Flagship 50®

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College should be about your top choice, not the bottom line.

A small, private university in the big city of Atlanta where professors’ #1 priority is teaching you. A place with unparalleled hands-on opportunities for research, service and work experience. This is Oglethorpe.

We believe small is better, and if you do too, we want to make your choice a little easier. If you qualify, we will match the in-state flagship tuition for all 50 states, including the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories. You LITERALLY get a private school education at a state school price. You’ll also be invited to our annual on-campus scholarship competition to compete for full-tuition scholarships. Plus, if you qualify for state or federal grants and scholarships, you can bring those to Oglethorpe, too!

Minimum Qualifications

  • Cumulative high school GPA of 3.8 (as calculated by Oglethorpe)
    OR
  • 1400 SAT Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing + Math Superscore
    OR
  • 30 ACT Superscore

THE FINE PRINT

  • Available only to first-year students (never before attended college as a degree-seeking student)
  • Recipients must remain enrolled full-time at Oglethorpe and in good academic and conduct standing
  • All Flagship 50 recipients will be required to live on-campus in Oglethorpe University housing for three years
  • Award is based on the tuition for the flagship institution of your state of residency, not high school location
  • U.S. Citizens living abroad or in a U.S. Territory will pay the rate for our home state of Georgia
  • Awards are based on the current tuition and fees of each state’s flagship institution
  • Students who reside in states offering free tuition programs will pay the rate for our home state of Georgia
  • Award amount remains fixed at the time of the student’s matriculation for all four years at Oglethorpe (8 fall & spring semesters)
  • Federal aid, state aid, and outside scholarships are applied to remaining balance
  • Changes in a student’s GPA after we receive their final transcripts may result in changes to Oglethorpe merit scholarship amounts, including the Flagship 50 Program

Flagship Tuition by State

**Tuitions and fees listed below are meant to give an estimate based on values sourced from each institution’s website. As such, these values are subject to change. Please contact [email protected] to learn more about your Flagship 50® Scholarship.

View List of Flagship Institutions and Tuition

Here’s how it works

If you qualify, the amount you will pay before any outside aid is applied will be no more than the published tuition and fees for the flagship institution in the state where you reside. Upon admission, all students will be considered for Oglethorpe financial aid and scholarship programs. If, after all Oglethorpe aid is considered, you still owe more in tuition and fees than the published flagship rate for your state and meet the minimum qualifications for the Flagship 50 program, we will award an additional scholarship to bring the amount down to the flagship rate. Your outside scholarships and eligible state and federal aid are on top of these programs. So, from the flagship rate, we will then apply any outside aid you receive (GA Hope, GA TEG, Pell Grant, National Merit Scholarship, etc.) to lower the cost even more.

If you compete for and are awarded one of our full-tuition scholarships (James Edward Oglethorpe, Civic Engagement, Theatre, Hammack) you will not be eligible for the Flagship 50 scholarship.

Frequently Asked Questions

The criteria used to determine flagship status varies from state to state. A state’s flagship is likely to be a large university with the highest research profile and doctoral programs. The flagship university is often the oldest and most sought-after public institution in the state. Because of their high profile, they receive large numbers of applications, resulting in relatively low acceptance rates. For the Flagship 50 program, we use the flagship universities for each state as defined by the College Board.

Many students and their families believe they must attend a large state school because they can’t afford a private college education. For many of the most talented students, their state’s flagship university is the most desirable of their public options, even though a campus of 30,000 – 50,000 students and large classes may not be the best fit. Because of perceived costs, many of those students never even apply to private colleges like Oglethorpe. We want to change those misconceptions.

SEE COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS OF STATE SCHOOLS

Yes. Flagship 50 is a merit-based scholarship program. However, we offer many other merit and need-based scholarships and grants. In fact, 97% of our students receive some form of financial aid. And no matter what level of need you have (including no need) you’ll receive $1,000 grant just for completing the FAFSA.

Check with your state’s scholarship website to see if they allow you to use your award outside of your state for a private institution. If you live in Georgia, you can use your HOPE scholarship at Oglethorpe in addition to the Georgia Tuition Equalization Grant. These will be applied to your Oglethorpe award to further reduce your tuition below the University of Georgia rate.

Yes, qualified U.S. Citizens living abroad or in a U.S. territory will be awarded the Flagship 50 scholarship at the Georgia rate.

Yes, your Flagship 50 tuition rate will be based on your state of residence.

Flagship 50 is a scholarship program. The award you receive in year one, which is based on the flagship state tuition in your state the year you apply to Oglethorpe, is awarded as a merit scholarship. If you maintain good academic standing, that scholarship will renew at the same amount each year for 4 years. Oglethorpe tuition and fees could increase each year that you are enrolled and financial aid packages may be adjusted depending on your specific family circumstances.

Flagship 50 and our other merit scholarships are renewable for four years. Our first-year advising program will be sure you map your journey for four years (or fewer!). However, sometimes students make decisions for personal or other reasons that require them to take more than four years. In that case, your scholarships do not cover tuition after four years (8 fall/spring semesters). An Oglethorpe education is designed to be completed in four years.