Scholarship Policies

Recipients of a merit-based scholarship or grant cannot also receive the Tuition Exchange, South Hadley Town Grant or Mount Holyoke College employee tuition benefit. If you become eligible for one of these funds at a later date, the higher amount of scholarship or benefit will apply.

Merit-based scholarships and grants are renewed automatically, provided you maintain satisfactory academic progress, which the Academic Advisory Board reviews each semester.

If you are placed on academic probation, you will continue to receive your scholarship or grant for one semester of probation. Should you continue on academic probation for a subsequent semester, the scholarship or grant will be canceled for that semester and all subsequent periods of enrollment. In the rare case that you are suspended for academic reasons, you will be ineligible for the scholarship or grant upon your return. If you lose eligibility for merit-based awards you may still apply for need-based federal and institutional financial aid (subject to satisfactory academic progress policies for need-based financial aid).

If you withdraw from all classes for medical reasons, a refund calculation will be done based on the standard refund schedule. The scholarship or grant will be prorated to match the same percentage as the revised tuition charged. Any unused portion of your scholarship or grant can be applied toward an additional semester of study once the eight semester limit has been reached. If you leave after the seventh week of classes but before the semester is completed, you will not receive the funding credit if you do not earn any credits during the semester you took the medical leave.

Merit-based scholarships or grants, the South Hadley Town Grant, the Tuition Assistance Grant and employment-based aid (such as Tuition Exchange) generally cannot be used for study abroad or when on an academic leave. However, you may use Mount Holyoke merit scholarships and the Tuition Assistance Grant to participate in specific exchanges for which you will pay Mount Holyoke’s standard on-campus tuition.

Other study abroad/academic leave restrictions

• Study abroad and academic leave semesters count toward the eight semester limit of your financial aid eligibility.
• If you are receiving both need-based and merit-based aid while in South Hadley, it is possible you could be eligible for need-based aid for your study abroad program. Your eligibility for need-based aid will be calculated using your program costs minus your calculated family contribution. Your billed charges for study abroad are often more than what you would pay if you were in South Hadley.
• Need-based student loans are packaged to meet your need before any grant consideration.

Study abroad and academic leave semesters count toward the eight semester limit of your financial aid award, even when the scholarship or grant does not apply to your study abroad program expenses.

If you are suspended for behavioral reasons, you will no longer be eligible for merit-based scholarships, grants or awards from Mount Holyoke.

You may lose eligibility for merit-based scholarships, grants or awards from Mount Holyoke for an honor code violation.

Outside scholarships or employee benefits earmarked for tuition may not exceed tuition charges when combined with Mount Holyoke tuition-based scholarships and grants (Trustee, POSSE, Frances Perkins Scholarship and South Hadley Town Grant). If the outside funding can be applied toward room and board or other direct costs, the Mount Holyoke tuition-based scholarship or grant will not be reduced. However, the total aid from Mount Holyoke College and outside sources may not exceed the total cost of attendance. If the outside aid does exceed the cost of attendance, the Mount Holyoke funding will be reduced.

The Frances Perkins Tuition Scholarship is renewed automatically, provided the student maintains satisfactory academic progress. If you earn 16 credits per semester with a grade point average of 2.0 or higher, you generally maintain satisfactory academic progress.

If you are placed on probation, you will receive the scholarship for one semester of probation. If you continue on academic probation for a subsequent semester, the scholarship will be canceled. If you are suspended for academic reasons, you will be ineligible for the scholarship upon your return. You will still be eligible to apply for need-based funding from the College, up to the funding maximums.

Please note: We will reevaluate your merit-based aid if Mount Holyoke accepts transfer credits from another institution — including those earned during study abroad — after your enrollment at Mount Holyoke.

If you withdraw from all classes for medical reasons, a refund calculation will be done based on the standard refund schedule. The scholarship will be prorated to match the same percentage as the revised tuition charged. Any unused portion of the scholarship can be applied toward an additional semester of study once the funding maximums have been reached. If you leave after the seventh week of classes, but before the semester is completed, you will not be eligible for an additional semester of funding, even if you do not earn any credits during the semester you take the medical leave.

The scholarship cannot be used for study abroad or other academic leave except for special foreign exchanges where Mount Holyoke College tuition is charged. Study abroad and academic leave semesters count toward the student’s aid limit, even when the scholarship is not available for those periods.

Although the scholarship is not transferable, scholarship recipients can apply for need-based aid for study abroad through the Laurel Fellowships program. Please note that need-based funding is available only if the cost of attendance of the study abroad program exceeds the calculated family contribution as determined by Student Financial Services. Need-based student loans are packaged before determining any need-based grant aid eligibility.

Outside scholarships, veterans benefits or employee benefits that are earmarked for tuition will replace the Frances Perkins (FP) Tuition Scholarship dollar for dollar. If the outside funding can be applied toward room and board or other direct costs, the FP Tuition Scholarship will not be reduced. However in no circumstances can the total aid, including the FP Scholarship, exceed the cost of attendance. If the outside aid does exceed the cost of attendance, the FP Tuition Scholarship will be reduced accordingly.