Scholarship Policy

The following requirements pertain to students enrolled at the university with merit awards (First-Year Merit, Co-op, NACME, Possibility, “Free Tuition Plus,” Flagship Match Plus Meals) Go Oswego or Destination Oswego scholarships:

Awards are available to students enrolled in undergraduate programs only and are divided equally between the fall and spring terms, for a maximum of eight consecutive semesters or until the student has earned their bachelor’s degree, whichever is earlier, unless otherwise noted. Students graduating early may not apply “unused portions” of their scholarship(s) to their final semester(s);
Students must attend full-time each semester to maintain their eligibility; in some cases students who have completed full-time coursework at Oswego and subsequently drop to part-time for a given semester may have all or a prorated amount of their award during that part-time term, depending on the total credits attempted and earned during the academic year, the student’s circumstances and/or reason for part-time study, and their cumulative GPA;
Awards are applicable to Oswego study only. Students enrolled in one of the university’s cooperative degree programs who attend another college as part of that program cannot apply their Oswego award to that college’s expenses;
Students whose study at SUNY Oswego is interrupted, lose their award(s) and will have their reinstatement requests considered on a case-by-case basis. Examples of reasons for interruption that warrant reinstatement upon the student’s return are documented leaves for medical reasons or military service;
Continuation of any award requires at least good academic standing, or a minimum cumulative 3.00 GPA, as specified in the student’s award and commitment forms;
Students admitted to one of the university’s 5-year MBA programs may have their merit award during their fourth year, so long as they meet all other criteria of that particular scholarship.
First-Year Online Merit scholarships —
- Recipients must be enrolled in a fully online undergraduate major at SUNY Oswego for a minimum of 12 credits per semester.
- Students enrolled in fully online undergraduate majors are not eligible to receive other First-Year Merit Scholarships.
- Recipients of First-Year Online Merit Online Scholarships are not required to live on campus.
- First-Year Online Merit Online Scholarships may not be combined with Flagship Match Scholarships or Go Oswego Scholarships.
Presidential, Dean and Merit-level / First-Year Merit / “Free Tuition Plus” scholarships — The scholarship will be applied to the recipient’s SUNY Oswego bill to cover expenses other than tuition.
Presidential and Dean-level / First-Year Merit / 100% and 50% “Free Tuition Plus” scholarships — Students entering in or after fall 2020 — Students must live on-campus (see Other important notes below for more information)
Presidential-level / First-Year Merit / “Free Tuition Plus” / Flagship scholarships — Students entering in spring 2023 or fall 2024 — $6,000 annually; Students entering in fall 2023 — Presidential-level awards for students entering in fall 2023 are based on the value of a GREEN unlimited meal plan.
Co-op and NACME scholarships — Students entering in or after fall 2020 — Students must live on-campus (see Other important notes below for more information)
Presidential-level / First-Year Merit scholarships — Students entering in spring 2020 and prior — $5,000 annually for on-campus students; $2,500 per year for students living off-campus.
“Free Tuition Plus” cannot be combined with other Oswego First-Year scholarships.
Flagship Match Plus Meals scholarship recipients must also:
- Reside in the state of California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania or Vermont only;
- Be a non-New York State resident, or otherwise not eligible for in-state tuition;
- Live on-campus (see Other important notes below for more information)
Go Oswego or Destination Oswego scholarship recipients must also:
- Be a non-New York State resident, or otherwise not eligible for in-state tuition;
- Live on-campus (see Other important notes below for more information)
- Flagship Match Scholarships may not be combined with Go Oswego Scholarships.
Transfer Achievement Scholarships awarded prior to 2021 are renewable for only one year consecutive to the initial award.

More important scholarship notes

Scholarships which require students to live on-campus. Please note: If at any time the student moves off-campus they will no longer qualify for this award. Off-campus students may only be eligible under select University Housing Policy exemptions. Students generally exempted are those who: will continue to reside with their parent(s) or legal guardian(s); will continue to reside in their official residence, which is separate from that of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s), and at which they had resided for at least three consecutive months before their acceptance of the admissions offer from the university; are married; or are twenty-one (21) years of age as of September 1 for fall admission or January 1 for spring admission. Housing policies are subject to change. Must meet the above exemption criteria at the time of acceptance or admission.

The university reserves the right to revoke any student’s scholarship at any time who has not met any of the criteria listed.

All students’ scholarships are reviewed at least once, annually (after spring grades are posted).

The 3.00 cumulative GPA minimum standard is measured each year after spring grades are posted.

Students on a documented medical leave from the university or leave to serve in the military can have their requests for scholarship reinstatement reviewed at any time upon their return.

Summer coursework can help a student regain a 3.00 cumulative GPA, but will not change the date a student is eligible for reconsideration, except for students entering their final undergraduate year, or a student whose academic performance was affected by circumstances beyond their control (illness, death in the family). Any summer class(es) should be taken under consultation with the student’s advisor.

SUNY Oswego policies may vary based on the date of entrance to SUNY Oswego and may be subject to point-in-time updates. See your signed commitment form for your agreed terms and details.

While every effort is made to ensure students’ awards are properly applied to their accounts, any errors in scholarship eligibility must be brought to the attention of the university before the end of each academic year in which the error occurred.

Students who lose any scholarship(s) for failing to meet the requirements of their award(s) can appeal for reinstatement after completing one additional year of full-time study at the university, and not sooner unless otherwise noted. Seniors, however, may petition to have their award reinstated mid-year. Petitions for reinstatement must be made in writing to the Office of Admissions Scholarship Program contact listed below.

More important scholarship notes

For scholarship info, or to appeal for scholarship reinstatement, contact:

Office of
Financial Aid

Scholarship Policy

More important scholarship notes

For scholarship info, or to appeal for scholarship reinstatement, contact:

Office ofFinancial Aid

Office of
Financial Aid