2018 Eligibility Requirements for
Initial PROMISE Award
To be awarded the PROMISE Scholarship an applicant must
meet all applicable eligibility requirements by the established
deadline.
1. Deadlines
The PROMISE application and FAFSA must be completed by March 1,
2018.
Applicants who miss the deadline may be eligible for a Spring
award, dependent upon availability of funding.
Students must apply for the scholarship within two years of
graduation from high school, unless the applicant entered the
United States armed services pursuant to Section 5 of the PROMISE
Scholarship Program Rule 
.
Only full-time, first-year students may receive initial awards.
Students already enrolled at a higher education institution are not
eligible to apply except as outlined under Section 2.1.7.1 of the
PROMISE
Scholarship Program Rule .
2. Application
The deadline to apply for the Promise Scholarship is March 1,
2018.
To apply, visit
3. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
All applicants must submit a completed 2018-19 FAFSA by the
March 1, 2018 deadline to be eligible.
- A student's FAFSA must meet the conditions for processing by
the March 1deadline.
4. Residency Requirements
A student and his/her parents must have resided in West Virginia
continuously for twelve consecutive months preceding the PROMISE
Scholarship deadline, unless member of armed services or a military
dependent under Section 6 of the PROMISE
Scholarship Program Rule .
5. Academic Requirements
Must complete high school graduation requirements at a West
Virginia public or private high school.
Must complete at least one half of credits required for high
school graduation through attendance at a public or private high
school in the state of West Virginia.
Must achieve a cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.0
on a 4.0 scale or whatever is considered a "B" average, based on
county board grading policies, in both core courses AND overall
coursework required for graduation by the West Virginia Department
of Education.
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Students attending private high schools must submit a grade report form to qualify.
Private high school officials must verify grades were maintained
through the final semester. Public School students DO
NOT submit grade report forms.
-
The Core grade point average is determined based on the grades
in all core courses a student completes on the core class listing,
not just those required for graduation.(Click here
for a complete list of high school course requirements)
-
Initial eligibility can be determined using sixth or seventh
semester grades, but applicants may qualify as late as the eighth
semester. Final determinations are made using the eighth
semester.
-
Students using final grades to meet their eligibility are
responsible for having their school send a grade report form and
official transcript to our office.
-
Applicants who qualify with sixth or seventh semester grades
must maintain the grade point average requirement through the
eighth semester or the scholarship will be revoked.
-
If a student does not have a qualifying sixth or seventh
semester grade point average, they must apply and have a completed
FAFSA submitted by the March 1 deadline to be considered.
-
Grade point average calculations must be determined by a high
school counselor or school official.
-
Weighted grades may be used based on county board grading
policy.
Dual Credit and other College Coursework.
-
Students can take unlimited amount dual credit coursework prior
to college enrollment and still be eligible for award.
-
College coursework taken in high school will count towards
initial eligibility.
-
All college credits (including dual credit coursework) will be
counted in the cumulative GPA calculation in determining PROMISE
Scholarship renewal eligibility, regardless of whether the college
accepts these credits.
-
Credit hours earned prior to the first fall semester of
enrollment may not be counted toward the credit hour requirement in
determining eligibility for award renewal. (See the PROMISE renewal
requirements tab for more information on maintaining scholarship
eligibility.)
Must complete the minimum core class requirements for the
complete core class listing. List
of Core Course Requirements
6. Minimum Test Score Requirements
Must meet standardized test score criteria on ACT or SAT
national test by the July test date for ACT and June test date for
the SAT of the application year.
-
ACT Score requirement: 22 composite score with a minimum of 20
in English, Mathematics, Science, and Reading.
-
SAT Score requirement:
New SAT Score requirement (For SAT test on or after March
2016)
- Total score 1100.
- Math 510.
- Evidence Based Reading and
Writing 540.
- The SAT writing portion is not included in the calculation of
the composite score.
-
Old SAT Score requirement (For SAT test on or before January
2016): 1020 combined score with minimum of 480 in Mathematics and
490 in Critical Reading The SAT writing portion is not
included in the calculation of the composite score.
Scores must be from a single testing date and cannot be combined
from multiple test administrations.
Students must submit an application and FAFSA by deadline, even
if they have not met the required testing scores by the March 1
deadline.
Last test dates to qualify for PROMISE
-
ACT- July 14, 2018
-
SAT- June 2, 2018
7. Additional Requirements for students not graduating from a
West Virginia public or private high school.
Homeschooled Applicants
Home school applicants must complete and submit official scores
on a state approved high school equivalency examination. Students
can currently qualify by submitting an eligible score on either the
Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC) or the General
Educational Development examination (GED.
- TASC Score Requirement: minimum score of 2750 with a passing
score in each sub section.
- GED Score Requirement: minimum score of 2500.
- Official scores must be received directly from TASC or GED to
be considered.
Home school applicants must provide documentation of
home-schooled status from your county school board office.
Documentation must show that you were homeschooled during the 11th
and 12th grades.
Eligible Commuter Applicants Only
Eligible commuters must submit a grade report form and
transcript to qualify. Grade Report Forms can be found under forms
and must be submitted by a high school counselor or school
official.
Eligible commuters must provide documentation from a high school
counselor or school official that you commuted on a daily basis to
an out of state high school.
If you are taking the ACT/SAT in a state other than West
Virginia, an official score must be sent to our office.
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ACT code: 4539
-
SAT code: 3456
Military Dependents/ Armed Services Members Only
Provide documentation of military status.
Military dependent applicants must submit a grade report form
and transcript to qualify. Grade Report Forms can be found at WWW.CFWV.COM/PROMISE under forms
and must be submitted by a high school counselor or school
official.
Military dependent/ Armed Services Member applicants must submit
verification of maintaining legal residence in West Virginia while
serving in the United States armed forces while the student
attended high school.
If you are taking the ACT/SAT in a state other than West
Virginia, an official score must be sent to our office.
-
ACT code: 4539
-
SAT code: 3456
Frequently Asked Questions