Updates and Reminders

Please review the following carefully. MI Student Aid has received many inquiries regarding the topics below.

Eligibility

Students in MiSSG are listed as eligible for Michigan Achievement Scholarship based on data that MiSSG receives from FAFSA, CEPI and other information. Institutions are still responsible for verifying students listed as eligible. This includes monitoring students’ 15-month window to initiate based on their actual graduation year and month, verifying their high school graduation date if not confirmed by CEPI, or verifying their FAFSA if selected for verification.

15-Month Rule

Students must initiate Michigan Achievement Scholarship and the Community College Guarantee within 15-months of high school graduation or earning a high school equivalency certificate. Initiation is defined as a payment of $0.01 or greater or the certification of “no - Full-Time - exceeds COA.”

MiSSG evaluates students by the academic year. If a student’s last semester to initiate is Fall 2024 for example, they will display as "Eligible," because the student may still initiate for the Fall 2024 semester which would then make them eligible moving forward. If the student does not initiate, their status will continue to display “Eligible” for the entire academic year, but they are not eligible to receive funds in the semesters following their final semester to initiate. MiSSG will reject certification of students in this situation and they will remain on the Certification roster. No further action will be needed for these students.

Institutions can monitor this by utilizing the High School Year and Month and Date of Activation fields on the Information Roster and Certification Rosters in MiSSG. Coming soon: An additional “last semester to initiate” field for reports.

New Feature

MiSSG now offers the ability to mark a student as Initiated-Exceeds Cost of Attendance during adjustments (see highlighted checkbox in images below). Institutions should use this feature when adjusting a paid award down to zero due to a student exceeding cost of attendance. If the student has other aid resulting in the cancellation of the Community College Guarantee, please also utilize this feature.

Michigan Achievement Scholarship 4-year Institution Example

Community College Guarantee Example

The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential is not affiliated with National Merit Scholarship Corporation or its registered trademarks National Achievement®, Achievement Scholarship®, or Achievement Scholar®.