Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship
Requirements to Maintain Scholarship
In order to maintain your Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship, you must meet the following requirements:
Be enrolled full-time (at least 12 credit hours for Fall and Spring semesters)
In order to use your scholarship, you must be a full-time student unless:
- you have fewer than 24 credit hours remaining to complete your degree requirements; or,
- you have approval from the WMU’S Kalamazoo Promise Scholars Program Director (typically due to hardship).
Must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA
Must make satisfactory progress toward the degree
You should be passing a minimum of at least nine (9) credit hours each semester while maintaining a 2.0 or higher cumulative GPA. If you've withdrawn from a course and have dropped below nine credits, schedule an appointment with us. If you have the approval to go less than full-time, you must pass all enrolled credits.
Taking Summer Classes
You may use the benefit in the summer terms as well. Full-time summer enrollment is NOT required. Unfortunately, you cannot split the award between two different schools in the summer. This means you cannot apply your Promise at KVCC for a class that runs the first half of the summer and another class at WMU which runs the latter half of the summer.
- Using the Promise at WMU in the summer: You are encouraged to complete a student form through the WMU Financial Aid Office. If you do not complete a student form, you will not be awarded Kalamazoo Promise until after the add/drop period for the term.
- Using the Promise at KVCC in the summer: You are permitted to take classes at KVCC in the summer even if it is not your home institution. To do this, you will need to complete a summer intent form found in your Kalamazoo Promise account.
Dropping or Withdrawing from Classes
Until after the add/drop period (census), your Kalamazoo Promise award is subject to change, based upon the fluctuation of tuition charges on your account due to adding or dropping a course.
During the semester:
- If you add a class after the add/drop period you should contact the Kalamazoo Promise Wellbeing and Outreach Specialist at WMU for an adjustment of your Promise award.
- If you withdraw from a course (typically the first week of the semester) you will not get those credits back from the Promise as the course will have already been paid for. The exception to this is if you have an approved tuition charge appeal. If you are considering withdrawing from a course or are experiencing hardship, schedule an appointment with us as early as possible.
FAFSA
The Promise scholarship covers tuition and mandatory fees. It does not cover course fees, books, room and board, or any other costs related to education. For this reason, it is strongly encouraged that you complete your FAFSA each year. The earlier you can submit it increases the amount of aid you are eligible for. FAFSA opens October 1 of each year.
In order to qualify for other need-based aid, students must have a completed FAFSA.
General Scholarship Information
Length of award
You have up to ten years after your date of graduation to use your Promise Scholarship. This is especially important to note for those of you who have or plan to graduate from high school early.
Total number of credits allowed
Your Promise will cover up to 145 credit hours within your ten years of eligibility according to your funding level. Withdrawn, repeated and failed courses count against this total. If you are enrolled in a program that requires more than 145 credits at WMU you can complete a 145 Credit Limit Waiver Form and return to the Kalamazoo Promise Office.
What's covered
Based on your funding level, your Kalamazoo Promise scholarship will be applied toward residential, undergraduate tuition for courses taken on the main campus, at regional campuses, and for online courses. The award can be used for WMU tuition costs associated with studying abroad not to exceed the cost of tuition at WMU.
Your Promise will also be applied towards mandatory fees which currently include the following (these are subject to change):
- enrollment fee
- Fall Welcome fee
- online support fee
- New Student Orientation fee
- student assessment fee
- record initiation fee
- continuing enrollment fee
- technology fee
- spring transition fee
- student teacher tuition adjustment fee
- sustainability fee
How the scholarship works at WMU with other scholarships
The Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship is a “first-dollar scholarship”, which means it will be applied towards tuition and mandatory feeds prior to any other scholarships. If any tuition or mandatory fees remain, other tuition-specific awards can then be applied.
