The Office of Undergraduate Admission awards scholarships to qualified applicants at the time of admission. The academic awards listed below are renewable, are intended to apply to tuition only, and are made primarily on the basis of SAT/ACT test scores and academic performance while in high school.

Academic Scholarships

The Trustees' Scholarship provides a maximum of $15,000 per year ($60,000 total).

The President's Scholarship provides a maximum of $12,500 per year ($50,000 total).

The Bordeaux Scholarship provides a maximum of $9,000 per year ($36,000 total).

The Chaminade Grant provides a maximum of $4,000 per year ($16,000 total).

Special Scholarship Opportunities

St. Mary's offers transfer scholarships to outstanding applicants for the fall term who have attained at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA in their college course work.

Applications for admission/scholarship are accepted on a rolling basis. However, the priority deadline for the application for admission and scholarship is March 1st. The final deadline to be guaranteed scholarship consideration is June 1st.

President's Transfer Scholarship

Phi Theta Kappa

Student loans and payment plans help families who require more assistance in meeting their educational costs. Our financial assistance staff will work one-on-one with you to provide the personal financial solutions that best suit your family.

The interest rate for Federal Perkins Loans is fixed at 5 percent and repayment begins nine months after a student leaves school or drops below half-time status. Priority is given to students with financial need on a first-come, first-served basis. Perkins Loans may be forgiven for students entering the teaching or public justice professions.

Federal Stafford Loans may be subsidized (the government pays the interest while the student is in school) or unsubsidized (interest accrues while the student is in school) and offered at a fixed interest rate of 6.8 percent. Stafford loans are available to students who meet federal eligibility requirements, submit a FAFSA and enroll at least half time in a degree-seeking program.

Students who demonstrate financial needs are awarded the subsidized Stafford Loan, while those with less financial need may be eligible for only part of the subsidized Stafford Loan and may borrow unsubsidized Stafford Loans up to the academic year limit.

For students entering the Armed Forces, Peace Corps, VISTA or other volunteer public service work, Stafford Loan payments may be deferred for up to three years.

College Access Loans are available to Texas resident students (or out-of-state students receiving competitive academic scholarships) with creditworthy cosigners. The loan has a $500 annual minimum, but may not be greater than the cost of education less other aid received. The interest rate is fixed at 5.25 percent and a 3 percent origination fee will be deducted from each disbursement. Pre-approvals and promissory notes may be processed online at www.hhloans.com.

The Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS Loan) is available to creditworthy parents who want to borrow a portion or all of the annual cost of education minus other aid offered. Repayment is generally set at small payments on a 10-year plan and begins 60 days after the loan has been fully disbursed to the institution. This federal loan is offered at a fixed interest rate of 8.5 percent.

Alternative loans are private loans available through lending institutions, which offer competitive interest rates, flexible repayment schedules and differing cosigner requirements. Students should pursue all possibilities for scholarships, grants, work-study and federal loan programs before borrowing from an alternative loan program. Most financial institutions have alternative loan programs.

St. Mary s University offers families the opportunity to pay each semester s balance in as many as five monthly payments free of finance charges. To participate, families should fill out a Financial Planning Form (www.stmarytx.edu/businessoffice/).

An on-campus job is also an opportunity to meet new people, learn new skills or discover your buried talents.

To assist students who demonstrate financial need, we participate in the Federal Work-Study Program to provide you with employment.

Annual awards range from $1,500 to $3,000. Most jobs are located on campus and require you to work between 10 and 13 hours per week on average.

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended by Congress, requires that institutions of higher education establish and monitor the academic progress of students who receive federal financial aid.

St. Mary's established the following minimum standards and practices for financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for eligible students to continue receiving financial assistance. Please note some state and institutional aid programs may have higher academic requirements, and eligibility is subject to the requirements of each program.

Federal and institutional SAP is reviewed at the end of each semester and is based on the student achieving both a Qualitative Standard and a Quantitative Standard at St. Mary's as defined below:

• The Qualitative Standard of SAP requires a student to be eligible for financial aid (defined as federal, state, or institutional financial aid, including merit scholarships, need-based grants, loans, and federal/state work study) after the first academic year of attendance at St. Mary's, a student must have a cumulative C (2.0 or better) average or its equivalent or have academic standing at that point in the program that is consistent with the university's requirement for graduation.

• The Quantitative Standard for SAP, also referred to the Pace of Progression, considers the number of credit hours that are successfully completed by a student in comparison to the number of credit hours attempted by a student. At St. Mary's, full-time students are expected to complete 67 percent of all hours attempted with a minimum completion of 12 hours each semester for an undergraduate student (see chart below). Courses a student repeats or those for which the student receives a grade of incomplete (I) will not count against a student's GPA but will be factored into their completion rate.

• In addition to the Qualitative and Quantitative Standards, to be eligible for financial aid, a student must not exceed 150% of the required program hours to graduate from any one degree program. A student who exceeds the maximum hours is ineligible for financial aid. For example, a student requiring 128 credits to graduate from a program may not attempt more than 192 hours and still receive financial aid.

• SAP Warning: If the student is not meeting SAP, the student's status will be designated under SAP WARNING status for one semester, meaning that the student is being warned that he/she is not meeting SAP eligibility and has one semester to correct his/her eligiblity before being placed on Suspension. During this semster, the student will continue to be able to receive financial aid. Warning status does not need to be appealed since the student is still eligible to receive financial assistance.

• Probation: If a student is placed on Suspension, he/she has the option of appealing this suspension through the SAP appeal process. If the appeal is granted, the student will be placed on Probation for the next semester, and the student must bring his/her SAP eligibility to Good Standing status during the semester or be placed on Suspension. While on Probation, the student may continue to receive financial assistance if he/she is otherwise eligible.

• Suspension: If a student was previously under a Warning or Probation SAP status and fails to meet SAP eligibility requirements during the next semester, the student's status will be placed under Suspension and the student is NOT eligible for federal, state, or institutional financial aid during the next semester he/she attends the university. A student who is placed on Suspension may appeal this decision through the appeal process.

A student awarded the Tuition Equalization Grant (TEG), a Texas resident need-based program, must complete a minimum 24 hours per year and maintain a minimum cumulative 2.5 GPA for renewal. If a student fails to meet the required cumulative GPA at the end of each academic year, a student will receive notification of TEG SUSPENSION. If a student believes there are unusual or extenuating circumstances that contributed to his/her failure to meet the requirements of the TEG, an appeal may be submitted to the Office of Financial Assistance, Appeal Committee for review during the designated time period. If the appeal is granted, the TEG will be awarded under the status of TEG PROBATION for the next semester.

The B-On-Time (BOT) Loan program is another state program providing eligible Texas students a no-interest loan to attend colleges and universities in Texas. To maintain eligibility for future disbursements of the BOT program, students must:

• As of the end of the 1st academic year, meet satisfactory acadmic progress requirements towards a degree or certificates determined by the institution

• As of the end of the 2nd and subsequent academic years, complete at least 75% semester credit hours attempted in the most recent academic year and have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale (or the equivalent) on all course work previously attempted at the institution

• a showing of severe illness or other debilitating condition that may affect academic performance
• an indication that the student is reponsible for the care of a sick, injured, or needy person and that the provision of care may affect academic performance: and
• the requirement of fewer than nine (9) hours to complete one's degree plan.

The Department of Education has recently published new regulations which limiting the number of times a student may repeat a course and receive financial aid for that course. These regulations are part of a series called Program Integrity Rules and are effective July 1, 2011.

• A student may receive financial aid when repeating a course that was previously failed (received a 0.0 or No Pass), regardless of the number of times the course was attempted and failed.
• A student may receive financial aid to repeat a previously passed course one additional time.
• Once a student has completed any course twice with a passing grade, no longer eligible to receive financial aid for that course.
• If a student retakes a course that is not financial aid eligible, a recalculation of aid is done to exclude the credits for the repeated course.
• This rule applies whether or not the student received financial aid for earlier enrollments in the course.
• Students will receive notification if receiving financial aid and attempt to repeat coursework beyond the limits.

Annual awards range from $1,500 to $3,000 (with a wage of $7.25 an hour). Most jobs are located on campus and require you to work between 10 and 13 hours per week (on average).

A variety of jobs are available, including clerical work, communications assistant, fitness center attendant, lifeguard, office assistant, public services assistant, reference assistant or sports official.

To see a full list of Work-Study descriptions, click here.

In addition, you could choose to participate in the Workers Invested in kNowledge and Growth through Service (WINGS) program. A partnership between St. Mary's University and Americorps, WINGS places students in local nonprofit agencies, particularly in the areas of education, elderly, health care and legal service.

Getting started with work study is easy! Below are the steps you must take:

1. Accept your Work-Study on Gateway.
2. Complete the Work-Study Survey Form and submit it to the Office of Financial Assistance.
3. Submit the I-9, W-4 and Policy Acknowledgement forms to St. Mary's Office of Human Resources.

Sometimes you need to make a change, and we understand that. To change your job, you will need to submit the Work-Study Termination/Transfer Form to the Office of Financial Assistance.

• I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification
• Payroll Deduction Authorization
• 2012 Payroll Schedule
• Human Resource Policy Signature Page
• Work-Study Termination/Transfer Form
• Work-Study Job Descriptions
• Form W-4 2012 "Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate
• Work-Study Survey Form