DSI Application 2026

Distinguished Scholarship Invitational

The Distinguished Scholarship Invitational is one of the area’s most prominent scholarship competitions awarding multiple annual undergraduate scholarships to attend Wichita State, including:

Richard D. Smith Scholarship - $80,000
Harry Gore Memorial Scholarships - Three $64,000 awards
Mike & Mary James Scholarship - $40,000
Mark & Stacy Parkinson Scholarship - $34,000

To be eligible to compete, you must:

Be a 2027 high school graduate
Apply for admission to Wichita State by Nov. 1, 2026
Meet ONE of the following criteria:
- Have a minimum unweighted 3.5 GPA, or
- Have a minimum ACT composite score of 27, or
- Have a minimum SAT composite of 1260, or
- Rank in the top 10 percent of your class at the end of your junior year

DSI application deadline: Sunday, Nov. 8 by 11:59 p.m. CST

DSI Competition: Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026

All students who submit a DSI application are accepted to the competition. Students must be present on-campus for the competition on Nov. 21 to be considered for scholarships given through DSI. There is not a virtual option.

Sessions (choose one): AM Session (8 AM-Noon) or PM Session (1:45-5:45 PM)

Timeline of events

November 2026 – Applications are reviewed and scored.
Nov. 21, 2026 – DSI competition held on campus.
By Dec. 4, 2026 – Students will receive notification about moving forward as a DSI semifinalist.
Dec. 12, 2026 – DSI Semifinalist Event - This is not a mandatory or scored event – simply a way to celebrate being a semifinalist with other students from the competition.
By Dec. 18, 2026 - Smith Scholar is announced.
By Dec. 18, 2026 – Semifinalists will receive notification about moving forward as a Gore finalist.
Jan. 21, 2027 – Gore finalists will participate in a final interview with the Gore selection committee.
Jan. 29, 2027 – Announcement of 2027 Gore Scholars.
By Feb. 12, 2027 - James Scholar finalists are announced.
By. Feb. 26, 2027 - James Scholar is announced.
March 2027 - Parkinson Scholar is notified and announced.

Questions about the DSI competition can go to dsi@wichita.edu.

Ready to start completing your application? Follow these tips!

1) Start by reviewing the following essay questions and preparing your responses. Each essay question has a limit of 500 words.

Essay Question 1 - Tell us about your educational goals while at Wichita State and your intended career goals after graduation. You can include why you chose your major, special interests/talents/goals, or unique experiences that have led you to your future career choice. If you haven't decided on a major, tell us about possible interests and goals.
Essay Question 2 - “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell. Share an instance where you had to lead by example. How did your actions influence others and what did you learn about yourself as a leader through the experience.

2) Type your essays in Word, and create your activities chart. Scroll to the bottom of the application to read more information about the activities chart.
3) Have someone proofread all of those.
4) Come back to your application when you're ready to upload the essays and activities chart.
5) Complete the contact information and DSI event information. Upload your essays and activities chart. Hit submit!

STUDENT CONTACT INFORMATION

Student First Name

Student Preferred First Name

Student Last Name

myWSU ID
Your myWSU ID is eight characters made up of letters and numbers. If you do not know your myWSU ID, please leave this box blank.

Birthdate

Student Email Address
We recommend using a personal email over a school-issued email address.

Student Phone Number

I'd like to receive text messages to the number above.

Yes

You can expect messages with information on important deadlines, application updates, and event details. Message and data rates may apply.

Mailing Address

Country

Street

City

Region

Postal Code

PARENT/GUARDIAN CONTACT INFORMATION

Parent information entered below will be connected to this student's record. Guests attending the DSI Scholarship Competition should be included in the Guest section later in the application.

Parent First Name

Parent Last Name

Parent Phone Number

Parent Email Address

I would like to add a second parent contact.

Yes

Parent First Name

Parent Last Name

Parent Phone Number

Parent Email Address

ACADEMIC INFORMATION

High School
Double-check your high school before submitting. Start typing your school and it should populate.

High School Graduation Date
Include the month and year (Ex: May 2027)

To be eligible for the Distinguished Scholarship Invitational, students need ONE of the following:

3.5 or higher unweighted GPA (on a 4.0 scale)
27 or higher ACT composite
1260 or higher SAT
Rank in the top 10 percent of their high school class

GPA
Please report your unweighted cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale.

If applicable, which standardized test have you taken?

ACT score
Please report your highest composite ACT score.

SAT score
Please report your combined SAT score from the math and reading/writing sections.

The DSI scholarship competition does not require ACT or SAT and does not factor those scores into the competition. However, consider taking the ACT or SAT this fall in order to qualify for as many additional scholarships as possible. The national ACT test dates can be found here, and the national SAT test dates are here.

Class Rank
Ex: 5/150 or 5 out of 150. Please include a class rank if your school ranks.

Anticipated Major

If you're interested in Art Education, Art History, Graphic Design or Studio Art, please select Art Emphasis from the drop-down list of majors.

DSI SESSION INFORMATION

DSI will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026. Students have the choice between attending an AM or a PM session. Students must be physically present at Wichita State on Nov. 21 to be considered for scholarships awarded through DSI.

Which DSI session will you be attending?

GUEST INFORMATION

How many guests will be attending DSI with you?

Guest First Name

Guest Last Name

Guest 2 First Name

Guest 2 Last Name

Guest 3 First Name

Guest 3 Last Name

Guest 4 First Name

Guest 4 Last Name

Guest 5 First Name

Guest 5 Last Name

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Please help us make DSI a great day for everyone by letting us know about any dietary restrictions or accommodation requests.

Do you or your guests have any dietary restrictions?

Please tell us more about your dietary restrictions.

Do you or your guests have accommodation requests?
Anyone who requires accommodations including, but not limited to Spanish interpreters, transcribers, assistive listening devices, mobility assistance, or special seating, please list them below. We are committed to providing accommodations to all individuals attending events at Wichita State University.

Please tell us more about your accommodation request.

If requesting a Spanish or Vietnamese interpreter, the Admissions team is able to provide materials printed in the requested language and offer a campus tour spoken in the requested language. Additionally, there will be a parent and guest session hosted in Spanish at DSI.

DSI ESSAY QUESTIONS and ACTIVITIES CHART

Type your essay responses in Word. Before uploading your essays, make sure someone proofreads them for you. Essays will be checked for plagiarism, and students will be removed from the competition if plagiarism is found.

Essay Question 1 - Tell us about your educational goals while at Wichita State and your intended career goals after graduation. You can include why you chose your major, special interests/talents/goals, or unique experiences that have led you to your future career choice. If you haven't decided on a major, tell us about possible interests and goals.
Type your response to this essay question in a Word document and upload in the application. PDF documents are preferred. 500 word limit.

If you're applying for the Barton School of Business AGH competition, you may reuse this essay for that application.

Essay Question 2 - "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." - John C. Maxwell. Share an instance where you had to lead by example. How did your actions influence others, and what did you learn about yourself as a leader through the experience?

Please type your response to this essay question in a Word document and upload in the application. PDF documents are preferred. 500 word limit.

Activities Chart
Upload an activities chart that details your school/extracurricular activities, your volunteer/community service, any jobs you've held and additional involvement. Create your activities chart in Word and convert it to a PDF to upload.

The activities chart is evaluated and included in DSI scoring. Please create your activities chart to look similar to the sample below.

If you're applying for the Barton School of Business AGH competition or the Wallace Invitational for Scholarships in Engineering (WISE), you are able to also upload this activities chart to those applications.

Example of activity chart to submit on a scholarship application