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MI Student Aid would like to thank those who submitted questions and participated in the Michigan Achievement Scholarship Webinars and Listening Session. As promised, a recording of our Webinars and Listening Session is available for you to view.
 Frequently Asked Questions
As a reminder, Michigan Achievement Scholarship FAQ is continuously updated. Below is a sample of recently added questions and answers.
How is the 15-month requirement being monitored for the Michigan Achievement Scholarship?
The 15-month requirement is based on the MiSSG system start date for the semester/term in question. The award rules have a semester/term start date, for Fall 2023 it is 8/23/2023. As of 8/23/23 the student must be within their 15-month window in order for MiSSG to determine them eligible for the year.
Can a student choose not to use Michigan Achievement Scholarship in Fall and Spring/Winter semester/term to use it all in the Summer semester/term?
No, if a student is eligible for the award, they must be awarded per packaging guidance. Remaining funds may be rolled into future semester/terms in the same academic year, if applicable.
If a student is attending modular classes and are enrolled full-time when the Michigan Achievement Scholarship is paid, but later drops their class that starts later in the semester/term (tuition is refunded), do institutions need to cancel and return the Michigan Achievement Scholarship funds?
Yes, if a student dropped a course prior to the add/drop date, and incurred no charges, resulting in less than full-time status, Michigan Achievement Scholarship would need to be removed.
Packaging Examples
For the Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum Award, how should institutions proceed when the student's total aid exceeds the student's Cost of Attendance (COA)?
The Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum Award must fit within the Cost of Attendance (COA). The Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum Award does not need to be reduced due to gift aid; however, may need to be reduced if the student's total aid exceeds the COA.
Example 1:
A student has a Cost of Attendance (COA) of $10,000 and is eligible for a maximum of $2,500 of Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum Award. The student has received $7,000 Federal Pell Grant (Pell) and $1,500 of Tuition and Fee Restricted Institutional Scholarship. In this scenario, the Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum Award would be reduced to $1,500 to fit within their COA.
- $10,000 (COA) - $7,000 (Pell) - $1,500 (Tuition Restricted Scholarship) = $1,500
Example 2:
A student has a Cost of Attendance (COA) of $10,000 and is eligible for a maximum of $2,500 of Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum Award. They received $5,000 Federal Pell Grant (Pell) and $6,000 in Unrestricted Institutional Aid. In this scenario, the Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum Award would be reduced to $0 as they have no remaining room in their COA.
- $10,000 (COA) - $5,000 (Pell) - $6,000 (Unrestricted Institutional Aid) = $-1,000 (over COA.)
If we have an institutional award that is last-dollar tuition specific, do we use the Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum Award as part of our calculation?
No, the Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum Award is not tuition specific, and so does not need to be included in the last-dollar calculation of your last-dollar tuition specific institutional award.
If a student receives an institutional award that is not tuition specific (unrestricted), how does the institution package the Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum and Michigan Achievement Scholarship Last-dollar Awards?
When an institutional award is not tuition and fee restricted, the Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum and Michigan Achievement Scholarship Last-dollar Awards may not need to be reduced unless all total awards exceed the Cost of Attendance (COA).
Example:
| COA |
$20,000 |
| Tuition Total |
$14,000 |
| Federal Pell |
$5,000 |
| Minimum |
$2,500 |
| Last Dollar |
$3,000 |
| Unrestricted Institutional Last Dollar |
Up to $10,000 |
A student has a COA of $20,000 and is eligible for a maximum of $2,500 of Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum Award and $3,000 Michigan Achievement Scholarship Last-dollar Award. Their tuition, contact hours, and mandatory fees total $12,000. They received $5,000 Federal Pell Grant (Pell) and up to $10,000 in Unrestricted Institutional Scholarship aid that is specifically last-dollar up to COA.
In this scenario, first the Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum Award would be calculated:
- $20,000 (COA) - $5,000 (Pell) = $15,000. Because there is still room remaining, the student would be awarded the full Michigan Achievement Scholarship Minimum Award of $2,500.
Next, the Michigan Achievement Scholarship Last-dollar would be calculated:
- $14,000 (Tuition Total) - $5,000 (Pell) - $2,500 (Minimum) = $6,500. Because there is $6,500 tuition total remaining after gift aid , the student would qualify for $3,000 in Michigan Achievement Scholarship Last-Dollar Award.
Finally, the Unrestricted Institutional Scholarship up to $10,000 would be calculated. This scholarship cannot go above COA.
- $20,000 (COA) - $5,000 (Pell) - $2,500 (Minimum) - $3,000 (Last-dollar) = $9,500. The Unrestricted Institutional Scholarship award would be reduced to $9,500 to fit within the COA.
Don't see your question in the FAQ?
We will continue to monitor the anonymous question feature for Michigan Achievement Scholarship on a routine basis.
Program Coordinator contact information can be found in the MiSSG Newsbox as well.
The Michigan Department of Treasury is not affiliated with National Merit Scholarship Corporation or its registered trademarks National Achievement®, Achievement Scholarship®, or Achievement Scholar®.
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