PROMISE Scholarship Program Renewal Requirements

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges it has created, the WV Higher Education Policy Commission has approved temporary modifications to qualify for and renew WV financial aid programs. Click here for more information or watch this recorded training outlining the modifications. Click here for information on ACT On-Campus testing (ACT residual testing) opportunities for 2020 PROMISE applicants. These modifications were for the 2019-20 school year and 2020 application year only.

 

For a student to retain or have the PROMISE award renewed each year, the student must:

• Maintain a 2.75 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale the first year and a 3.0 cumulative grade point average in subsequent years.

• Complete and earn a minimum of 30 credit hours in each 12-month period for a student who receives a two-semester award in an academic year. If a student receives a single-semester award, the student must complete and earn a minimum of 15 credit hours in an academic year.

• Remain continuously enrolled as a full time student (scholars are not required to be full time or meet renewal during their final year of scholarship eligibility).

Scholars may use subsequent summer sessions at their own expense to meet the requirements for renewal (see below).

Eligibility for renewal is determined by your institution, according to institutional grading policies at the end of an academic year.

The academic year for calculating renewal begins with the fall semester and ends with the summer semester.

If you lose the scholarship, you cannot regain it at a later time.

PROMISE Scholars are not required to reapply to the scholarship yearly but are encouraged to file the FAFSA on a yearly basis, to see if they qualify for any other types of financial aid.

Credits included/excluded from the cumulative GPA calculation.

All college credit hours and corresponding grades must be counted in determining PROMISE Scholarship eligibility, regardless of whether the college accepts these credits. Any college credit hours earned prior to the first semester of fall or spring enrollment may not be counted toward the credit hour requirement in determining eligibility for award renewal.

Credit for a course taken again during the same award year, including the summer, to improve a grade, or for any other purpose, will only be counted once towards meeting the hours requirement.

Summer Credits

Scholars may use subsequent summer sessions (at their own expense) to meet the requirements for renewal.

If a student enrolls in summer school to attain the minimum credit hours or the grade point average required, he or she shall not receive a PROMISE scholarship award for that summer enrollment. Summer courses must be completed before the commencement of a regular semester at the PROMISE eligible institution the student regularly attends.

 

Frequently Asked Questions