Tulane Scholarship (Tulane need-based scholarship) is awarded on the basis of both need and merit to certain full-time division undergraduate students pursuing a first undergraduate degree.
The scholarship may be awarded for fall and/or spring semesters to such students attending on a full-time basis and assessed tuition at the standard Tulane full-time undergraduate division rate. Merit is considered in determining the proportion of scholarship in the total aid package. Scholarship recipients must maintain a 2.300 cumulative grade point average (GPA) and continuous full-time undergraduate primary enrollment in a full-time undergraduate division for continued consideration. The scholarship is not applicable to summer semesters, and is not available to students enrolled in the School of Professional Advancement.
Students must complete/submit the following to be considered for Tulane Scholarship:
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)*
- College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile*
- Non-Custodial Parent (NCP) CSS Profile* (when parents are divorced)
- Copies of all requested parent federal income tax returns including all schedules and W-2 forms*
- Any other requested documentation
*Not applicable to international students, who must only complete the CSS International Profile.
Please note that Tulane Scholarship will be reduced if and when other institutional gift aid is added, with very few exceptions (such as the Tulane Marching Band Scholarship). Total financial aid award, including Tulane Scholarship, cannot exceed a student's Cost of Attendance as established by Tulane. Furthermore, Tulane Scholarship cannot exceed a student's institutional financial need, which is defined as the Cost of Attendance less the student's determined expected family contribution using Tulane’s institutional methodology and less any other gift aid received (such as outside scholarships). This formula is consistently used to adjust Tulane Scholarship when there are changes to the Cost of Attendance, the expected family contribution, and/or information concerning other gift aid, even if changes occur after need-based Tulane Scholarship was originally offered. Any Tulane Scholarship offered prior to our receipt and review of all documentation necessary for the confirmation of financial need (such as required verification and/or validation documents, sibling enrollment verification, or notification of outside scholarships/awards) means that the Tulane Scholarship offer is considered tentative.
Continuing full-time undergraduates must have maintained and completed full-time enrollment during the prior academic year AND also must have achieved a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.30 to remain eligible for Tulane Scholarship consideration in a subsequent academic year. For more details regarding the academic requirements for retaining Tulane Scholarship, please refer to the applicable sections below and in Tulane’s “A Comprehensive Guide to Undergraduate Financial Aid” for the appropriate year. A student is expected to graduate within the normal number of semesters required for their specific undergraduate degree program in which he or she is enrolled (examples: graduate within eight semesters in the Newcomb-Tulane College, Schools of Liberal Arts, Science and Engineering, Business, Public Health, or within ten semesters in the School of Architecture). Tulane’s policy is to consider applicants for Tulane Scholarship only for the required number of semesters in any given program, whether or not a student enrolls for semesters in another curriculum and/or enrolls for semesters during which no Tulane Scholarship was received. In unusual circumstances, we may consider up to two additional semesters of eligibility.
Seniors in their final semester before graduation who are not required to enroll on a full-time basis in order to obtain the necessary completed credit hours to graduate (and who are being charged undergraduate tuition at on a pro-rated standard full-time undergraduate division amount) may still receive a portion of the tuition scholarship, but the amount will be adjusted to reflect the reduction in undergraduate tuition and fees from the full-time rate for the semester's need calculation.
The Tulane Financial Aid Office will often attempt to automatically adjust a student's institutional satisfactory academic progress status when grades are changed or finally reported; however, re-evaluation adjustments may not always occur automatically, and therefore students should make a special request to the Tulane Financial Aid Office for a re-evaluation of their scholarship retention eligibility when there is a change or submission of grades. In such cases, grades must be reflected on Tulane's student records system prior to a review of a student's status. For any grade change (for example, a prior grade of "I" incomplete or “XX” ungraded that has now been assigned a traditional letter grade), a student is responsible for notifying the Tulane Financial Aid Office of such a change and requesting a review of their scholarship eligibility evaluation. Note that such a review is not considered an appeal, and may not always result in eligibility for scholarship (for example, if a processing deadline has passed, or if other requirements are not met).
Notice of Conditional Year Status
Students not meeting the criteria of maintaining the required minimum GPA and/or full-time enrollment standards but who qualify for "Conditional Year" status will see reference via the Tulane Gibson portal of their status regarding receipt of their "Conditional Year" for Tulane need-based scholarship under the "Satisfied Requirements" listing. A "Conditional Year" is a one-time extension of Tulane Scholarship receipt for those otherwise eligible consisting of one conditional semester of receipt, and a second semester ONLY if certain conditions are met. Note: A student may receive only one "Conditional Year."
Tulane Scholarship Conditional Year
If a student otherwise eligible for a Tulane Scholarship has a cumulative GPA which falls below 2.300 at the end of any academic year AND/OR drops to less than full-time enrollment during a semester, Tulane Scholarship may be awarded for a future semester/s on a conditional basis.
A "conditional basis" is defined as a Conditional Year, during which the first (usually fall) semester portion of Tulane Scholarship will disburse, provided the student is meeting all other eligibility criteria, but the second (usually spring) semester portion will disburse ONLY if the student meets certain academic conditions, described below.
The academic conditions required for the disbursement of the second (usually spring) semester of Tulane Scholarship are the achievement of at least a 2.300 GPA for the first (usually fall) semester and the maintenance of full-time enrollment for both the first and second semesters. Please note that the student's overall cumulative GPA does not need to be at 2.300 or higher, ONLY the GPA earned for the first (usually fall) semester of the Conditional Year. On the other hand, second semester (usually spring) scholarship will be canceled and NOT disbursed for students who did not achieve at least a 2.300 GPA for the first (usually fall) semester and/or who did not maintain full-time enrollment. A decision to cancel scholarship based on the failure to make a 2.300 GPA during the first semester of the Conditional Year CANNOT be appealed. Students will be informed by e-mail and/or mail of a decision to cancel scholarship.
Support Available to Students
Students are encouraged to seek assistance from various resources offered by Tulane, such as Academic Advising and/or University Health Services, as appropriate: students are urged to take advantage of any sources of assistance offered by the University that might help improve their academic performance.
Loss of Scholarship at End of Conditional Year
At the conclusion of the Conditional Year, Tulane evaluates a student's academic performance to determine if a student enrolled and completed a full-time course load each semester of the Conditional Year AND to see if the student has now earned a cumulative overall GPA of 2.300 or higher. Failure to successfully complete these criteria will result in the loss of Tulane Scholarship with one exception (please review the "Probationary Status" criteria below for the only exception to this rule). The loss of Tulane Scholarship means that a student will not be awarded Tulane Scholarship for the next academic year. Students will be informed of this decision by e-mail and/or mail. A student who attends summer school may NOT retain Tulane Scholarship eligibility by achieving a cumulative 2.300 GPA for the year with summer school grades included. A student who loses eligibility for Tulane Scholarship may reapply for this need-based resource after one academic year if the student has achieved an overall cumulative GPA of 2.300 during a period of full-time enrollment, meaning that the student must enroll and complete 12 credit hours or more each semester of the academic year.
Probationary Status
If at the conclusion of the Conditional Year a student has completed a full-time course load each semester of the Conditional Year, has not earned an overall cumulative GPA of 2.300 or higher, but has earned a GPA for the two semesters of the Conditional Year combined of at least 2.300, the student will be granted Probationary Status. Probationary Status allows the student who is otherwise eligible to be awarded Tulane Scholarship for the subsequent fall or spring semester. It also allows the student to be re-evaluated on a fall or spring semester-by-semester basis going forward to determine if probationary satisfactory academic progress continues (defined as maintaining full-time enrollment and earning a GPA of at least 2.300 for the semester). Tulane Scholarship will continue on a Probationary Status until a student either achieves a cumulative GPA of 2.300 or higher (in which case eligibility for Tulane Scholarship consideration is reinstated) OR fails to meet the aforementioned probationary satisfactory academic progress criteria (in which case eligibility for Tulane Scholarship is lost).
Deadline for Resolving Grade Issues
Any grades of "incomplete" or disputed grades must be resolved within six weeks of the start of the next academic semester in order to either release a student from the requirement of completing a Conditional Year or to retain Tulane Scholarship after completing a conditional year. A decision to require a student to complete a Conditional Year or to deny Tulane Scholarship at the end of a Conditional Year is made at the conclusion of that academic year based on the student's GPA and number of enrolled credit hours. This decision will not be affected if a course is repeated after either of these criteria is determined.
Additional Conditional Year Information
Students who are late in either the initiation and/or completion of their application for Tulane Scholarship for the upcoming year are still held responsible for meeting all of the deadlines and academic conditions of this policy. A student loses the opportunity to complete a Conditional Year if the Conditional Year is not completed within two academic years after the student first was identified of their Conditional Year status.
Appeal Procedure
A student may appeal loss of Tulane Scholarship to the Financial Aid Office. However, the decision to cancel Tulane Scholarship based on the failure to make a 2.300 GPA during the first semester of the conditional year CANNOT be appealed. The basis of the appeal must be extraordinary circumstances that were beyond the student's control during the Conditional Year, such as a serious, extended physical or mental condition. On appeal a student must present documentation that the student's academic performance was affected during the conditional year by a serious physical or mental condition. Documentation from an academic advisor or from a private physician (channeled through University Health Service) must attest that the physical or mental problems were beyond the student's control during the Conditional Year and that the student has now made significant progress in addressing these problems and can be reasonably expected to achieve the required academic standing if Probationary Status for Tulane Scholarship receipt is granted.
An appeal may or may not be granted. If the appeal is granted, financial aid for the student will be recalculated and the student will be notified by e-mail and/or mail of his/her award. An award of Tulane Scholarship may made under a Probationary Status. If the appeal is not granted, the student may reapply for Tulane Scholarship aid after one year if the student has achieved an overall cumulative GPA of at least 2.300 with a minimum of 12 hours completed each semester. At that time, an award of Tulane Scholarship may be made assuming the student still demonstrates a financial need.
Conditional Year Limitation
If a student who successfully completes a Conditional Year and retains Tulane Scholarship ultimately falls below a 2.300 GPA and/or completes less than 12 hours a semester for any subsequent academic year, the student will NOT be given another Conditional Year and will not be offered any Tulane Scholarship. A student loses the opportunity to complete a Conditional Year if the Conditional Year is not completed within two academic years after the student first fell below the standard for retention of Tulane Scholarship.
