Mississippi State Promise Program 2008-09
Mississippi State University strives to combine access and excellence in fulfilling its traditional role as The People’s University and in keeping with the needs of Mississippi. The Mississippi State Promise is a new program designed to help entering freshmen and community ] college transfer students from low-income Mississippi families attend Mississippi State.
In general, an eligible student must be admitted into a first baccalaureate degree program, enroll full time, be a Mississippi resident and either an entering freshman with a 3.0 high school grade-point average on a 4.0 scale, or an entering community college transfer student with a 2.50 GPA on a 4.0 scale (after completing a minimum of 48 eligible transfer hours). The total family income must be $30,000 or less, the student must meet general eligibility requirements to participate in federal student aid programs and demonstrate significant financial need. Each student must establish eligibility for the program the semester he/she enters MSU.
Entering freshman recipients who maintain eligibility in subsequent years may participate in the program for a maximum of five years and entering community college transfer students may participate in the program for a maximum of three years.
Recipients must maintain full-time enrollment and a minimum 2.50 MSU GPA to sustain eligibility.
Award Benefits
The amount of the Mississippi State Promise award for each student will be the student’s base amount of tuition for fall and/or spring semesters (as assessed to all full-time, undergraduate Mississippi resident students) minus all federal, state, institutional and/or other grants, scholarships and waivers. In other words, the Mississippi State Promise award will “bridge the gap” between the cost of tuition minus all other gift aid for the fall and spring semesters. Promise awards are not available for summer school.
Recipients also will be provided the opportunity to live in a selected MSU residence hall for approximately one half of the applicable double occupancy rate.
Although not required, recipients will be offered the opportunity to work part time to help offset the cost of other expenses. Other aid programs, such as student loans and parent loans, also may be available to help pay other educational costs.
As with any student aid program offered by MSU, the student’s total financial aid package, including the Mississippi State Promise benefits, cannot exceed the student’s total cost of attendance during any school year.
Medallion Grant Program 2008-09
The Medallion Grant Program complements the MSU Promise Program by targeting entering Mississippi freshmen and community college transfer students who have the academic potential to be productive graduates of MSU and are from families with moderate incomes, but do not meet the low- income criteria to qualify for a Promise Award.
In general, an eligible student must be admitted into a first baccalaureate degree program, enroll full time, be a Mississippi resident and either an entering freshman with a 3.0 high school grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and a minimum 18 ACT score, or an entering community college transfer student with a 2.5 transfer GPA on a 4.0 scale after completing 48 eligible transfer hours. The total family income must be between $30,001 and $45,000, the student must meet general eligibility requirements to participate in the federal student aid programs and demonstrate significant financial need. Each student must establish eligibility the semester he/she enters MSU.
Entering freshmen who maintain eligibility in subsequent years may participate in the program for a maximum of four years and entering community college transfer students may participate in the program for a maximum of two years.
Recipients must maintain full-time enrollment and a minimum 2.50 MSU GPA to sustain eligibility.
Award Benefits
The amount of the Medallion Grant for each student will be the student’s base amount of tuition for fall and/or spring semesters (as assessed to all full-time, undergraduate Mississippi resident students) minus all federal, state, institutional, and other grants, scholarships and waivers. Similar to the Promise Program, the Medallion Grant award will help “bridge the gap” between the cost of tuition minus all other gift aid for the fall and spring semesters. Medallion awards are not available for summer school. The maximum Medallion award cannot exceed $2,000 per year.
As with any student aid program offered by MSU, the student’s total financial aid package, including the Medallion Grant, cannot exceed the student’s total cost of attendance during any school year.
Application Procedures for MSU Promise and Medallion Grant Programs
Students must complete the MSU admission and scholarship process by the priority date, as well as the federal student aid application and State of Mississippi student aid application processes, and be admitted to MSU. This includes filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible after January 1 each year for the coming school year. The results of the FAFSA must be available to MSU by the April 1 priority date. Students also should complete all applicable online State of Mississippi applications (such as MTAG/MESG) each year by the application deadline date.
Additional information about eligibility and application procedures is available at sfa.msstate.edu.
