Who can submit a nomination?
Any school official can submit a nomination for a student. Primarily, this role tends to be guidance counselors, gifted teachers, principals, or regular classroom teachers. Nominators must have access to their nominee’s test information. Parents and students may not submit nominations on their own behalf, unless home schooled.
How many students may my school nominate?
All high schools in Missouri may submit one standard nomination and one compelling case nomination. Larger schools may submit more. Allotments are determined based on enrollment numbers as reported to DESE. Please see this chart for how many students your school may nominate. If your school is not on the list, you are still eligible to nominate two students.
Can my district share nomination allotments?
Several years ago, MSA switched from allotting nominations by district to by high school. If your district wishes to continue to submit your nominations based on the total nomination allotment of your district, you may do so. The total number cannot exceed the sum of the individual school totals.
Can I ask for more nominations?
Yes. If you have a special case and would like an additional nomination, you may send your requests to moscholarsacademy@missouri.edu. All deadlines for nomination submissions still apply.
Can home schoolers nominate?
Absolutely! Home schoolers follow the same processes as school nominators. Obviously, we do NOT discourage parents from nominating in this specific case.
Is MSA able to accommodate scholars with special physical, dietary, or health needs?
Missouri Scholars Academy welcomes participants with disabilities and/or unique health requirements. If selected for the program, MSA, along with Mizzou’s Disability Center, Dining Services, and others, is happy to work with scholars and their families to plan for necessary accommodations.
What pieces are required for a nomination?
Each nomination must have the following 4 components:
- A standardized test score or I.Q. test score
- An unweighted GPA
- Two (2) letters of recommendation
- One must be from a teacher
- Want to help your student receive strong letters? Have them give the MSA Letter to Recommendation Writers to the people they have chosen to write letters.
- MSA does not accept letters of recommendation from parents or guardians.
- Two (2) student written essays
- Essays must be 300-350 words each. Please check that your student has put their name on their essays. (Ask us why we are asking you to check.)
- Note to counselors: Essay prompts were updated for the 2024 cycle. Please be sure you are not giving applicants old essay prompts!
Please find a full list of all required information here.
These components, along with general contact information about the student, will all be submitted through the Slate platform.
If you have questions about using Slate, please refer to this guide: How to Nominate a Student
Are standardized test scores required?
MSA requires a standardized test score OR an IQ Test score for all nominations.
What standardized test scores do you accept?
We accept ACT, PreACT, PreACT 8/9, SAT, and PSAT test scores. Nominators are encouraged to contact MSA with questions about tests not listed here.
How do you determine your point assignments for standardized/IQ scores?
Scores are based off composite scores of the submitted test. We do not need to know your student’s score in each section, just the composite. To see our standardized test score and GPA rubrics, click here.
Are I.Q. test scores required?
MSA does not require an I.Q. test score for all nominations. Due to inequity in the cost of I.Q. tests and the ability of schools to cover said costs, I.Q. test scores are no longer required for nominations. Scholars will be scored based on four categories: GPA, standardized test score, letters of recommendation and student essays. There is no expiration on the IQ scores accepted by MSA.
You may submit an I.Q. test score in the place of a standardized test score, but all nominations must have either a standardized test score or an I.Q. test score.
How do I determine my student’s unweighted GPA?
The student’s grade point average for three semesters for all courses must be based on a four-point scale as follows: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1. There are no provisions for giving extra weight to “accelerated” or “honors” courses. Plus and minus grades should not to be counted in the computation. To have a standardized method for computing GPAs from schools throughout the state, all schools must use this method, regardless of what scale the school normally uses. No GPA may exceed 4.0. Please do not send transcripts.
What format do the student’s essays and letters of recommendation need to be in?
Each essay and letter of recommendation must be uploaded individually (4 total documents) and saved as “Last Name, First Name_ Document Type.” These files should be PDFs.
I have multiple students to nominate. What do I do?
You will submit one Slate survey (with the required components) for each student you wish to nominate. i.e: if you have four students to nominate, you will submit four separate Slate surveys.
When are nominations due?
Nominations are always due at the beginning of February. Nominations for the 2026 academy are due February 6, 2026 by 5pm.
Can I have a deadline extension?
To give schools as much time as possible to submit nominations, we operate on a very short and strict schedule for organizing and evaluating nominations after the deadline. There is very little room to offer extensions. However, we are always open to consider extensions for special circumstances. If you want to request an extension, you must email moscholarsacademy@missouri.edu.
What happens after I submit my nomination?
You should receive an email confirmation from Slate that your submission was received. That confirmation email will contain a copy of your submitted answers. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please email moscholarsacademy@missouri.edu to verify if we received your nomination.
When will I hear the status of my student’s nomination?
Your student’s nomination will go through an organizing and evaluating process after the deadline. Students, parents, and nominators will all hear the status of their nomination in mid-March.
How can I support my student who has been accepted and invited to MSA?
There are many ways you can support your nominee!
Here are a few:
- Remind them to check their personal email. All MSA communications are electronic, and we don’t want them to miss anything!
- Help them stay ahead of registration deadlines. Accepted students will need to complete a registration process. Instructions and deadlines will be sent to their email.
- Encourage them to nominate a teacher for Teacher Appreciation Day. This is a special day during the academy that we invite teachers who have made an impact on our students to come and spend the evening with their scholar. Your student will have an opportunity to nominate a teacher before the academy begins. Invitations to teachers for this event will go out in May before the Academy.
What is the fee for students to attend MSA?
Due to the rising costs associated with running the Missouri Scholars Academy, there will be a $200 scholar fee in 2026. This fee can be paid by families, schools, or community sponsors. Accepted students may apply for a need-based scholarship during the registration process.
Questions? Please contact us at moscholarsacademy@missouri.edu