Reiley Kirwan, a senior student from Piper High School in Kansas City, Kansas, is among eight students who have been named winners of the Pillars for Excellence scholarships at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri.
The $102,460 scholarship is designed to cover four full years of tuition, awarded annually at the freshman value.
Strict academic standards are required to even compete for the Pillars scholarship, according to an announcement.
There are three general requirements for students to compete for the scholarship: Students must apply and be admitted to Culver-Stockton, have a minimum composite score of 26 on the ACT or an equivalent SAT score, and they must have a minimum 3.75 GPA (on a 4.0 scale). Competitors also had to visit campus and complete two interviews with faculty and staff, as well as submit an essay.
Nearly 65 candidates competed in the 33rd annual competition, with an average GPA of 3.99 (on a 4.0 scale) and an average ACT score of 28.
Culver-Stockton College, located in Canton, Missouri, is a four-year residential institution in affiliation with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Culver-Stockton specializes in experiential education and is one of only two colleges in the nation to offer the 12/3 semester calendar, where the typical 15-week semester is divided into two terms, a 12-week term and a 3-week term.
The Culver-Stockton Wildcats are members of the Heart of America Athletic Conference and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.