Aid Retention Policy

 

  1. All full time students are expected to register and enroll in twelve 1/3 unit classes per academic year. The more classes a student successfully completes (up to a maximum of 12 courses) during terms A-D, the more the student’s grant/scholarship eligibility is maintained for the next academic year.

    Attempting but not successfully completing courses and project work will reduce financial aid. Please note that advanced placement, transfer credit, incompletes, or extensions cannot be counted in the determination of units completed. The student is responsible for resolution of incompletes with the faculty member assigning the grade.

  2. Eligibility for consideration for all types of financial aid for the following academic year is lost if a student is placed on Academic Probation (end of B or D term).
  3. Regardless of academic progress status, eligibility for financial assistance (with the exception of the Federal Stafford Loan) is available for the shorter of the two following periods; 16 terms (4 years) of enrollment at WPI** or completion of your Bachelor Degree requirements at WPI.
    **16 terms (4 years) of enrollment and not 16 terms (4 years) of receiving financial aid.

  4. If you receive scholarships/grants, loans of all forms and/or federal work study, you must be registered as a full-time student. You are charged tuition and fees based upon full-time status and that serves as the basis for annual financial aid eligibility determinations.

    You are responsible for knowing your enrollment and academic status and working with an academic advisor to register and enroll for the necessary units to maintain eligibility for financial aid.

Financial Aid Petitions

Students who have seen a reduction in their financial aid or have lost their financial aid due to their academic performance may, in cases which involve unusual and extenuating circumstances (i.e. documented medical problems) file a financial aid petition with the WPI Office of Financial aid.  The financial aid petition will be reviewed by the Financial Aid Appeals Committee which is comprised of academic administrators.  Decisions on financial aid petitions will be made on a case by case basis.

Please note:  While choosing to double major at WPI is an option available to students, it is not a requirement to graduate.  Listing a double major as the reason for requesting institutional aid beyond the 16 term (or 4 year) limit is not considered an extenuating circumstance and will not be approved.

Deadlines

Fall semester:  If you are petitioning for financial aid for the fall semester, you need to submit your Financial Aid Petition [pdf] to the WPI Office of Financial Aid before the end of the first day of A term classes.

Spring Semester:  If you are petitioning for financial aid for the spring semester, you need to submit your Financial Aid Petition [pdf] to the WPI Office of Financial Aid before the end of the first day of C term classes.

Depending on how close to the start of classes you submit your financial aid petition, you may not receive an answer on the status of your petition until after classes and tuition bills are due.  Because of this, our office highly recommends that you make arrangements to pay the bill in full.  If your petition is approved, your account will be credited for the funds for which you are awarded.
 

WPI Need Based Scholarships

WPI scholarships and grants awarded to students will not increase in future academic years; regardless of changes in a student’s financial need. Conversely, students’ WPI need based scholarships and grants can decrease based on a lower financial need and/or poor academic performance (from the prior academic year). Because of this, it is extremely important that students monitor the number of classes they pass each academic year.

If you do not pass a minimum of eleven classes during the previous academic year, you can take advantage of WPI’s new summer policy which allows you to take up to two classes during E-term at WPI and have these successfully passed credits count toward your WPI Need Based Scholarship renewal criteria for the subsequent academic year (historically, only coursework completed during terms A-D could be considered for merit renewal for the next academic year).  Please note, courses taken at other institutions during the summer will not count towards this policy.  

IMPORTANT

Any change made to your WPI Need Based Scholarship based on your successful summer class enrollment cannot be made until your grades have been officially posted by the WPI Registrar’s Office.  It is the student’s responsibility to make the WPI Office of Financial Aid aware of these grade postings.

Please note that your academic standing will not change based on summer class participation (with the exception of approved Summer Bridge participants).  

Students placed on Academic Probation or Suspension are not allowed to participate in this new WPI Need Based Scholarship policy (with the exception of approved Summer Bridge participants).

WPI Merit Scholarships

WPI merit scholarships will not increase or decrease based on changes to a student's financial need. However, a student's merit scholarship will decrease or be eliminated if a student does not meet the renewal criteria to maintain these scholarships.  

Your WPI Merit Scholarship will not be eliminated in future academic years if you fail to pass the minimum eleven classes in the prior academic year. If you pass less than eleven courses, the value of your WPI Merit Scholarship will be reduced based on the number of classes you pass during the prior academic year allowing you to keep a portion of your award rather than losing it altogether. Your award will be eliminated only if you are placed on Academic Probation, Suspension,  or if your enrollment falls below full-time status.

Additionally, if you improve your academic performance (i.e. you pass more classes in subsequent academic years after your WPI Merit Scholarship has been reduced), your WPI Merit Scholarship will be increased based on the number of classes you passed (up to your original WPI Merit Scholarship value). What this means is you are able to “earn back” your WPI Merit Scholarship in future academic years even if it is reduced in prior years.

Second, recipients of a WPI Merit Scholarship can take advantage of WPI’s summer policy which allows you to take up to two classes during E-term at WPI and have these successfully passed credits count toward your WPI Merit Scholarship renewal criteria for the upcoming academic year (historically, only coursework completed during the prior A-D terms could be considered for merit renewal for the next academic year).  Please note, courses taken at other institutions during the summer will not count towards this policy.    

IMPORTANT!!!!

Any change made to your WPI Merit Scholarship based on your successful summer class enrollment cannot be made until your grades have been officially posted.  It is the student’s responsibility to make the WPI Office of Financial Aid aware of these grade postings.

*WPI Merit Scholarships are defined as the following:

Chem/BioChem Scholarship, Dean’s Scholarship, DSST Scholarship, First Paul Allaire Future Engineering Leadership Scholarship, First Design Innovation Scholarship, Institute Scholarship,Marshall/Chavez/Means Scholarship, Massachusetts Science Fair Scholarship, Massachusetts Council on Youth Leadership, Medical Professions Scholarship, Merit Scholarship, National Achievement Scholarship, National Hispanic Recognition Scholarship, NCSSSMST Scholarship, Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship, Presidential Scholarship, Trustees Scholarship,University Award

**Academic courses are defined as classes worth one third of a WPI academic unit.

Please Note: With the exception of the Federal Stafford Loan, financial aid is not available for enrollment during term E (Summer School) at WPI. This includes all forms of assistance including WPI Merit Scholarships. If you enroll during term E and borrow a Federal Stafford Loan, the amount you borrow will be reduced from your Federal Stafford Loan eligibility for the next academic year (terms A-D).

Maintained by webmaster@wpi.edu
Last modified: August 12, 2011 10:18:20