Institutional Scholarship Policy

Institutional Scholarship Policy

Institutional scholarships and grants are awarded for four years to students who began as freshmen at Dominican University and are continuously enrolled. Transfer students are eligible for institutional scholarships and grants for three years if continuously enrolled. Institutional scholarships are not awarded in the summer term. Institutional grants may be replaced with donor funded scholarships when students demonstrate strong academic merit and financial need. No overall reductions in a student's total aid award will occur when these adjustments take place. Students who receive donor funded scholarships may be asked to write a thank you letter and attend the annual scholarship brunch. Scholarships are awarded to students enrolled full time. Students who have an extenuating circumstance that requires part-time enrollment (6–11 credit hours) in a semester must contact the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@dom.edu to discuss their scholarship eligibility and if warranted, the appeal process.

Please note that students who receive the Presidential or Dean’s scholarship need to maintain a 3.0 or greater cumulative GPA to remain eligible for their scholarship. GPAs are reviewed at the end of the spring semester each year and students who are not meeting the GPA requirement are notified that they have one year to raise their GPA to the 3.0 requirement. Students who fail to raise their GPA to the minimum requirement after that year will have their merit scholarship reduced to the Founder’s scholarship award amount for the year in which they entered the University. Students do have the right to appeal for an additional one or two semester extension as they attempt to meet the minimum GPA requirement. Details on the appeal process are shared when a student is notified they are no longer meeting the GPA requirements. 

Students who need an additional one or two terms to complete their degree requirements may petition for consideration of an extension of institutional aid. In order to petition, please complete the following steps:

• Write an appeal letter explaining why the additional time is needed and what extenuating circumstances led to a delay in graduating. Letters should be sent to finaid@dom.edu 
• Contact your academic advisor to secure a letter of recommendation regarding the appeal. Advisors should email them directly to the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@dom.edu 

Appeal decisions will be sent to the student's DU email address. Appeals should be received at least four weeks prior to the term start for which the extension is being applied. Please note that students must sign up for the university’s payment plan if an institutional aid extension is approved.

Students enrolled in the joint undergraduate degree program with IIT receive their scholarships for five years.

Appeals for a sixth year are not an option.

Please note that if a student withdraws from classes during a term and their tuition is prorated, institutional scholarship awards will be prorated as well to reflect the percentage of tuition being charged.

Students receiving an institutional scholarship and are eligible for an alumni discount will have the scholarship subtracted from tuition charges before the discount is calculated.