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Scholarship Policies at ISU

If you've been offered a scholarship from ISU or are to be the recipient of an outside scholarship, you must read the information below:

  • Accepting Scholarships:
    • In the Bengal Online Scholarship System (BOSS): Scholarships in BOSS should have all requirements accepted and completed within one (1) month of the offer date. Students who do not meet this deadline may have their scholarship canceled and awarded to another student. You cannot accept BOSS scholarship offers in your MyISU.
    • By Mail:  If you receive an award letter in the mail, please note the deadline date. You must return the required acceptance form and/or thank you letter by the deadline or the scholarship may be canceled and awarded to another student.  You can do this by signing and mailing the required forms to the ISU Scholarship Office. You can also submit the forms by dropping them off to the ISU Scholarship Office in person.
    • Online: If you receive an award letter in the mail, please note the deadline date. You must accept your scholarship by that deadline or the scholarship may be canceled and awarded to another student.  Some of our scholarship offers can be accepted online. Please refer to the QR code (if one was provided) on your offer letter. 
  • Scholarship Acceptance Certification:  By accepting a scholarship at ISU you are authorizing Idaho State University the right to release information, which is pertinent to the scholarship, to others involved in providing funds related to your education.  You are also authorizing Idaho State University to include your name, when appropriate, in the lists of winners to be publicized in news media.
  • Full-time Enrollment Requirement--Most scholarships at ISU require that a student carry a full-time credit load. That is defined as registering for, and successfully completing, a minimum of 12 credits each semester (24 credits per academic year) for undergraduates and 9 credits each semester (18 credits per academic year) for graduate students. Please note that audit courses will not count toward meeting minimum credit requirements. You must be registered at the full-time credit level at the time of disbursement and as of the 10th day (the last day to add/drop full semester courses) each semester. Note: Students participating in a Consortium Agreement are required to be enrolled in at least 9 ISU credits (while still maintaining a minimum of 12 credits each semester) to be eligible. 
  • Scholarships are Part of Financial Aid--When you receive a scholarship (whether institutional funds or outside funds) at ISU, it is considered part of your total Financial Aid package. It will be counted as part of the aid you have available to meet the total cost of education as determined by the Federal Financial Aid process. It will not reduce any gift aid such as PELL Grant or State Grants, but it may reduce loan or college work study amounts, depending on the individual situation.
  • All scholarships have some minimum criteria--The most common are a minimum grade point average (GPA) and full time credit levels. Some scholarships require maintenance of a certain major or other unique criteria. Please read your renewal information carefully and keep a copy of the this information for your records.
  • Limit of Institutional Scholarship Funding to Individual Students --ISU does not permit a student to receive institutional scholarships in excess of that student’s cost of attendance (COA), excluding Pell grant, unless otherwise allowed. If a combination of all sources of aid exceeds the student’s COA, ISU may reduce aid to keep the student within their COA. If federal funds are involved the standard federal tolerance will be allowed. Federal guidelines to reduce funds will be followed for students receiving federal funds. We may ultimately need to reduce institutional scholarships as well. Scholarships have no impact on Pell Grant eligibility or amounts. Figures are based on estimated COA as determined by the ISU Financial Aid Office. The COA is an estimated calculation of a student’s tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, transportation, and personal expenses for the period of enrollment. The COA is reviewed each year by the Financial Aid Office.
  • Employee and Spouse Tuition Reduction & Scholarship Policy: Students and/or their spouses that receive a 4-year freshman or 2-year transfer scholarship offer from the ISU Scholarship Office MAY NOT receive both the Employee and Spouse Tuition Reduction AND the 4-year freshman or 2-year transfer scholarship. The Scholarship Office, in conjunction with the Cashier's Office, will cancel any 4-year freshman or 2-year transfer scholarships when the student and/or their spouse receive the Employee and Spouse Tuition Reduction.
  • Employee Dependent Waiver & 4 Year Scholarship Policy:
    Students who receive a 4-year freshman scholarship offer from the ISU Scholarship Office in the amount of $4,000 or higher per year, MAY NOT receive both the Employee Dependent Waiver AND the 4-year freshman scholarship if the total of the two exceeds the cost of in-state tuition and consolidated fees per semester. The Cashiers Office will reduce the Employee Dependent Waiver amount (if needed).
  • Calculated GPA--When determining eligibility and/or renewal for scholarships, ISU uses the Institutional (ISU) Cumulative GPA for such calculations; not the overall GPA.
  • Eligibility for Annual Renewal of Multi-Year Scholarships--Students receiving multi-year scholarships are checked at the end of the Spring semester to determine if they are eligible for continuation of the award in the next academic year. We are checking to see if students met minimum criteria while receiving the award during the current academic year (successfully completed at least 12 credits each semester or 24 credits for the academic year, achieved the minimum GPA required, and any other criteria outlined for the scholarship) . Please note that repeated courses in the same Academic Year will not count toward meeting minimum credit requirements. If a student has a deficiency (credits or GPA), we typically allow them the summer to make up the deficiency. Students must take the classes through ISU and we strongly advise students to meet with an Advisor. If you are a scholarship recipient who may be in jeopardy of not meeting minimum criteria for your scholarship, please contact the Scholarship Office to inquire about the consequences and your options. When a student fails to meet all renewal criteria, the award is canceled and will no longer be available to the student.
  • Holding Scholarships--Idaho State University will hold students' scholarships if a student's attendance at ISU is interrupted for medical reasons, military deployment, church service, or other select reasons, provided that a student meets certain criteria. Please see "Holding Scholarships" for required forms & policies.
  • Outside Scholarships--If you are receiving an outside scholarship, it will still be processed through the ISU Scholarship Office. When we receive a check for a student from an outside source, funds will be loaded on the student's behalf just like institutional scholarship awards. You may be asked to come to the Scholarship Office to endorse a check as some are made out to ISU and the student. Please do this as soon as possible so funds can be processed in a timely manner. Outside awards are also considered part of a student's total Financial Aid Package and may appear as "one time only" or the "name" of a scholarship depending on the funding source.  Please contact the Scholarship Office if you are not sure who the funds are from or if you have any questions.
  • ISU Reserves the Right to Change an ISU Scholarship-- The ISU Scholarship Office sometimes changes the funding source of ISU scholarships which can result in changes to the name of a student's scholarship when viewed on the BengalWeb web portal, and on the Student Finances tab of BengalWeb and other University documents. Such changes will NOT reduce the amount of a student's scholarship or change the criteria. An example of this might be: When a student is offered a Four Year Freshman Scholarship, it is initially entered into our computer system as the "Freshman Four Year Scholarship". Later, however, we may decide to move the award to another institutionally administered scholarship account. For example, a student's $2,000 "Freshman Four Year Scholarship" could become a $2,000 "Kasiska Scholarship-4 Year New" as this is who is now sponsoring your scholarship. Feel free to contact the ISU Scholarship Office if you have any questions or concerns about any changes to your scholarship. If your scholarship is sponsored by an ISU donor, the ISU Scholarship Office may ask for a thank you letter upon your acceptance and enrollment. An email will be sent to you by the scholarship office, if this is requested.
  • Student Athletes Receiving Institutional Academic Scholarships--Student athletes who have been offered an academic scholarship should discuss the award with their coach to determine whether or not the student athlete can accept the award. Under NCAA rules, student athletes are limited in the amount of aid they can receive. Aid includes athletic scholarships, institutional academic scholarships, outside scholarships and third-party resources.
  • How Scholarships are Disbursed--If all of your scholarship requirements have been completed on your "Scholarship Acceptance Form", in BOSS or online in your MyISU, your aid will automatically disburse as long as you meet enrollment requirements. If scholarship acceptance, enrollment requirements, post acceptance requirements (Thank you letters to donors) have not been met, your aid will not be disbursed. Please contact the ISU Scholarship Office if you have questions regarding disbursement.
  • Idaho LAUNCH Satisfactory Academic Progress--Students that receive Idaho LAUNCH from the State of Idaho/Workforce Development Council (WDC) are required to complete at least 1 credit per semester at ISU, maintain a cumulative ISU GPA of at least 2.0, and be enrolled in an eligible undergraduate program that is going toward an in-demand career as determined by WDC. Students must be meeting these requirements to be considered in compliance with the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirement for the Idaho LAUNCH grant. Any student not in compliance with the Idaho LAUNCH Grant Satisfactory Academic Progress will not be eligible for additional LAUNCH funds.