UT Tyler Explains Loss of Presidential Fellows Scholarships

TYLER — The University of Texas at Tyler says overwhelming demand has caused it to withdraw numerous full scholarship offers under its new Presidential Fellows program, but no students from Texas will be affected. One prospective student, from Nepal, says he received a notice of acceptance in December — only to learn a few months later that he will instead be getting the Patriot Scholarship, which offers $5,000 for up to four years and in-state tuition rate. The university explained that qualified scholarship requests – more than ten times greater than previous years – exceeded budgeting for the current year and an oversight caused the over awards. All students who are now no longer eligible for the Presidential Fellowship have been offered Patriot scholarships. University officials say even after the change, UT Tyler is still offering more merit aid for first-year freshmen than ever before.