Wright State University will be automatically awarding merit-based scholarships to students who qualify as the school revamps and expands its financial aid programs and puts an additional $3 million into the effort next year.

Under the new program, Wright State students who maintain high grade point averages will be able to renew their $1,500 or $2,500 scholarships for the four years they are in college. The change comes as Wright State launches a campaign to show local residents they can afford higher education.

“Increasingly students are coming with great need,” said Jacqueline McMillan, vice president for enrollment management. “Students and their families are struggling. They have the dream for a college education, but they are struggling financially. We know that every bit will help them. We want to make sure that students and their families know that we’re in this with them. That college can be affordable.”

Wright State has two new scholarships for students coming directly from high school, and those who qualify and apply for admission for fall semester by March 1 will automatically receive the aid.

The Wright Promise Scholarship offers $1,500 to high school students with a GPA of at least 3.0 and an ACT score between 22 and 26. The scholarship can be renewed if the student maintains a 2.5 GPA after earning 24 credit hours at Wright State.

The $2,500 Raider Excellence Scholarship is awarded to high school students who meet two of three requirements: ranking in the top 10 percent of their graduating class, having an ACT score of at least 27 and having at least a 3.5 high school GPA. It can be renewed if the student maintains at least a 3.0 after earning 30 credit hours, according to Wright State.

Valedictorians or salutatorians of their high school classes with at least a 30 on their ACT will receive full in-state tuition that can be renewed if the students maintain at least a 3.0 GPA after earning 30 credit hours.

Valedictorians or salutatorians with less than a 30 on their ACT will receive half in-state tuition that can be renewed if the students maintain at least a 3.0 GPA after earning 30 credit hours, according to Wright State.

The renewable scholarships are an incentive for students to stay on track to graduate, said McMillan and Tom Sudkamp, interim provost.

“Often times students come in with nonrenewable scholarships, which is really great for their first year,” McMillan said. “But when they’re not renewable, then that student must struggle to find the resources for the following years.

“We are doing our part, we are investing in them. As long as they invest in their education and they do their part, we will stick with them over the course of the four years,” she added.

The scholarships are especially important for students from middle-class families who might not be eligible for federal aid and are not at the top of their high school classes.

“They are students of promise and often times they are caught in the middle,” McMillan said.

“These are students who can succeed,” Sudkamp said.

Sudkamp said Wright State also has a policy to keep tuition as low as possible. Tuition this year is $8,354 for Ohio residents. Room and board is $8,614.50. He noted students can also apply for other scholarships beyond the ones automatically awarded.

For more information, go online to wright.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/first-year-scholarships.