PARKLAND, Wash.—Prospective Pacific Lutheran University student Alicia Hoag, from Mount Rainier High School, has been awarded a prestigious President’s Scholarship worth $22,000 a year—along with the opportunity to earn even more.

PLU offers a number of merit scholarships to recognize academic achievement, leadership and service, as well as the promise of continued success in these areas as a PLU student. The Presidential Scholarships are renewable for three additional years of undergraduate study.

More than 600 incoming freshmen apply for Presidential Scholarships each year, and the standards are high: Students who have demonstrated significant leadership and service and have achieved a 3.8+ GPA or 1,250+ SAT (critical reading and math only) or 28+ ACT are eligible to apply.

For the 2014-15 academic year, 160 President’s Scholars were selected. This year the President’s Scholarship recipients scored an average of 1,294 on the SAT (critical reading and math only) and an average of 30 on the ACT, with a 3.98 average GPA. They have been invited to interview on the PLU campus in February to compete for the next level of PLU President’s Scholarships—one of 10 $27,000-per-year Harstad Founder’s Scholarships or one of five full-tuition Regents’ Scholarships.