Requirements and Award Limits

Scholarship Eligibility Requirements

• First-year students must enter directly from high school or homeschool and have less than 14 semester credits completed to be eligible for qualifying scholarships. 
• Transfer students must be pursuing their first bachelor’s degree and have 14 or more semester credits completed after high school to be eligible for qualifying scholarships. 
• Continuous full-time enrollment at the University of Idaho with a minimum of 12 U of I credits is required for all scholarships and tuition waivers. 
• Students may be required to maintain a specific U of I GPA in order to receive and/or renew existing awards or waivers depending on specific award/waiver. 
• For admission and scholarship funding levels, an unweighted GPA from high school must be submitted to be considered for awards. 
  • ACT or SAT (critical reading + math) test scores are used for homeschooled students in place of a GPA. 

Important: criteria and award amounts for scholarship and tuition waiver levels are subject to change. 

Eligibility Requirements for consortium students who attend another school 

Consortium agreements allow U of I degree-seeking students with special circumstances to enroll in another institution for one or two semesters while still receiving U of I financial aid and scholarships. 

Eligibility Requirements for students whose home campus site is other than Moscow 

Students who receive any other individual U of I scholarships awarded on a one-time, non-renewable basis must:

• Enroll full-time for the term (at least 12 credits as undergraduates, 9 credits as graduate students, and 10 credits as law students).
• Enroll in a minimum of 6 credits of U of I classes for the term. 
• Enroll in a degree program offered through the university’s off-campus center.

Award Limits 

Student Financial Aid Services reviews financial aid awards for students who have financial aid and scholarships that equal more than the total cost of attendance.  

• This policy is established to allow students to receive scholarships to pay up to their total cost of education, but not receive more than those required funds to make a profit on attending college.  
• This allows the institution to provide some of the limited funds to other quality students who may not have the resources necessary to attend college.  
• Our office will also review student eligibility for non-resident tuition waiver awards as well as cash scholarships. When adjustments to U of I scholarships and waivers are made, students are notified in their VandalWeb account and provided a reason for the change. 

Below is the approved policy language the university follows in regards to U of I scholarships as it relates to the cost of attendance:

The Financial Aid Office will establish a cost of education for designated categories each year. That cost will consider tuition, fees, books and supplies, housing, meals, miscellaneous costs and transportation. The amount for each category will be reviewed each year. Students may appeal their cost of education in writing to the office if they gave unusual costs for the defined enrollment term. The same guidelines for adjusting the cost of education will be used for federal, state and institutional funds. University of Idaho scholarship funds will not be awarded to a student over the established cost of education. A default standard budget will be set for students who do not apply for federal financial aid, using the standard undergraduate/graduate and resident/nonresident budgets. If a student has other financial aid and/or resources (excluding veterans Chapter 30 benefits, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or like national service programs where benefits are paid after services are performed), the combination of U of I scholarships, financial aid, and resources shall not be greater than the cost of education. Funds awarded above the cost of education will be canceled and re-awarded to other deserving students. 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.