PROMISE Renewal Requirements
PROMISE is renewable for up to eight consecutive semesters or completion of undergraduate degree requirements, as long as students meet the minimum eligibility requirements. However, a student pursuing a two-year degree may not receive more than four semesters worth of funding toward that degree. At that point, a student must be accepted and enrolled in a four-year degree program in order to continue to receive funding.
Academic Requirement
PROMISE recipients must maintain a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA throughout their collegiate career. However, first year students can retain the scholarship if they receive a cumulative 2.75, but every year thereafter students must meet the minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA requirement.
For example: If a student earns a 2.75 cumulative GPA in the first year, he/she will need to earn at least a 3.25 GPA in his/her second year in order to have the required cumulative 3.0 GPA.
Credit Hour Requirement
A student must complete and earn 30 credit hours per academic year and maintain full-time status (12 credit hours) each semester. Any college credit, as well as the GPA for those credits, earned prior to the actual enrollment in college does not count toward the student's renewal eligibility for the scholarship.
For example: If a student received college credit while still in high school or before the fall semester enrollment those credits will not be used in determining renewal eligibility.
Scholars should check with their institutions about D/F repeat policies to ensure an accurate accounting of credits and GPAs if this option is used.
College Seniors: In the fourth year of receiving the PROMISE Scholarship (seventh and eighth semesters) students do not need to complete 30 credit hours because they will not be renewing the scholarship for the following year. However, please remember that all students must be full-time (12 hours per term) in order to receive a PROMISE payment.
Summer School Option
PROMISE does not pay for summer school. If a student falls short of either the GPA or credit hour requirement, he/she can attend summer school session B that began after a respective academic year to meet renewal requirements, but it will be at the expense of the student.
For example: If a student takes summer school classes, the credits earned will be used toward the previous terms to determine PROMISE renewal eligibility.
Additional Renewal Information
Each student is responsible for keeping track of his/her academic progress and eligibility status. PROMISE will not notify a student who is in jeopardy of losing his/her scholarship. Please contact the Financial Aid or Scholarship Office at the student's college or university with regards to a student's PROMISE status, as the college or university is responsible for renewing the PROMISE Scholarship.
A student does not need to re-file the FAFSA or the Common Application each year; however, if the student is receiving other forms of financial aid, he/she may need to file the FAFSA for these programs.
Please see the Leave of Absence Policy for information if a student needs to take a leave of absence in order to ensure that the student will be able to remain eligible once he/she returns to school.
If a student loses PROMISE, he/she will not be able to reclaim the scholarship later on.