PLEASE NOTE:

• You must be fully admitted to qualify for scholarship opportunities.

• You must be an active “Degree-Seeking” student to apply for scholarship opportunities.

• Make sure your major is current in your PAWS Account.

• All scholarships require full-time status unless otherwise indicated.

• To be considered for any need-based scholarships, you must have your current FAFSA completed for the award year in which you are applying, prior to the scholarship opportunity deadline to be considered.

• A minimum 2.0 GPA is required for undergraduates and a minimum 3.0 GPA is required for graduate and professional students unless otherwise indicated. GPA requirements vary.

• If a LETTER OF REFERENCE is required, you will have 7 days after the application deadline to make sure it is received for scholarship consideration.

Please be prepared to provide essays, e-mail addresses of individuals who will be providing required reference letters or other documents that may be required. These documents, excluding the letters of reference (see above), must be uploaded to your online application by the scholarship opportunity deadline. The application will state if letters of reference, essays, etc. are required for a scholarship. All document attachments become the property of JSU and will not be returned.

You will want to check JSU Scholarships regularly as new scholarship opportunities are added throughout the year. If you encounter problems or have questions while using JSU Scholarships, please view the If selected for a scholarship award, award notification will be sent to your JSU E-mail or your current mailing address as listed in PAWS. Students are encouraged to monitor these sources for award information. If you are not selected you will receive no such notice.

The following students are encouraged to access JSU Scholarships

• Entering Freshmen with no less than a 2.0 high school GPA who have been FULLY admitted to Idaho State University as degree-seeking students.

• New Transfer students with at least a cumulative transfer GPA of 2.0 who have been FULLY admitted to Jackson State University as degree-seeking students.

• Continuing Undergraduate students, active in a JSU program, with at least a cumulative JSU undergraduate GPA of 2.0.

• Graduate students, active in a JSU graduate program, with at least a cumulative GPA of 3.0.

You must be fully admitted and maintain full-time enrollment in a JSU program to be eligible to receive JSU scholarship awards. A small handful of scholarships allow less than full-time status and will be clearly indicated as such in the description.

Checking the Status of Scholarships in which you applied for in JSU Scholarships:

In JSU Scholarships, students can check the status of scholarships in which they have applied to. Once logged into JSU Scholarships go to the main page that shows your “general application”. Scroll to the bottom and you will see the status of your scholarships within that award cycle.

Submitted = Still in Review
Not Selected for Award = you were not chosen for the award at this time
Awarded = you received an award. Instructions were e-mailed to you, you need to click on this opportunity and accept your award, etc.
NO Log-In Access to JSU Scholarships?
For High School Counselors or others who would like to view a list of available scholarship opportunities but DO NOT have JSU Scholarships log-in capabilities, please visit: https://jsums.academicworks.com/ If you click on the opportunity you can view the requirements.

/// Specific questions regarding your admission application should be directed as follows:

// Undergraduate Admissions:
Entering Freshmen
Transfer Students

// Graduate School Admissions:
New Graduate Students
**Incoming (first-time) Freshmen, Transfer, and International Students should be fully admitted and activate their NetID to log in to JSU Scholarships.
If you've been offered a scholarship from JSU or are to be the recipient of an outside scholarship, you must read the information below:

/// Accepting Scholarships

In JSU Scholarships: Please refer to "How to Check & Accept your Scholarships". In addition, scholarships in JSU Scholarships require students to accept and complete all requirements within one (1) month of the offer date. Students who do not meet this deadline may have their scholarship cancelled and awarded to another student. You cannot accept these in PAWS.

// By Mail: Please refer to "How to Check & Accept your Scholarships". If you receive an award letter in the mail, please note the deadline date. You must return the required acceptance form and/or thank you letter by the deadline or the scholarship will be cancelled and awarded to another student. You cannot accept these in PAWS or JSU Scholarships.

// Full-time Enrollment Requirement -- Most scholarships at JSU require that a student carry a full-time credit load. That is defined as registering for, and successfully completing, a minimum of 12 credits each semester (24 credits per academic year) for undergraduates and 9 credits each semester (18 credits per academic year) for graduate students, unless otherwise stated. Please note that audit courses will not count toward meeting minimum credit requirements. You must be registered at the full-time credit level at the time of disbursement.

// Scholarships are Part of Financial Aid -- When you receive a scholarship (whether institutional funds or outside funds) at JSU, it is considered part of your total Financial Aid package. It will be counted as part of the aid you have available to meet the total cost of education as determined by the Federal Financial Aid process. It will not reduce any gift aid such as PELL Grant or State Grants, but it may reduce loan or college work study amounts, depending on the individual situation.

// All scholarships have some minimum criteria -- The most common are a minimum grade point average (GPA) and full time credit levels. Some scholarships require maintenance of a certain major or other unique criteria. Please read your award letter carefully and keep a copy of the letter and/or acceptance form for your records. Minimum criteria must be met before each new disbursal.

// Limit of Institutional Scholarship Funding to Individual Students -- JSU does not permit a student to receive institutional scholarships in conjunction with other outside scholarships in excess of that student’s cost of attendance (COA), unless otherwise allowed. If a combination of all sources of aid exceeds the student’s COA, JSU will reduce aid to keep the student within their COA. If federal funds are involved the standard federal tolerance will be allowed. Federal guidelines to reduce funds will be followed for students receiving federal funds. We may ultimately need to reduce institutional scholarships as well. (Scholarships have no impact on Pell Grant eligibility or amounts.) Institutional scholarships awarded above a student’s Cost of Attendance will be canceled and awarded to other deserving students. Figures are based on estimated Cost of Attendance as determined by the JSU Financial Aid Office. The COA is an estimated calculation of a student’s tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, transportation, and personal expenses for the period of enrollment. The cost of attendance is reviewed each year.

// Calculated GPA -- When determining eligibility and/or renewal for certain scholarships, JSU uses the Institutional (JSU) GPA for such calculations; not the overall GPA.

// Eligibility for Annual Renewal of Multi-Year Scholarships -- Students receiving multi-year scholarships are checked at the end of the Spring semester to determine if they are eligible for continuation of the award in the next academic year. We are checking to see if students met minimum criteria while receiving the award during the current academic year (successfully completed at least 15 credits each semester or 30 credits for the academic year, achieved the minimum GPA required, and any other criteria outlined for the scholarship) . Please note that repeated courses will not count toward meeting minimum credit requirements. If a student has a deficiency (credits or GPA), we typically allow them the summer to make up the deficiency. If you are a scholarship recipient who may be in jeopardy of not meeting minimum criteria for your scholarship, please contact the Scholarship Office to inquire about the consequences and your options. When a student fails to meet all renewal criteria, the award is cancelled and will no longer be available to the student.

// Holding Scholarships -- Jackson State University will hold students' scholarships if a student's attendance at JSU is interrupted for medical reasons, military deployment, or other select reasons, provided that a student meets certain criteria.

// Outside Scholarships -- If you are receiving an outside scholarship, it will be processed through the JSU Financial Aid Office. When we receive a check for a student from an outside source, we will send you notification of the scholarship (usually via your JSU e-mail or PAWS account) and any minimum requirements. Please keep your e-mail address current so notifications can reach you. Funds will then be loaded on the student's behalf just like institutional scholarship awards. You may be asked to come to the Financial Aid or Business Office to endorse a check as some are made out to JSU and the student. Please do this as soon as possible so funds can be processed in a timely manner. Outside awards are also considered part of a student's total Financial Aid Package.

// JSU Reserves the Right to Change a JSU Scholarship Offer -- The JSU Scholarship Office sometimes changes the funding source of JSU scholarships which can result in changes to the name of a student's scholarship when viewed on the PAWS web portal, and on the Financial Aid tab of PAWS and other University documents. Such changes will NOT reduce the amount of a student's scholarship, and in some cases, may actually result in an increase to a student's scholarship amount. An example of this might be: When a student is offered a Tuition Scholarship, in the event that the tuition fee increases for the academic year your scholarship will also increase. Feel free to contact the ISU Scholarship Office if you have any questions or concerns about any changes to your scholarship.

// Student Athletes Receiving Institutional Academic Scholarships -- Student athletes who have been offered an academic scholarship should discuss the award with their coach to determine whether or not the student athlete can accept the award. Under NCAA rules, student athletes are limited in the amount of institutional aid they can receive. Institutional aid includes both athletic scholarships AND institutional academic scholarships.

// How Scholarships are Disbursed -- If all of your requirements have been completed on your "Scholarship Acceptance Form" your aid will automatically distribute. If requirements have not been met (i.e. Thank you letters to donors) your aid will not distribute until this has been met. Please see the JSU Financial Aid Office.