel, or health insurance. It does not state whether the merit scholarship can be combined with the additional IWU-funded support, or the conditions for renewing the award beyond the statement that it is renewable for up to four years.

Because those details are absent, treat them as open questions and ask the university before you rely on any assumption. Do not assume that a maximum figure applies to you, or that additional aid will be granted.

Practical points

The scholarship is tied to admission. If you are not admitted, there is no separate scholarship route described here. The March 1st date is described as preferred, not as a hard deadline, but filing earlier is the safer approach if you want the CSS PROFILE considered alongside your admissions application.

For questions, the text gives the contact address [email protected].