Merit-Based Scholarships Eligibility
Once you are admitted as a first-time, full-time freshman, your academic records such as SAT/ACT scores and high school GPA, are reviewed to determine your eligibility for NJIT scholarships; however, to be considered for additional scholarship funds, you must send your request via email to Mr. Stephen Eck at eck@njit.edu along with copies of your other offers. Also, many scholarships require that you demonstrate financial need. To be considered for need-based scholarships, you must also have a processed FAFSA on file for the academic year. Scholarship application forms are available here. Please be advised that the combination of grants and scholarships, generally, cannot exceed the student charges the scholarship was intended to pay such as tuition and fees; and if so, the scholarship amounts may be reduced when other aid on the package already funds such charges.
Most merit-based scholarship programs require that you be enrolled full time and maintain a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0. Most scholarships are renewable, but some are not. To continue receiving renewable scholarships, you must continue to meet the scholarship criteria as set forth in the scholarship agreement. However, because some external scholarships funds are determined by the value from the market, there could be occasions where a scholarship may have funds one year and not in a subsequent year if the market is unfavorable. Students will be notified if they are impacted ahead of time so that other options are explored.
For most scholarship programs, NJIT monitors whether a scholarship can be renewed after the spring semester. General scholarship requirements are the following:
- Continuous full-time enrollment;
- Meet the standards of Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as outlined here.
- Maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA (at time of the annual review in June) and attain a minimum 3.0 GPA for each and every semester;
- Not exceed the maximum terms (4-years for non-Architect students and 5-years for Architect students and 3 years for accelerated programs), including the number of years/semesters you have already taken.
- Combination of grants and scholarships awards does not exceed student bill tuition charges or the amount the funds were intended to pay for. The detailed scholarship policy can be found here.
If you are a scholarship recipient and are no longer meeting the scholarship criteria, you are given notification and provided scholarship appeal procedures. Students can only appeal once for a scholarship reinstatement – no second or further appeals requests will be granted. Note that the scholarship appeal process differs and is separate from the SAP appeal process described in “Section X. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy.”
Scholarship Universe
NJIT invested in a scholarship software to assist students find external scholarships to help meet their educational expenses. The Scholarship Universe software allows students to precisely locate scholarships that meet the student’s academic profile. Student’s with a UCID account can access the software to begin their search. Once students apply, they are taken to the external organization for further follow-up. You can apply here.
Scholarship Policies
Uniform Awarding and Application of Payment
Effective Fall 2018, the process for awarding and applying funds to the student account will follow the below Uniform Awarding and Application of Payment procedure. When instituting this order, awards will not exceed the charges intended to fund factoring in other awards that are part of the package.
- Direct Charge and Award Lines
- Tuition-Aid-Grants
- Third Party Contracts/External Scholarships*
- NJIT Scholarships (Processed by Student Financial Aid Services)
- Donors
- Tuition Only
- Tuition and Fees
- Donor supported up to tuition, fees, room and board
- Donor supported up to cost of attendance
- Institutional
- Tuition Only
- Tuition and Fees
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
- Federal Pell Grant
- Athletic Aid
- Mandated State Waivers (National Guard, Unemployment)
- NJIT Tuition Remission
- Student Loans
- Student Payments
- Donors
*Click here for a glossary of terms
* External third party contracts/awards may supersede this order since third party contracts/awards may indicate a specific application of payment (e.g. Tuition, fees etc.). External (third party) scholarships without any indication from the external agency as to application of payment will be processed so that the combination of the external and other relevant grants and scholarships will not produce a credit but will be applied to pay tuition, fees, and on-campus room and board, if applicable. Other external prestigious awards such as the Bauder, Goldwater, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, Fulbright and Cambridge awards, will have an award cap up to tuition, fees, room, meals and an NJIT Bookstore credit up to $1,200. No cash award will be provided.
The award renewal and application of payment procedure for previous donor-sponsored scholarship recipients where the scholarship intent was unspecified, will follow the previous process as they will be “grandfathered” until graduation, provided the student meets the general scholarship eligibility requirements. The award terms and conditions are accessible on the student’s Highlander Pipeline portal Financial Aid Self-Service Awards section. Although prior recipients of donor-sponsored scholarship awards with unspecified intent will be grandfathered, all new Fall 2018 awards will follow the Uniform Awarding and Application of Payment procedure. Any scholarship with unspecified purpose will be applied towards tuition, tuition-related fees, and on-campus room and board minus other awards that already cover these charges. However, If the student is a recipient of an NJIT institutional scholarship and was selected to receive a donor-sponsored scholarship, and both awards duplicate the benefit, the institutional award will be reduced first to correct the over award.
Combining Scholarship Awards/Scholarship Over awards
In general, the total amount a student is awarded cannot exceed the charges the award intended to pay. In some instances, when tuition-based grants (like TAG Grants) and NJIT tuition-based scholarships are part of the package, students are limited to receiving these awards up to the cost of tuition. While other NJIT merit scholarships (like Honors scholarship and Freshmen Highlander Scholarships) are restricted to tuition and fees, the combination of other tuition and fee based awards cannot exceed the value of tuition and fees. Federal Pell or SEOG Grants are never reduced in the context of scholarship awarding as the fund can pay up to the cost of attendance.
Outside Scholarships
External scholarships from private organizations may also be restricted to specific expenses by the organization awarding it, and the Office of Student Financial Aid working in conjunction with the Bursar’s Office will apply the scholarships accordingly. This could reduce previously awarded funds. Depending on the type of award and the purpose for the external scholarship, institutional and donor-sponsored scholarships may be reduced to correct the excess. For example, if an outside scholarship is received and it specifies the funds should be used for tuition and an NJIT merit scholarship is already covering tuition, the NJIT merit scholarship will be reduced to factor in the outside scholarship.
On-Campus Housing
For scholarship awarding purposes, on-campus housing constitutes on-campus dorms and the Greek Village as they are owned and/or operated by NJIT. University Centre is not considered on-campus for awarding purposes.
Renewal Process/ Award Selections
To provide adequate time for students and families to plan for their educational expenses, timely awards are necessary. To that end, all scholarship selections from academic departments must be completed no later than June 30 for the upcoming fiscal year. All donor-sponsored scholarships are expected to be renewed provided there is funding and prior recipients continue to meet the scholarship criteria as specified on the scholarship agreement. The University recognizes the value of scholarship renewals as it provides continuous student financial support.
Application of Payment Policy
Further details on the University’s policy for Application of Payment can be found at: http://www.njit.edu/bursar/application-payment/
