The WV Promise Scholarships is a merit-based financial aid program awarded by the College Foundation of West Virginia for the residents of West Virginia. There is a specific academic requirement a student is expected to achieve to stand eligible for these funds.
These funds are also in two parts, the early and summer promise. Read the post to understand what they both entail.
The award amount is $4,750, which covers both the cost of tuition and mandatory fees at public or private institutions in West Virginia. Awards are always contingent upon the program’s annual funding by the West Virginia Star Legislature.
The amount of a WV Promise Scholarship award combined with aid from all other sources will not exceed the cost of attendance at the institution the recipient attends. For students eligible for federal grant assistance such as federal Pell grants, federal aid should be considered the first source of all scholarship/ grant funding to the extent permitted under federal law.
For students awarded need-based grants and a Promise Scholarship through the West Virginia Higher Education Grant Programme, the Promise Scholarship award will be considered the first source.
But in case the Promise Scholarship Award plus the amount of other financial aid exceeds the cost of attendance, the institution’s financial aid administrator, in consultation with the recipient, will decide which assistance will be reduced. The adjustment is always made in the best interest of the recipient.
Level/Field of Study
The academic requirements for the Promise Scholarship are:
- The applicant must complete a high school graduation requirement at a West Virginia private or public high school.
- The applicant must complete at least one-half of the credit required for high school graduation.
- Limited exceptions for West Virginia Students who commute daily to an out-of-state private or public high school and qualify as a military dependent under Section 6 of the Promise Scholarship Program Rule.
3. Applicants must achieve an average cumulative grade point of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or whatever is considered a “B average, based on county board grading policies in both overall coursework required for graduation by the West Virginia Department of Education and core courses.
- Applicants attending private high schools must submit a grade report form to be eligible. Private high school officials ensure and verify that grades are maintained through the final semester. Unlike private high schools, public high schools students do not submit the grade report forms unless otherwise requested.
- Applicants may qualify with sixth or seventh-semester grades but must try to maintain the grade point average requirement through the eighth semester, or the scholarship will be revoked.
- The core grade point average is always determined based on the grades in all core courses a student completes on the core class listing, not just the ones required for graduation.
- A school official or high school counselor must determine grade point average calculations.
- Students who use final grades to meet their eligibility are responsible for having their grade report sent to form an official transcript sent to the office of the West Virginia Higher Education Grants by their school for consideration.
- If a student does not have a qualifying sixth or seventh-semester grade point average, they must apply and submit a completed FAFSA by the March 1 deadline to be considered.
- Weighted grades may be used based on the country board grading policy.
Dual Credit and other College Courses
A student can take unlimited dual credit coursework before college enrollment and still stand eligible for the award.
Credit hours earned before the first fall semester of enrollment will not be counted toward the credit hour requirement, especially in determining eligibility for award renewal.
Homeschool applicants must provide documentation of their home school status from their county school board office. The documentation Webpagepdf.com should be able to show that the applicant was homeschooled during the 11th and 12th grades.
Host Nationality
Promise Scholarship is a merit-based financial aid program awarded by the College Foundation of West Virginia for the residents of West Virginia.
Eligible Nationalities
Promise Scholarship requires that the student must have resided in West Virginia for twelve consecutive months continuously preceding the PROMISE Scholarship deadline unless a member of the armed services or a military dependent under Section 6 of the PROMISE Scholarship Program Rule
Scholarship Worth of the WV Promise Scholarship
The Promise Scholarship pays $4,650 per year or the cost of mandatory fees and tuition, according to the one that is less at any eligible institution. The award payment is made directly to the West Virginia University or College of the student’s choice.
The funds can be used in eligible, four-year, and two-year institutions in West Virginia. The institution’s funds can only be used to pay for undergraduate coursework that applies to the student’s academic program.
A bachelor’s degree-seeking student can receive this Promise Scholarship for no more than 8 semesters of a four-year degree program.
A student seeking an associate degree is eligible to receive a Promise Scholarship of not more than 4 semesters of a two-year degree program.
Students who wish to transition from a two-year degree program to a four-year degree program must be able to achieve the renewal requirements after their second year to continue scholarship eligibility.
Eligibility for the WV Promise Scholarship
An applicant will need to satisfy the following requirement to stand eligible for the Promise Award:
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 scores with a minimum of 20 in English, Mathematics, Science, and Reading.
- SAT Score requirement:
- Total score 1100.
- Math 520.
- Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 530.
- The SAT writing portion is not included in the composite score calculation.
- Scores must be from a single testing date and cannot be combined from multiple test administrations.
- Students must submit an application and FAFSA by the deadline, even if they have not met the required testing scores by the March 1 deadline.
Homeschooled Applicants
Regarding the Class of 2022, homeschooled applicants 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 in both core courses AND overall coursework required for graduation.
- To qualify, homeschooled applicants must submit a homeschooled grade report form and a transcript. Click here to find the home-schooled grade report form.
- 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.
- Applicants who missed the deadline may be eligible for a late award to begin the following Spring term of the application year, dependent though on the availability of funding.
- A student can only apply for the scholarship award within two years if graduation from high school. However, a student who joined the United States armed services is lifted from this term under Section 5 of the Promise Scholarship Program Rule.
- Only full-time first-year students can receive the initial award.
The student must complete the minimum core class requirement. Click here for a complete list of high school core course requirements.
The core course requirements include the following:
- English- 4 credits
- Mathematics- 4 credits
- Social sciences- 4 credits
- Natural sciences- 3 credits.
Homeschool 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 commuter applicants must submit their grade report form and transcript to qualify. The grade report forms must be submitted by a high school counselor or official and can be found under forms.
The eligible commuters must also provide documentation from a high school counselor or counselor that they commuted daily to an out-of-state high school.
If you take 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 an official transcript to qualify. Grade Report Forms can be found at https://secure.cfwv.com/Financial_Aid_Planning/Scholarships/Promise/Forms.aspx 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 take 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
The West Virginia Promise Scholarship Renewal Requirement and Procedures:
One must understand the requirement for renewal because once the scholarship is lost, one cannot regain it later.
For a student to have the WV Promise Scholarship renewed or retained each year, the student must maintain an average cumulative grade point of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale the first year and then a middle cumulative grade point of 3.0 in the subsequent years.
A student who received a two-semester award in an academic year must complete and earn at least 30 credit hours every 12 months.
But if a student receives a single semester award, the student only gets to complete and earn a minimum of 15 credit hours in the academic year. Scholars are not required to be full-time or meet renewal during their last two semesters of scholarship eligibility.
However, Scholars may use the subsequent summer sessions to meet the requirements for renewal, but at their own expense.
The student’s institution also determines eligibility for renewal, and according to the institutional grading policy at the end of an academic calendar. It usually takes a 12-month period to start calculating renewal.
The 12-month period begins with the fall semester and ends with the summer semester.
How to Apply for the WV Promise Scholarship
To apply for the West Virginia Scholarship, you must first create a West Virginia Student Aid Management (WVSAM) Account online to submit your application.
An applicant must submit a completed by March 1 to be eligible for the 2022 awards.
An applicant’s FASFA must meet the required conditions for processing by March 1 deadline.
Students have only 6 years from the date awarded to utilize the Promise award unless they are enrolled in the military, and then the time is extended.
Applicants for West Virginia Promise Scholarship awards are strongly urged to perform at least 20 hours of unpaid community service in high school and college. The community service may include, but is not limited to, participating with non-profit, governmental, institutional, or community-based organizations designed to improve the quality of life for community residents, meet the needs of community residents or foster civic responsibility. List of Community Service Contacts
Deadline
March 1.
The 2022 FAFSA is now available on www.fafsa.ed.gov
WV Promise Scholarship Application and FAFSA Filing Deadline
Students must complete the WV Promise Scholarship Application by June 15.
To be considered for the PROMISE Scholarship, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be received by the Federal Student Aid Processing Center on or before March 1 and meet the conditions for processing.
Students who have not met the GPA and test score requirements can qualify after March 15 but must apply and FAFSA by the March 15 deadline.
For the summer promise program. The application opens on March 15. The scholarship becomes available.
- May 15 – Summer PROMISE Application priority deadline
- June
- Eligibility was determined for those students who met the May 15 priority deadline
- Student award notifications are sent by email.
- Payments are sent to institutions for eligible applicants meeting the May 15 priority deadline.
- June 15- Final summer PROMISE Application Deadline. No applications will be accepted after June 15.
- July
- Eligibility is determined for those students who applied after the priority deadline.
- Payments were sent to institutions for eligible applicants who missed the priority deadline.
Application Link
You can click on the PROMISE Scholarship website at cfwv.com for an in-depth review of this great opportunity and current scholarship criteria.
PROMISE Scholarship Renewal Requirements
Summer PROMISE Scholarship Awards
PROMISE Scholarship Program Contact Information
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
Division of Financial Aid
1018 Kanawha Blvd. East, Suite 700
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: (304) 558-4618 or 1 (877) 987-7664
Email: [email protected]
Fax: (855) 292-1415
WE ALSO RECOMMEND
- Fully Funded International Scholarships (SHARE)
- Kana Scholarship for Ethopian Students
- Scholarships For Developing Countries (SHARE)
- 500 MBA Scholarships for International Students
- Ongoing Scholarships in Nigeria [UPDATED]
- ONGOING: UNICAF Scholarship – APPLY
- Indonesia Government Masters Scholarship for developing countries
- Quest University Scholarships for International Students in Canada
- Latest Canada Scholarships for Undergraduates, Masters and Ph.D. Programmes
DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.
Comments are closed.