Barton School of Business AGH Scholarship Competitions 2026

AGH Scholarship Competition

The Barton School of Business at Wichita State invites high school seniors to participate in the Allen, Gibbs, and Houlik (AGH) Scholarship Competition. Participating students are eligible to be awarded the following scholarships through the AGH Scholarship Competition:

$50,000 Clay Barton Business Scholarship
$50,000 Ross Tidemann Scholarship
$40,000 Harry Najim Business Scholarship

Finalists are eligible for additional scholarships totaling $150,000.

Students majoring in entrepreneurship will have the opportunity to compete for an additional scholarship, the Professor Fran Jabara Endowed Scholarship which awards two $36,400 scholarships to incoming students majoring in entrepreneurship.

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 24, or
- Have a minimum SAT composite of 1160, or
- Rank in the top 10 percent of your class at the end of your junior year
Major in one of Wichita State's 11 undergraduate business programs
- Students majoring in entrepreneurship will be eligible to compete for the Professor Fran Jabara Endowed Scholarship as well as the other scholarships given in the AGH competition.

Scholarship materials deadline: Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026 by 11:59 p.m. CST

Competition Information
Date: Friday, Nov. 20, 2026
Location: Woolsey Hall, Wichita State Main Campus
Time: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

All students who apply for the AGH Scholarship Competition can participate. Students must be physically present on-campus for the competition on Nov. 20 to be considered for the scholarships. There will be no virtual option.

Questions about the AGH Scholarship Competition can go to bsb.scholarships@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 - What is your proudest achievement during high school? Tell us why this accomplishment is meaningful to you and how the experience helped you grow.

2) For entrepreneurship majors only - review the following essay questions and prepare your responses. Each essay question has a limit of 250 words.

Essay Question #1 - Why is an education in entrepreneurship important to you? How will you use this education? For example, will you launch a new venture or carry the entrepreneurial mindset into your career?
Essay Question #2 - Sharing intellectual interests is an important aspect of university life. Describe an experience or idea that you find intellectually stimulating and explain why.

3) Have someone proofread your materials.
4) Come back to your application when you're ready to upload your essays and activities chart.
5) Complete the contact information and AGH event information. Upload your activities chart. Hit submit!
6) Review frequently asked questions on our website.

Reminder - students are able to participate in both AGH and the Distinguished Scholarship Invitational (DSI)! Complete your DSI application here if you haven't already.

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. (Example: A123B456) 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 AGH 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

To be eligible for scholarships awarded through the AGH Competition, students need ONE of the following:

3.5 or higher unweighted GPA
24 or higher ACT composite
1160 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.

Which standardized test have you taken?

ACT score
Please report your highest composite ACT score.

SAT score
Please report your total SAT score.

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

Anticipated Major

Have you completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)?

Do you intend to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)?

To be eligible for the Ross Tidemann Scholarship and/or the Harry Najim Business Scholarship, students must demonstrate financial need. Please include a statement outlining your financial need. (Optional)

JABARA SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY

For entrepreneurship majors: Interviews for the Jabara Scholarship will take place on Friday, Nov. 20. More information will be sent to you in advance of the AGH competition.

Essay Question #1 - Why is an education in entrepreneurship important to you? How will you use this education? For example, will you launch a new venture or carry the entrepreneurial mindset into your career?
500 word limit

Essay Question #2 - Sharing intellectual interests is an important aspect of university life. Describe an experience or idea that you find intellectually stimulating and explain why.
500 word limit

GUEST INFORMATION

How many guests will be attending with you?

Guest First Name

Guest Last Name

Guest 2 First Name

Guest 2 Last Name

Guest 3 First Name

Guest 3 Last Name

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Please help us make this 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.

AGH 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 DSI competition, you may reuse this essay for that application.

Essay Question 2 - What is your proudest achievement during high school? Tell us why this accomplishment is meaningful to you and how the experience helped you grow.

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. Please create your activities chart to look similar to the sample below. If you're also competing in DSI, you may upload the same activities chart to both competitions.