2017 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,
2017.
Applicants who miss the deadline will 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,
2017.
To apply, visit
3. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
All applicants must submit a completed 2017-18 FAFSA by the
March 1, 2017 deadline to be eligible.
- A student's FAFSA must meet the conditions for processing by
the March 1 deadline.
- Even if you haven't filed your federal tax return, FAFSA will
allow you to estimate using last years tax federal income tax forms
and update once you have submitted your taxes.
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.
-
Students attending private high schools must submit a grade report form to
qualify. 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 will be determined by grades at the end of
the seventh high school semester, but applicants may qualify as
late as after the eighth semester.
-
Students using the last semester of high school to determine
their eligibility are responsible for having their school send an
official transcript identifying both the core and overall grade
point averages.
-
Applicants who qualify with 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 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 determination 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 credit hours prior to college
enrollment and still be eligible for award.
-
College coursework taken in high school will count towards
initial eligibility but not towards PROMISE renewal
requirements.
Must complete the minimum core class requirements for the
complete core class listing click here
6. Minimum Test Score Requirements
Must meet standardized test score criteria on ACT or SAT
national test by the June testing dates 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)
2017-18 PROMISE Award Year
- 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- June 10, 2017
-
SAT- June 3, 2017
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.
-
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 parent or legal guardian 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