You’ve worked hard to prepare for college. If you are selected as a scholarship recipient, the Utah State Promise Scholarship can pay whatever tuition and student body fees your Pell Grants and other scholarships and awards don't cover up to four years. You just have to be Pell-eligible and meet the criteria described below. It’s that simple.
Utah State Promisie
Pell Grants and other awards
Scholarship Overview
The Utah State Promise is a “last dollar” scholarship, meaning that it is applied to your remaining tuition and student body fees after all other aid is applied to a recipient's account. What is considered other aid and in what order is it applied?
First, a recipient's Federal Pell Grant will be applied to the balance due. Next, USU will apply all other scholarships (e.g., institutional awards, departmental awards, state awards, and other outside/3rd party scholarships).
After all aid and scholarships are applied to a Utah State Promise recipient's account, USU will then pay any remaining balance due resulting from tuition and student body fees as laid out in the below frequently asked questions section.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
To be eligible for the Utah State Promise scholarship you must:
- Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid ("FAFSA").
- Be Pell Grant eligible.
- Be a Utah resident and a U.S. citizen, or eligible non-citizen.
- Be admitted for Summer 2024 or Fall 2024 semesters as a first-time incoming undergraduate student to USU (returning and transfer students do not qualify).
- Intend to graduate from USU.
RENEWAL CRITERIA
Some things to know about this scholarship:
- Renewable for up to 4 years (8 total semesters, or until graduation).
- Must remain Pell Grant eligible each academic year.
- Yearly completion of FAFSA required.
- Must remain in good standing each academic year.
- Award amount varies, up to full tuition and student body fees (not including differential tuition).
- Available at all USU campuses.
There is no FASFA deadline to apply for the Utah State Promise Scholarship for fall 2024.
Utah State will award the Utah State Promise Scholarship to first-time Utah resident students who have applied for admission by February 1st on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted. Apply for FAFSA at your earliest convenience to be considered.
If you have already been admitted to USU and need help submitting your FAFSA, you can schedule an appointment with your Federal Aid Counselor. Appointments are available in-person, virtually via Zoom, or over the phone Monday – Friday from 8am – 5pm MST.
If you are awarded the scholarship, Utah State will pay any remaining tuition and student body fees when the semester starts. All you will have to do is get your books & supplies and head to class.
Student Financial Resources
More scholarships and financial resources can be found at usu.edu/financial-support.
Frequently Asked Questions & Scholarship Criteria
The United States Department of Education uses the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine which students qualify for Federal Pell Grant funding.
The United States Department of Education uses a standard formula to evaluate the information you report on your FAFSA. This formula determines if you are eligible to receive a Federal Pell grant. Students must also meet all general eligibility requirements to qualify for grants and loans.
Most students know if they are Pell eligible immediately upon FAFSA completion. The school then confirms this eligibility and notifies the student. Some students must provide additional documentation to verify the information they reported on the FAFSA. Any corrections may increase, reduce, or cancel the amount of Federal Pell Grant a student may receive.
The Utah State Promise can be deferred or held if your University deferment/notification of leave is approved. However to receive the Utah State Promise when you enroll/re-enroll, you will have to meet all program requirements and be Pell-eligible for the academic year you enroll.
To retain this award, 24 credits must be earned between fall and spring semesters. To meet this requirement, you are encouraged to enroll full-time (12-18 credits) each semester. This award will pay at 12+ credits. If you are only enrolling one semester during the academic year, you must earn a minimum of 12 credits that semester to retain this award.
The Utah State Promise will only pay up to full tuition and student body fees. The award is not ‘refundable’ should you receive other aid.
The Utah State Promise does not pay differential tuition charges.
The Utah State Promise does not pay class or special fees.
If you receive other scholarships or aid after the Utah State Promise applies to your account, you may see an adjustment or reduction in your Utah State Promise award. This is because the Utah State Promise is a “last dollar in" program and only pays toward tuition and student body fees after all other aid.
This scholarship generally applies to fall and spring semesters (as long as you meet renewal requirements). The scholarship can apply toward summer semester, but you will need to contact the Student Financial Support and ask for the exception. The use of the scholarship during summer will count toward the maximum of eight semesters available for award.
To remain in good standing, you must be enrolled as a full-time student (12+ credits) and successfully complete 12+ credits each semester while maintaining a 2.00 cumulative GPA. Failure to meet satisfactory academic performance may result in cancellation of your scholarship.
If your residency status changes to nonresident or another ineligible status, you will no longer be eligible for the award.
The Utah State Promise is only available to new, first-time UT residents. Continuing/returning students are not eligible.
This scholarship is not available for transfer students. It is only for first-time UT residents seeking an undergraduate degree.
Out-of-state students attending USU through an online program are charged a different tuition rate compared to students on campus. As a result, the Utah State Promise is not available to out-of-state online students.
The scholarship is not available for graduate students. It is only for first-time freshman seeking an undergraduate degree.
The scholarship does not cover costs for a second bachelor’s degree.
If you are enrolled at Utah State University and another college or university via a Federal Aid Consortium Agreement, you will not qualify for the Utah State Promise.
USU will use funding from the Utah Promise Program to help support the Utah State Promise. However, this funding only represents a small portion of the overall budget. For this reason, USU will contribute a significant portion of funding to support the scholarship.
The above frequently asked questions summarize the primary criteria and administrative terms of the Utah State Promise Scholarship program. All criteria and administrative terms of participation in the Utah State Promise Scholarship program will be presented to scholarship recipients prior to award and must be accepted by all scholarship recipients as a condition of the award. The criteria and administrative terms of the Utah State Promise Scholarship are subject to change and may be modified for a given upcoming semester at any time prior to the award funds being transferred to the accounts of recipient students. Neither the application/FAFSA nor the presentation of the Utah State Promise scholarship on this or other university websites is intended to constitute an legal offer or contract between Utah State University and any scholarship applicant.