The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships and Washington State University believes that finances should not be a barrier to attend WSU. With the Cougar Commitment Award, WSU commits to covering the cost of tuition and mandatory fees for students who could not otherwise afford to attend. These funds come from a variety of sources including federal, state, institutional aid programs as well as private donations.

General Program Information

Your tuition will be covered first by your federal and state grants—like the Pell Grant or State Need Grant. If your eligibility in these programs does not cover the full cost of your tuition and mandatory fees (i.e., health, recreation center, transit, etc) Washington  State  University  will make up the difference with institutional assistance. Funds awarded for the Cougar Commitment will only cover up to your financial need and will be reduced if you receive other university or private scholarships and/or other privately funded resources. 

The Cougar Commitment is limited to tuition and mandatory fees only; however, there are additional grant and scholarship funds available to help with the other costs of education. Please note that this program is only available for the regular academic year (i.e. Fall and Spring semesters).

Eligibility Requirements for 2011-2012, *Please check back for 2012-2013 program changes, if applicable

In order to be eligible for the Cougar Commitment, you must:

• File your FAFSA by the financial aid priority filing deadline each year (February 15th);
• If applying as an incoming freshman or transfer student, you must apply for admission to the University by January 31st for fall semester or by November 15th for spring semester;
• Be a Washington State resident pursuing your first bachelor's degree;
• Be receiving Pell Grant or Washington State Need Grant;
• Enroll full-time (at least 12 semester credit hours).

In order to renew your Cougar Commitment, you must, in addition to the aforementioned requirements, continue to make Satisfactory Academic Progress towards your degree.

The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (also known as the FSEOG) is designed to assist undergraduate students with the highest level of need. The award ranges from $100 to $4,000 dollars per year, depending on the Student's Expected Family Contribution. This award is a grant and it does not need to be paid back.

Eligibility

• File your FAFSA by the financial aid priority filing deadline each year (February 15th);
• Student must be enrolled at least half-time (6 credits per term).
• Washinton residents must be Pell grant eligible. Non-resident students are eligible for this grant to cover equity.

Eligibility

• File your FAFSA by the financial aid priority filing deadline each year (February 15th);
• Available to undergraduates pursuing their first undergraduate degree and not enrolled in a professional program.
• Students with a prior bachelor's degree cannot be considered.
• Students must be Washington state residents.

Grant Limits

• Awards range depending on the Expected Family Contribution calculated from the FAFSA.

Required Credits

• To receive the maximum award (100%) you must be enrolled in 12 or more credit hours per semester.

Payment

• Institutional awards are paid by the semester, one-half of the annual award for fall term and one-half for spring. If a student attends less than full-time both semesters or attends only one term, they may have Pell eligibility for the following summer term.
• Grants and waivers are credited to the student's account no sooner than the first day of the semester or as soon as the award is ready.

The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate to promote access to post secondary education. For many students, the Pell grant is the cornerstone of their financial aid package. In the interests of transparency, we have listed the table that is used in awarding these grants 2011-12 Pell Chart.

How the Federal Pell Grant Works

Eligibility

• Available to Undergraduates pursuing their first undergraduate degree and not enrolled in a professional program.
• Students with a prior bachelor's degree cannot be considered.

Grant Limits

• Awards range from $659 to $5550 per academic year depending on the Expected Family Contribution calculated from the FAFSA.
• The closer to zero the EFC, the larger the possible award.

Required Credits

• To receive the maximum award (100%) you must be enrolled in 12 or more credit hours per semester.
• If enrolling in 9 to 11 credit hours per semester, you may receive up to 75% of the maximum award.
• If enrolling in 6 to 8 credit hours per semester, you may receive up to 50% of the maximum award.
• A minimum award may be made for students enrolled in less than six credits per term.

Payment

• Pell Grant is paid by the semester, one-half of the annual award for fall term and one-half for spring term. If a student attends less than full-time both semesters or only attends one term, they may have Pell eligibility for the following summer term.
• Pell Grant is credited to the student's account no sooner than the first day of the semester or as soon as the award is ready.
  

The TEACH grant program provides additional funding to students who are interested in careers in Teaching. This is a grant which requires certain conditions to be met to avoid repayment. A unique feature of this new grant is that it will convert to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan if the Service Agreement conditions of the grant are not met. If recipients do not complete this service obligation, all amounts of the TEACH Grants will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan and repaid to the U.S. Department of Education.

Teaching Service Obligation

As a TEACH Grant Recipient, you must agree to:

• Teach as a highly-qualified teacher for at least four academic years within eight calendar years after completing the program for which you received the grant.
• Teach in a “high-need” field (mathematics, science, special education, foreign language, bilingual education, reading specialist, or other “high-need” fields as designated by the state and listed in the Department of Education’s Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide listing.
• Teach in a private or public elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students and listed in the Department of Education’s Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits.

Counseling and Agreement to Serve

Students interested in receiving a TEACH grant must receive initial, subsequent and exit counseling. The counseling requirement for WSU will be online and will cover your rights and responsibilities as a recipient. In addition, you must sign an Agreement to Serve (ATS) every year before the grant can be disbursed. The ATS specifies the conditions under which the grant will be awarded and the teaching service requirements listed above. In signing, you are acknowledging that if you do not meet the teaching service requirements you will repay the grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan with interest accrued from the date the grant funds were disbursed.

TEACH Grant Amount

The TEACH Grant Program provides up to $4,000 per scheduled award year ($16,000 total for an undergraduates; $8,000 for graduates). If you are enrolled less than full-time (12 credits for undergraduates; 10 credits for graduates) you will receive a pro-rated amount. Please note: the amount of the TEACH grant is considered a resource toward determining your eligibility for other aid.

Eligibility Requirements

• You must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Please note that financial need is not required.
• You must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
• You must be accepted and enrolled in an eligible undergraduate or graduate program with WSU’s College of Education. 
• You must have a cumulative WSU GPA of a least 3.25 at time of disbursement. New transfer students must have at least a 3.25 cumulative transfer GPA. 
• You must complete online counseling each year you receive the grant and/or when you cease to be enrolled less than half-time. 
• You must sign an “Agreement to Serve” each year you receive the grant.

Anticipated Notification and Award Timeline

Selected students are notified of possible TEACH Grant eligibility through a zzusis portal notice. At that time, you will be directed to the online counseling tool. If you are interested in receiving the TEACH grant, please follow the instructions to complete this requirement. 

Once we have received confirmation that you have completed the counseling, we will verify your eligibility for the grant.  If you meet all criteria as listed above, we will award the grant for the applicable semesters.  At that time you will also be directed to complete the Agreement to Serve (ATS). Once we receive notification you have signed the ATS, we will release the grant. Please note that in some cases, your financial aid (typically loans) will be adjusted to account for the additional funding.

In order to assist Washington state residents afford their education, the state of Washington has allocated significant resources to the State Need Grant program. In the interests of transparency, the Washington State State Need Grant table used for the awarding process is listed here (2011-2012). Please keep in mind that this table is the actual document used in awarding students. As such, the abbreviations and acronyms can be confusing. As always, please contact us with any questions.

Award Amounts

• Funding is provided from state appropriations and federal matching monies through the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) program.

• Award amounts vary each year dependent upon available funds. 

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:

• File your FAFSA by the financial aid priority filing deadline each year (February 15th);

• Have a family income of equal to or less than 70 percent of the state median (see chart listed above);

• Be a Washington State resident;

• Enroll as an undergraduate student in an eligible program, at a minimum of 6 credits; and

• Be pursuing a certificate, bachelor’s degree, or first associate degree; and

• Not be pursuing a degree in theology.

Eligible students with family incomes between 51 and 65 percent of the median receive three-quarters of the maximum full-time grant. Eligible students with family incomes between 66 and 70 percent of the median receive half of the maximum full-time grant.

Conditions of Award

1. You do not owe a refund or repayment on a State Need Grant, a Pell Grant, or a Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant, nor are you in default on a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under the Perkins, National Direct, or Federal Family Education Loan programs.  In addition, you are not in default on a loan made through a state conditional loan or a conditional scholarship program.

2. This grant is awarded to assist in meeting your educational expenses; and should you withdraw from classes, repayment of all or a part of the grant may be required.

3. You can choose to voluntarily make financial contributions to the Higher Education Coordinating Board in recognition of this State Need Grant.  All voluntary contributions will be used to provide financial assistance to other students.

4. The offer of a State Need Grant is subject to and conditioned upon the availability of funds.  The Higher Education Coordinating Board and the institution through which this grant is awarded, reserve the right to withdraw, reduce, or modify the grant due to funding limitations or due to changes in circumstances which affect your eligibility for the State Need Grant.

5. You are not pursing a degree in theology.

More Information

For more information, please consult the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) at their web site or contacting them at finaid@hecb.wa.gov or 360.753.7850.