Recruit the best and brightest students.

Every year, Robert Morris University chooses 15 incoming freshmen or new transfer students to receive competitive full-tuition Presidential Scholarships. Applicants must have a 3.9 or higher GPA and submit essays about their future aspirations, along with examples of leadership and volunteering.

These are the people who raise the bar in every classroom, inspiring professors to go the extra mile. They contribute their drive and energy to student organizations across campus and serve as inspirational stories of success. As they go forward into their careers, they have the potential raise the profile of the university with every person they meet.

Your support of the Presidential Scholars Fund helps RMU to attract these elite students.

That scholarship shaped my future, and I’m pretty happy how it turned out. I hope it attracts more quality students to help the university grow.

Jesse Anderson ‘05
CEO, Snider Advisors
RMU Presidential Scholarship

As an ambitious high school senior from a small town in northern Pennsylvania, Jesse applied to several colleges, including RMU. He was still making up his mind when he got a phone call one evening just as the family was sitting down to dinner. He had been chosen to receive a full-tuition Presidential Scholarship.

Jesse plunged into campus life. He played on every intramural team he could sign up for, and worked in the residence halls as an RA. He also excelled in his finance classes and internships. By graduation day, Jesse had a job offer from a Dallas investment management firm. He still remembers his dad driving him more than 1,200 miles to Texas for the move.

In 2016, Jesse became the CEO of the firm, Snider Advisors. The following year, he bought it from its founder. Today Jesse’s company has over $180 million in assets under management, and is on a solid growth track with several recent acquisitions of software businesses geared toward individual investors.

This scholarship not only allows me to enter the actuarial profession, but to show others like me that they can be a part of it too.

Rebekah Wilford '21
Actuarial assistant at New York Life
Highmark Presidential Endowed Scholarship

She toured several colleges, but Rebekah picked RMU for a couple of reasons. The faculty impressed her with their expertise and friendly attitude, the campus seemed attractive and just the right size. The full-tuition scholarship sealed the deal.

Since she could relax and not think about student debt, Rebekah made the most of her college years. She participated in the honors program, campus ministry, Women’s Leadership and Mentorship Program, quiz bowl team, and the National Association of Black Actuaries, which led to an internship with New York Life. That turned into a job offer at the company’s Manhattan headquarters.

Professors who had been so friendly during her initial tour stayed that way all four years, helping Rebekah apply for internships and writing letters of recommendation. She made a lot of friends along the way too. When one came to visit recently, they went to their first Broadway show.

This was a huge blessing, and I am so thankful that when I move on from RMU I will not have lingering debt.

Samuel Bordo '21
Junior software development engineer at Innovu
RMU Presidential Scholarship

Scholarships were a huge factor for Sam. He knew he was going to have to pay his way through school on his own, so he applied to as many colleges as possible. After he received a Presidential Scholarship from RMU, his choice became clear.

Instead of having to work while attending school, Sam was able to put all of his attention into his coursework. Having extra time for his studies enabled Sam to earn a bachelor's in software engineering and a master's in engineering management in just four years, while maintaining a 3.97 GPA.

During his junior year he landed an internship with Innovu, a healthcare software company in Pittsburgh. Now Sam works full time for Innovu as a junior software engineer.