By Alexandra Bender
Staff Writer
ESU’s out-of-state students are breathing a sigh of relief because a considerable portion of their financial burden is being lifted from their shoulders.
On Jan. 26, over 1,000 enrolled, out-of-state students received an email message from the Interim Director of Financial Aid, Tony D. Carter.
The email introduced the two awards now available to ESU’s out-of-state students.
“I think it’s a good idea because of how different the tuition is for in-state and out-of-state students.” Danielle Curran, an ESU freshman psychology major, and New York resident, commented.
The first award being offered is the Out-of-State Tuition Award, and it is worth over $3,500 per year.
The second is called the Students First Tuition Scholarship, and it is worth over $7,000 per year, reducing the student’s tuition bill by more than $3,500 each semester.
These awards are effective beginning fall semester 2016.
In the 2014-2015 academic school year, Pennsylvania residents at ESU paid, on average, $9,376 for their tuition and fees. Out-of-state students paid $19,606, according to U.S. News’ website.
To receive the Out-of-State Tuition Award, students must simply be a non-Pennsylvania resident enrolled at ESU for the upcoming year. All out-of-state students will automatically receive this award, because the basis for qualification is residency classification.
To receive the Students First Tuition Scholarship, students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and have earned at least 30 credits in the previous academic school year (typically Fall/Spring), in addition to the qualifications listed for the Out-of-State Tuition Award.
If a student fails to meet the requirements for the Students First Tuition Scholarship by the end of the academic school year, they still have a chance to earn it before the fall semester.
Students can enroll in a local or community college in their home state and transfer those credits to ESU, or they can take summer classes at ESU to fulfill the requirements.
“Going forward, as long as you remain an out-of-state student, and you got the Out-of-State Tuition Award, you will continue to receive that award,” explained David Bousquet, vice president of enrollment management at ESU.
Bousquet continued his explanation, “You would receive the Students First Tuition Scholarship as long as you earned 30 credits every year and maintain that cumulative GPA. If you mess up, and your GPA falls, you would lose the scholarship and receive the standard reward. So, in effect, the reduction for you will now be cut in half, but if you increase your GPA, you can switch back. Next year, you will get twice as much in tuition relief. You can go up, and you can go down.”
If you have any questions regarding either of the new awards, visit www.esu.edu/OOS for further explanations.
Email Alexandra at:
abender3@live.esu.edu
