The Johnson Scholarship is Washington and Lee's flagship merit award. It pays tuition and fees, housing and food, and adds $10,000 for a summer experience the student designs. The university puts the total value at more than $89,000 a year, which is the full cost of attending. Students with financial need beyond that may have the award raised to cover textbooks, supplies, travel and technology.
Up to 44 students a year become Johnson Scholars, about a tenth of the entering class. Selection weighs academic record alongside demonstrated leadership, citizenship and involvement outside the classroom, using writing samples and teacher recommendations. Students who are in the running but fall short are still considered for W&L's other merit scholarships.
International applicants can compete for it. W&L states that it provides both need-based and merit-based assistance to international students in each entering class, and that every merit award at the university runs through the Johnson Scholarship Programme.
The effort required is modest: the Common Application plus a Johnson supplement consisting of one extra personal essay, submitted by 1 December. That date sits ahead of the Early Decision II and Regular Decision deadlines, so an applicant planning to apply in January still has to get the scholarship piece in during the autumn. Finalists are invited to campus for a selection event.