The Chancellor's Scholarship is the largest academic award an incoming TCU student can earn. It pays full tuition for eight semesters, and TCU puts the four-year value for a first-year recipient above $254,000. Around 40 first-year and five transfer scholars enrol each year.
Getting there is a two-stage process. You apply to TCU by 1 November and complete the John V. Roach Honors College application by 15 November, which is what puts you in the pool. Roughly the top 1 per cent of applicants become finalists, judged on grades in a demanding curriculum, writing samples, academic references and a serious record of activity outside the classroom. Test scores play no part in any round.
Finalists hear by 15 January and come to campus in mid-February for the Chancellor's Scholars Experience, which ends with two interviews on 16 February. Finalists living abroad can ask to interview by video-conference, so travel is not a barrier to competing.
TCU lists academic scholarships among the aid available to incoming international students, and points international first-year applicants to the same first-year scholarship slate the Chancellor's Scholarship heads. Tuition is covered, so budget separately for housing, food, books and flights, and file the CSS Profile by 1 February if you also want to be considered for need-based aid.