Scholarship Renewal Requirements & Timeline

1. Scholarship Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

Once a year, Promise Scholars sign the required MOU form to confirm understanding of the scholarship rules and regulations. Please save a copy of this sample MOU for your reference.

New Haven Promise is a merit-based scholarship. To maintain your scholarship once you’re in college, you must:

Obtain a 2.0 GPA or higher each semester and cumulatively.
Attempt at least 12 credit hours you’ve never taken before each semester. Promise will NOT pay for retakes or withdrawals, which means if you do retake or withdraw a class, you must still maintain at least 12 credit hours in first-time classes.
If withdrawing from courses and/or retaking courses brings you to fewer than 12 new credit hours, it will impact your scholarship amount in subsequent semesters and lead to scholarship warning. Multiple warnings could result in scholarship revocation.
Complete FAFSA once a year, except for those unable to do so.
Be in good standing at your college. If you are not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) determined by your college, you must submit a SAP appeal and have it approved by your college. With a bad SAP status, you are ineligible for financial aid, including the federal Pell Grant, New Haven Promise etc.
Pay off any outstanding balance from previous semesters (not on bursar hold).

Passport to Promise scholarship is non-renewable after the freshman year. Recipients who achieve 2.0+ college GPA and earn at least 24 credit hours in the freshman year will automatically advance to receive a regular New Haven Promise award for the remainder of their studies for up to 3 years (6 semesters).

Pennington (HBCU) Fellowship rules and regulations are slightly different from those of New Haven Promise Scholarship. Learn more here.

2. Scholarship Renewal Timeline (for New Haven Promise Scholarship only)

Fall Term

June	Mid-July to August	August	September	October
Transcript review (Promise receives your transcript directly from college).	Scholars in good standing will see pending Promise awards added to their financial aid packages for both fall and spring terms. Pending award, also referred to as anticipated deferral, means your college expects payment from Promise, so you only need to cover any remaining balance.	Scholars who fall short of the requirements will receive an email about scholarship warning. They must complete an Improvement Plan and a check-in call to receive the scholarship. Dismissal letters will also be sent during this time.	Promise will verify your enrollment status with your college after the add-drop period.	Scholarships will be disbursed, converting your pending award into actual award. Any excess funds will be refunded to you by your college.

Spring Term

January	February	Mid-February	March
Transcript review (Promise receives your transcript directly from college).	Promise will verify your enrollment status with your college after the add-drop period.	Scholars who fall short of the requirements will receive an email about scholarship warning. They must complete an Improvement Plan and a check-in call to receive the scholarship. Dismissal letters will also be sent during this time.	Scholarships will be disbursed, converting your pending award into actual award. Any excess funds will be refunded to you by your college.

3. Where is my Scholarship?

Log into your college’s student portal no earlier than mid-July. If you don’t see a pending New Haven Promise amount in your financial aid package, review this Scholarship Renewal Checklist to check for any missing steps or email the completed checklist to shayne@newhavenpromise.org for further assistance.