This October, the University of Louisville launched Scholarship Universe, an online platform where students can find, apply for and track UofL and community scholarships in one place.
Samantha McRae leads the Office of Scholarships, which manages the platform. She joined UofL in May, bringing 19 years of higher education experience. UofL News asked her what students need to know.
What is Scholarship Universe?
McRae: It’s a scholarship management portal that connects students to both internal UofL scholarships and external scholarships in the community. The external scholarships have been vetted based on their eligibility criteria. Students will automatically be connected to scholarships they are eligible for and search for scholarships, complete applications and view their awards through a single dashboard. The system matches students to scholarships based on information provided and will not show them scholarships of which they are not eligible.
How does it match students with scholarships?
McRae: The system matches students using information from their student record, like major, minor, GPA and academic level. When students log in, they can also answer more specific questions on their profile. Are you a dependent of someone in the military? Are you employed full time? Are you an Eagle Scout? If those are eligibility criteria, answering them can tie into more scholarships. The more questions students answer, the more scholarships they might find available to them.
Why is UofL doing this? How does it help students?
McRae: Right now, all of the scholarships are decentralized. They may be on departmental websites. They may be on someone’s desk. Maybe your neighbor knew about it and told you. The application timelines are all different, and the processes are different. This system will have all of that information in one place. Students can see the eligibility criteria, and the application is loaded in the system so they can apply.
In many cases, there’s one application for multiple scholarships. If you complete one application, you can just click every scholarship you’re eligible for and apply. That reduces writing so many essays and having to know where to look. And students no longer have to figure out whether they’re eligible. The system identifies that for them.
Which students can use it right now?
McRae: In this first phase, UofL scholarships are available to students in the Schools of Nursing, Public Health and Information Sciences, Engineering, and Social Work and Family Science, as well as the Colleges of Business, Arts and Sciences, and Education and Human Development. There are external scholarships in there as well, so even students in schools outside the first seven can be connected to vetted scholarships in the community.
Is Scholarship Universe for prospective students, too?
McRae: Yes, absolutely. We have a public landing page where you can see all the scholarships available to UofL students, and you can filter by major or area of interest. Any student who has been admitted and has a single sign-on has access to Scholarship Universe. The hope is that it entices new students to apply for awards, maybe bring in some additional incoming dollars and commitment to UofL.
How many scholarships are available?
McRae: For fall 2027 there will be over 500 scholarships available to students, with at least that many more coming online in fall 2028.
How does this platform also help support awarding based on donor preference?
McRae: Many gift agreements include preferences, like a GPA requirement or a preference for a student who is bilingual. How would a college know which students are bilingual unless someone happens to know that about a student? Often a scholarship gets awarded on the required criteria and the preferences get missed. This system has an opportunity to identify those nuances. If there are scholarships for students with an entrepreneurial spirit, we can ask that question as one of the dashboard questions students answer. It’s a good way to identify students and open the door to scholarships.
Can you talk a little more on what the Office of Scholarships does?
McRae: This office was created to help streamline and systematize the scholarship process: identifying students, awarding students, tracking funding. The awards will still be decided in the units. The College of Business will still decide their students, and the School of Medicine will still decide theirs. The units know their students. We are helping collect information, open and track applications, send nudges and manage the coordination while also making the process easier for everyone to navigate.
What brought you to this role?
McRae: I started at the university in May as the office’s first full-time employee, and I’ve spent most of my time meeting with the units that play a part in scholarship awarding, learning their processes and pain points. Those conversations have shaped our current processes. I have 19 years of higher education experience, mainly in the community college setting and in student success, so I understand some of the squeeze students experience around financing and access. It is the mission of our office to bring together stewardship, structure and support for awarding and student success.
How to get started
- Go to louisville.scholarshipuniverse.com and sign in with your UofL username and password.
- Complete your profile and answer the matching questions.
- Apply to the scholarships where you match. One application may cover several awards.
- Check your dashboard for application status and awards.
Questions? Email the Office of Scholarships at scholarshipoffice@louisville.edu or visit the Office of Scholarships website.
