FAQs for Students

No, to apply for scholarships at UNC Charlotte, students need to have received an acceptance letter from UNC Charlotte AND established their NinerNET account.

Undergraduate students who have been accepted for admission, but not yet started classes are considered Incoming students for scholarship purposes. Undergraduate students who have started classes at UNC Charlotte are current undergraduate students.  Use your NinerNET credentials to login. Graduate students who have been accepted to The Graduate School, but not yet started classes are considered New Graduate School applicants for scholarship purposes. Graduate students who have started classes at UNC Charlotte are current graduate students.  Use your NinerNET credentials to login.

Unfortunately, second-degree seeking students are not eligible to apply for scholarships through the NinerScholars Portal. Due to the limited resources available to meet all student need, UNC Charlotte has taken the position that only those students pursuing their first degree are eligible to apply for institutional scholarships. Second-degree seeking students are eligible for Outside Scholarships, offered by local, regional or national organizations. Please click here to view a list of outside scholarships prepared and updated regularly by the University Scholarship Office.

New freshmen, transfer, and graduate students must be accepted and activate their NinerNET account. If you have not activated your NinerNET account, undergraduate students can locate their NinerNET username in the top right corner of their acceptance letter, and click here to activate it. Graduate students can locate their NinerNET username in the third paragraph of their acceptance letter, and click here to activate it. If you already activated your NinerNET account, but forgot your username or password, request it here.For information regarding the DUO 2-factor Authentication system, please visit DUO Information. It may take up to 48 hours from the time you activate your NinerNET account until you can login to the NinerScholars Portal.

All scholarships at UNC Charlotte must be applied for through the NinerScholars Portal. Newly admitted student must first establish their NinerNET account in Banner using the information in their admissions acceptance letter. Please note that there may be a delay of up to 48 hours from the time that you set up your NinerNET account until the time you can log into the NinerScholars Portal. If more than 48 hours have passed and you still cannot log in, please email our office at scholarships@charlotte.edu.

Incoming students who have been accepted to UNC Charlotte as well as current students can use their NinerNET username and password to login to the NinerScholars Portal. If you have not activated your NinerNET account, locate your NinerNET username on your acceptance letter, and click here. Did you already activate your NinerNET account, but forgot your username or password? Request it here.  Important – please be sure that you are using your username rather than your student identification number or your email address to log in. Please note that there may be a delay of up to 48 hours from the time that you set up or were asked to reactivate your NinerNET account until the time you can log into the NinerScholars Portal.

If you’ve applied for spring admission but have not been accepted, you’ll need to wait until you receive your acceptance letter from Admissions to apply for scholarships. If you have already been admitted for the spring term, you must wait until you start classes in January to login to NinerScholars. At that time, please login using your NinerNET credentials.

No. Admission to the Levine Scholars Program or admission to the Honors College cannot be applied for through NinerScholars. Students interested in being considered for the Levine Scholars Program or the Honors College must submit separate applications for each. Please note that each program has its own deadlines and requirements. Click the name of the program above that you’re interested in to learn more about how to apply and application deadlines.

After being accepted to Charlotte and setting up your NinerNET account, log in to the NinerScholars Portal. NinerScholars will automatically match you with the scholarships you may be eligible to apply for. Review the scholarship criteria closely to verify you meet all requirements. When you decide which scholarships you’d like to apply for, submit the required application materials. The application status moves to Complete, and your application will be reviewed for the scholarship.

If you have been admitted for the fall semester, you can begin building your scholarship profile in NinerScholars once you have received an acceptance letter AND established your NinerNET account. Please check our website home page at that time to be sure that the NinerScholars Student Application portal has opened before trying to login to NinerScholars.If you have been admitted for the Spring semester, you can begin building your scholarship profile in NinerScholars once classes have started on Jan. 10, 2024.

Please visit the Honors College to view current application procedures, deadlines and notifications. Applications for priority admission to the Honor College, and other university wide merit scholarships are due Dec. 1. Don’t forget that applying for scholarships is a separate process from applying for the Honors College. Make sure to use the NinerScholars Student Application Portal (once you are admitted to the university) to apply for scholarships. Most scholarship applications in NinerScholars that are exclusively for incoming freshmen have a deadline of Feb. 15. 

Once you have been accepted AND established your NinerNET account, you are eligible to login to the NinerScholars portal and apply for scholarships. Eligibility for need-based scholarships is determined by filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  Students must be a U.S. citizen to file a FAFSA.  UNC Charlotte offers both need and merit-based scholarships through NinerScholars. Graduate students please note that scholarships administered by the Graduate School do not require the FAFSA. For questions about how to explain financial need on Graduate School need-based scholarship applications, please contact the Graduate School at 704-687-7268. 

No. Scholarships offered at UNC Charlotte support educational expenses during the fall and spring semesters only. The only scholarships available for summer sessions are restricted to costs associated with a study abroad experience through UNC Charlotte.

Yes. Institutional scholarships at UNC Charlotte are awarded annually and therefore require an annual application be submitted through the NinerScholars Portal that reflects a student’s current class, GPA, major, etc. Student scholarship profiles and application materials do not carry over from one year to the next. Students who complete a profile and complete application materials one year, but do not re-apply during the open application period the following year, will not be considered for current year scholarships.

Please visit the University Honors College for detailed information about application requirements and deadlines. Please note that the Honors College has an early application deadline. Students do not apply for admission to the Honors College through the NinerScholars Portal.

Please visit the Levine Scholars Program for detailed information about application requirements and deadlines. Please note that the Levine Scholars Program has an early application deadline and students do not apply for admission to the Levine Scholars Program through the NinerScholars portal.

No. Wait until you start classes in January to login to NinerScholars. The system will not allow you to login as a Spring admit, before the Spring semester begins. At that time you may visit the University Scholarship Office website and click on the Portals tab at the top of the page. Navigate to the Student Application Portal, and at the bottom of the page click the black Continue to Student Application Portal button. Remember that you are applying for scholarships for the 2025-26 academic year.

Renewable scholarships are processed through the NinerScholars Portal each year, and recipients are not required to reapply annually. However, the college or department that awarded your scholarship will review your academic status each year after grades are posted to verify that you continue to meet the terms and conditions of the award. Upon completing this, if you meet all the renewal conditions, you will be sent an email to log in and accept the award within a few weeks after grades are posted. You should receive your offer email by late June. If you do not see your renewal offer by that time, you may contact the awarding department. Only after the student accepts the renewal offer will the award process. Funds will disburse to recipients’ accounts ten days prior to the first day of class in the semester(s) for which the award is made. 

Scholarships are applied for in the academic year prior to your first semester at UNC Charlotte. Fall admits can begin building their scholarship profile once they have received an acceptance letter AND established their NinerNET account as described in their letter of admission. Spring admits must wait until starting classes in January to access NinerScholars and begin applying for scholarships.

No. UNC Charlotte does not have an automatic merit scholarship process. Scholarships are applied for through the NinerScholars Portal. Students who choose not to complete applications in NinerScholars will not be considered for merit- or need-based scholarships.

No. All applications completed prior to the deadline are given equal consideration.

The information you provide on the FAFSA is put through a calculation established by the federal government. This calculation provides an amount the government determines that your family may contribute toward your college expenses. This is called your Student Aid Index (SAI). Subtracting the SAI from the cost of attendance gives the Office of Financial Aid your financial aid need at UNC Charlotte. 

UNC Charlotte uses a student’s SAI to determine eligibility for need-based scholarships. If a student’s FAFSA is not submitted or the student’s SAI is higher than the cost of attendance, the student’s application will not be able to be considered for need-based scholarships.

Scholarships you’ve been matched with can be found by logging into the NinerScholars Portal and viewing your scholarship dashboard. Carefully read the instructions and notes at the top of the dashboard page. Then, view your scholarship opportunities under the Scholarships You May be Eligible to Apply For section. New section headings will generate automatically as your applications advance through the application creation, submission, review, and award processes. Login often, and always scroll to the bottom of the dashboard page to view all application sections.

No. Essays and references in NinerScholars have specific prompts and need to be uploaded and submitted directly through the NinerScholars Portal. For each scholarship, you will only be prompted to submit an essay or request a letter of recommendation if the scholarship requires it.

No, only your grades through your junior year are used for scholarship purposes.

As a spring admit, the NinerScholars software is only able to correctly match you with scholarships after classes start for the Spring semester. If you try to access NinerScholars prior to that time, you will be matched with the wrong scholarships. Scholarships for the Spring semester were awarded last year. Remember that all students are applying for scholarships for the 2025-26 academic year (Fall 2025 and Spring 2026). At that time you will be a current student.

Early Entry Graduate Students are not eligible to apply for graduate level scholarships until they are a senior who has applied for graduation. Once they have applied for graduation, they may contact our office for more information.

 NinerScholars accepts applications during the academic year for scholarships that are awarded the following academic year. It is not the practice of UNC Charlotte to award scholarships to graduating students who will no longer be enrolled at the time of award. There are a few exceptions, and in these cases, the criteria clearly indicate graduating seniors are eligible. All other applications submitted by students who have applied for graduation during the current academic year will be removed from the NinerScholars Portal prior to departmental review, and will not be considered.

No. If you upload a new transcript, it will replace the previously uploaded document.

The Writing Resources Center or WRC provides one-on-one writing support for any piece of writing, including scholarship essays. The WRC can help you identify and understand the strengths and weaknesses of your writing, help you find answers to your writing questions, and help you learn how to research, write, revise, and proofread your writing. The WRC offers in-person, virtual, and asynchronous tutoring sessions for support with scholarship essays. For more information on the Writing Resources Center or to schedule an appointment visit their website here. 

No. Second Degree Students are not eligible for scholarships at Charlotte. This is due to funding constraints.

Please respect the time and effort your reference puts into writing a letter of reference. It may be possible to change your reference request if the initial recommendation letter has not yet been submitted by the reference. We always suggest receiving permission from any recommenders before you list their contact information in NinerScholars. Making changes can create confusion for the reference. If you desire to change references, be sure that you personally communicate with both references prior to requesting the change. Also, please remember to allow sufficient time for your new reference to submit the recommendation letter.

No. Once a reference submits their recommendation letter, you cannot change the letter submitted by Academic Reference 1 to Academic Reference 2, or vice-versa. Since Academic Reference 1 will always be used to satisfy scholarships that require one academic recommendation, we encourage you to list your strongest reference as Academic Reference 1.

A Common Essay will be attached to all scholarships that requiring it. Referring to a specific scholarship by name in your Common Essay may cause confusion among review committees.

Students are responsible for communicating with their references to ensure the recommendation letter requested is submitted to NinerScholars by the reference prior to the application deadline. It is suggested that a student contact their reference if a significant amount of time has passed since the request for a recommendation was made, and well in advance of the application deadline.

A student may cancel the original reference request and submit the name and contact information for a new reference. When this change is made by the student, both the original and new reference will be notified through a system email. Students are strongly encouraged to confirm the new reference is willing to submit the recommendation letter on their behalf and has adequate time to do so. Follow the instructions on the References page of the NinerScholars Portal to complete this change.

If a reference has questions about the recommendation process, please ask them to contact the University Scholarship Office as soon as possible. Once a deadline has passed, a recommendation letter cannot be accepted and the incomplete application will not be considered. 

All required materials, including recommendations, must be submitted through the NinerScholars portal by 11:59 p.m. on the deadline date. No exceptions can be made. However, if a letter of recommendation is received after the deadline, it will be attached to any upcoming scholarships that require that recommendation type.

After submitting a Common Application Material the first time, the same material will be attached to all scholarship applications with that requirement. This includes a resume, list of activities, transcript, recommendation letter (by type), and essay marked as Common. 

Letters of recommendation are defined by type (academic, leadership, community involvement, etc.) and are considered Common Application Materials. This is done to reduce the burden on students and their references. Once a recommendation letter is is submitted by a reference, that same letter is attached to all applications requiring that type of recommendation. However, since you may apply for scholarships with different application deadlines, we cannot communicate a specific deadline to your references. It is your responsibility to make sure the specific type of recommendation letter is received before the deadline for the application requiring that recommendation type. The University Scholarship Office strongly encourages all students to communicate early and often with their references, and ask that the recommendation letter be submitted as soon as possible to ensure your application is considered.

When a recommendation letter request is submitted through the NinerScholars Portal, a system-generated email is sent to your reference. Please let your recommender know before you submit the reference request that it may take up to 24 hours from the time you submit the recommendation request until the time they receive it. Verify your reference’s email address is correct, then confirm that you typed the email address correctly in NinerScholars. If your reference still has not received the request, ask your reference to check their spam file. Many places of employment have strong firewalls that block certain email extensions. If your reference cannot find the recommendation request email, consider asking the reference if they will share a personal email address with you, and enter the new email address into NinerScholars. If after you have tried these things, your recommender still has not received the email, please ask them to email our office and include your name in the email.

Please contact the University Scholarship Office by emailing scholarships@charlotte.edu or calling 704-687-5871.

View this page for instructions on how to make sure the scholarship you earned is posted directly to your student account.

Students offered a scholarship will receive an email from the University Scholarship Office instructing them to login to the NinerScholars Portal to review and accept the award offer and terms. Students must accept any scholarship offer in the NinerScholars Portal before the award will process to their student account. Students can also check the status of their applications on their scholarship dashboard in NinerScholars. Scholarships will post on a student’s account ten days prior to the first day of class for the semester the award is made.

Scholarship funds are applied to your student account. If your student account has a balance owed the scholarship will be applied to that balance. If there is no balance owed or your scholarship pays the balance and there is money left over, it is refunded to you. The refund is processed by either check or direct deposit, depending on the option you selected in your My.Charlotte portal.

Please visit the Niner Central for extensive information regarding financial aid, payment plans, and student accounts.

Scholarships may not be visible in a student account until a few weeks before the awarding semester begins. However, they should be listed before the first payment deadline established by Financial Aid.

Scholarships are applied to a student’s account ten days prior to the first day of class in the semester for which it is awarded.

Faculty and/or staff within each department, office, or college review student applications and select recipients for the scholarships that they administer. Some general scholarships are administered by the University Scholarship Office and the Financial Aid Office.

Check your My Financial Aid section in your My Charlotte portal. If the scholarship is not listed, then contact the organization that awarded you the scholarship to verify if the funds were sent to UNC Charlotte. If two weeks pass since the date the funds were mailed by the organization and you do not see the credit to your account, please contact Niner Central to inquire as to whether the funds have been received.

If you received a scholarship check awarded by an external organization, submit the check to Niner Central so the funds can be deposited into your university student account. You must endorse any check that is made payable to you and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Information for scholarship donors
In order for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to process scholarship checks most efficiently we kindly ask that you follow the guidelines below.

• Make scholarship checks payable solely to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Do not make checks payable to the student or to the university the student. This causes unnecessary delays in processing and disbursement of scholarships.
•  Include a letter containing the following information with each check:student’s name student’s university student ID, home address, and date of birth
•  Send scholarship checks with the information cited above to:
  • University of North Carolina at Charlotte
    Office of the Bursar
    9201 University City Boulevard
    Charlotte, North Carolina 28223-0001

Outside (or external) scholarships are opportunities created by private companies or organizations that are shared directly with the University Scholarship Office and have an application and award process that is conducted outside the NinerScholars Portal, and are not affiliated with the university.

Please contact the University Scholarship Office by calling 704-687-5871 or emailing scholarships@charlotte.edu and we can provide you with general information about the process.If you are seeking specific information about your student’s application(s), please check with your student to see if they will grant you guest access to their student records.Under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the University is not able to share specific student information to any individual who has not been granted guest access permissions.To learn more about guest access, or if your student would like to grant you guest access, visit the Office of the Registrar’s Guest Access Portal and FERPA webpage.