What are the eligibility and renewal criteria for my scholarships?
For scholarship awardsmade by the Student Financial Aid Office, Admissions Office, and Honors College the renewal and eligibility criteria are available on your FlashLine account. Please follow the directions below to review the details.For scholarships awarded by Colleges and other departments, please contact the appropriate office for more information.
- Login to your FlashLine Account atwww.kent.edu
- Select Student
- Under Finances, choose Financial Aid
- Select Financial Aid Awards
- Select Aid for Award Year
- Choose the current Award Year from the drop-down menu and click the Submit button
- Click on the Award Overview tab
- Click on the name of each scholarship and carefully read the Eligibility and Renewal Criteria for that award
Do I have to submit a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to be considered for scholarships?
Newly admitted students do not have submit a FAFSA to be considered for the Academic Achievement Award, President’s Achievement Award, Oscar Ritchie Memorial Scholarship, Founders Scholarship, Honors Distinction Award, or incoming transfer student scholarships.These scholarships are strictly merit based.
If a scholarship program indicates that “demonstrating financial need” is required, then the student must have a FAFSA on file for the academic year to be considered for that award. The FAFSA allows the Student Financial Aid Office to determine whether the student is demonstrating financial need.
How do I accept my scholarships?
View step-by-step instructions on how to accept your Kent State scholarships.
Accepting a scholarship does not commit you to attending Kent State University, but we ask that you only accept your scholarship if you are planning to attend. Accepting a scholarship will not eliminate you from consideration for additional scholarship awards.
How will I receive my scholarship award?
All Kent State University scholarships (except for a limited number of scholarships awarded specifically for research or conference travel) will be applied to your student account for the semester. Scholarships will show as credit on your student account, but the actual funds will not be released any sooner than 10 days before your classes start. You cannot receive the scholarship funds early. If you owe a balance for any reason on your student account, your scholarship will be applied to that outstanding balance. If you do not owe a balance for that semester, the scholarship will be issued to you as a financial aid refund for that semester.
Will my other financial aid be revised if I receive a scholarship?
The addition of a scholarship, from any source, could result in the revision of your other financial aid awards. The most common revision is a reduction in a Federal Parent PLUS Loan, a private alternation loan, or the reduction/cancellation of student’s federal Direct Loans. This typically happens only when the student is receiving a very large amount of financial aid that already equals their Cost of Attendance budget. Based on a student’s FAFSA results, the student’s Federal Direct Subsidized Loan may have to be reduced or cancelled. Whenever possible, that funding is replaced with a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan.
Scholarship awards that can only to be applied to certain expenses, such as tuition, may have to be reduced if the student’s total scholarships exceed that expense.
If I did not meet the renewal criteria in order to receive my scholarships next year, is there anything I can do?
Students who did not meet their scholarship renewalcriteria for the awards listed below canrequest an appeal if they have extenuating circ*mstances.
- Academic AchievementAward
- President's Achievement Award
- Oscar Richie Memorial Scholarship
- Trustee Scholarship
- Founders Scholarship
- University Award
- President's Scholarship
- President's Award
- Academic Transfer Award
- President's Transfer Award
- Transfer2Kent Scholarship
- Flash Transfer Northeast OhioScholarship
Extenuating circ*mstances include illness, death in family, family crisis, etc. The appeal must includesupporting documentation. Students cannot request a scholarship appeal form until after they have been notified that the scholarship was cancelled for the upcoming year or semester.
Can I request an extra semester of my scholarship because I will be here for a 9th semester?
Yes, but you must submit a Scholarship Appeal Form to request the additional semester.
I am graduating early – can I double up on my scholarship in my last semester?
No, your Kent State scholarship cannot be increased from the original offer amount per semester. For example, an $1,000 annual scholarship will be awarded $500 per semester. You cannot receive all $1,000 in one semester.
Can I receive my scholarship if I register for regional campus courses?
You will not be eligible for your Kent Campus scholarship if you register for regional campus courses unless you are also enrolled for a minimum of 12 credit hours in Kent Campus designated courses that same semester.
I only need 2 courses this semester to graduate and I have one semester of scholarship eligibility remaining. Am I eligible for my Kent Campus scholarship?
You may appeal to use your scholarship, for less than full-time enrollment, if it is your last semester of enrollment prior to graduation. View scholarship appeal forms. Please note, your scholarship may be prorated if you are not enrolled full-time.
FAQs
It's a great question, and we've included a detailed response below. The short answer is that, in most cases, a scholarship won't affect the financial aid offered by a college. Instead, it will help to cover costs not already paid for by financial aid, and is therefore of great benefit to the student.
Do scholarships interfere with financial aid? ›
Resources to help you pay for college.
Getting an outside, or private, scholarship can actually reduce the amount of financial aid you get from your college. But that doesn't mean you'll have to pay a bigger share of your college costs. It just means that the scholarship dollars replace financial-aid-package dollars.
Do you lose financial aid if you get a scholarship? ›
A scholarship will affect your other student aid because all your student aid added together can't be more than your cost of attendance at your college or career school.
What happens if my scholarships are more than my tuition? ›
If you've received scholarship funds that are greater than your cost of tuition and fees, oftentimes your college or university will send you a refund for the leftover money. Depending upon the terms of your scholarship, you can use these funds for another education-related expense.
How does FAFSA affect scholarships? ›
The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) opens doors to several other types of financial aid aside from scholarships. Not filing the FAFSA may limit your scholarship opportunities. For example, it is mandatory to file the FAFSA to apply for federal government and state scholarships.
Can you get a student loan if you have a full scholarship? ›
You may receive less financial aid
If your total financial aid package—including outside scholarships and need-based aid—comes to more than $300 above your calculated need, your college must reduce the amount of need-based aid you receive.
Can you pocket scholarship money? ›
In some cases, you may be allowed to keep the money and put it towards anything you want. However, in most cases, you will likely have to return the money to the provider so that they can add it to a new scholarship fund for other students.
Do scholarships count as income on FAFSA? ›
Most students leave this question blank because most scholarships and grants are not taxable, unless those award amounts exceed the total amount the student paid for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and required equipment.
What can you not use scholarship money for? ›
Unless it's tuition, fees, books and room and board, it's generally unwise to presume an expense will be covered by scholarship money, Ladd says. Transportation, groceries and off-campus dining, technology and clothes are typically not covered, but some scholarships may be less strict on how the money is used.
What grade makes you lose financial aid? ›
To be eligible for federal student aid and college financial aid, a student must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). This generally consists of maintaining at least a 2.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (i.e., at least a C average) and passing enough classes with progress toward a degree.
You withdrew early from the program for which the grant was given to you. Your enrollment status changed in a way that reduced your eligibility for your grant. For example, if you switch from full-time enrollment to part-time, your grant amount will be reduced.
What does it take to lose a scholarship? ›
If you spend the scholarship on something other than what the scholarship is for, you could lost it. GPA – If the scholarship required a minimum grade point average to qualify or to maintain the scholarship and you fall below, you could lose the scholarship.
Do scholarships affect Pell Grant? ›
The Pell Grant is never reduced when a student wins a private scholarship, not even if the student is overawarded. The Pell Grant is based on the student's EFC, not financial need, so changes in financial need do not affect the amount of the Pell Grant.
Can you spend financial aid money on anything? ›
The Pell Grant can theoretically be used to pay for any expense. However, using these funds on expenses that aren't considered “qualified education expenses” may make the money subject to taxation.
Can you use leftover scholarship money? ›
Scholarships are awarded for specific educational expenses, so you can't use leftover funds for other things, like vacations or clothes, unless the scholarship guidelines allow it.
Should I apply for FAFSA if I have a scholarship? ›
However, while the answer to the question of whether you need FAFSA for scholarships is no, you must complete this application if you want federal loans. You could also take out private student loans, which have their own application process.
Is scholarship better than financial aid? ›
Student loans can be helpful for students who wouldn't be able to stay in school without them, but scholarships are preferable since they don't need to be repaid.
Will financial aid pay for more than one degree? ›
Yes, it's possible to receive financial aid for a second bachelor's degree, which can include federal student aid like federal grants, work-study, and federal student loans. We'll detail the definitions of these types of federal student aid below when we explain how adult learners pay for college.
Can you have 2 scholarships at once? ›
It's important to note that many scholarships are offered every year, so be on the lookout for any emerging opportunities. Always remember that you can receive multiple scholarships at once, so apply to as many opportunities as you can.
