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Richard and Vivian Mershon Scholarships for Academic Excellence
Deadline to apply: June 18, 2025 3:00 pm CT

The Richard and Vivian Mershon Scholarships for Academic Excellence assists high school seniors graduating from an accredited public or parochial school located within the boundaries of the Fort Madison, Iowa community school district who plan to continue their education in college.

The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor, and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.

Applicants to the Richard and Vivian Mershon Scholarships for Academic Excellence must be:

  • High school seniors graduating from an accredited public or parochial school located within the boundaries of the Fort Madison, Iowa community school district.
  • Pursuing a degree which is not related to sports, coaching, or teaching physical education or driver’s education.
  • Planning to enroll full-time in an accredited four-year college or university for the entire upcoming academic year.

Students receiving a scholarship or other assistance based on actual or expected participation in any collegiate athletic activity are ineligible.

PNC employees or Trust committee members, their immediate family members, and members of their households are not eligible to apply.

Awards

If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $2,500 award.

Awards may be renewed for up to three additional years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first. Renewal is contingent upon maintaining a full course academic load and maintaining a 3.0 GPA on 4.0 scale, or its equivalent.

Awards are for undergraduate study only.

Notification

All applicants will be notified in mid-August.

Payment of Scholarships

Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of  PNC Bank, Trustee. Payment is made in mid-September.

Selection of Recipients

  • Academic record
  • Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
  • Work experience
  • A statement of educational and career goals and objectives
  • Unusual personal or family circumstances

Financial need will be considered.

Scholarship America will select scholarship finalists and PNC Bank, Trustee will select recipients. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.

As part of your application, you must upload the following:

  • A current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
    • Student name
    • School name
    • Grades
    • Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken.


    NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload a copy of your test score report(s) separately. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.

  • A copy of the Financial Aid letter from your college of choice.

Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.

PNC Bank, Trustee has partnered with Scholarship America. Selecting the button below will redirect you to the Scholarship America Student Hub!

Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address provided below in the footer as safe senders in your email contact list.