[Chad]

Where's My Entrance Scholarship?
*UPDATE July 4th* - Those who entered McMaster in 2005 and prior with the 2 year entrance scholarship are not eligable for a renewal in 3rd or 4th year. Scroll to the bottom of this post for details.

For those going into third year, you may be wondering if you're getting an Entrance Scholarship again this year. In previous years the scholarship was set to last for 2 years (first and second year), but this year entrance scholarships are set to last 4 years. So what about the existing students going into third or fourth year... do we get to retain our scholarship an extra two years?

According to the website:

To receive your second entrance award installment (in Sept. 2007):

• You must achieve a sessional average of 9.5, with no failures, on a minimum of 24 units ('full-time' status) in Level 1(2006-2007 fall/winter session).
• You must register for Level 2 (2007-2008 fall/winter session).
• Payment will be credited to your student account when you register for the next session in September. (Your second installment decision will appear on MUGSI by the end of July.)
• NOTE: The same rules of retention apply for renewals in Level 3 and Level 4.

Please refer to the 2006-07 Undergraduate Calendar to review the terms and conditions for retention. Summer courses do not count towards your full-load course requirement.

The 2006-07 calendar states in the terms:

Recipients may retain an entrance award which provides for awards beyond Level II while registered in a first baccalaureate degree program and until graduation or for four years, whichever is less. To receive the next installment of an award, students must complete 24 units during each Fall/Winter session at the University, maintain a Sessional Average of at least 9.5, obtain no failures, and register as a full-time student in the subsequent Fall/Winter session.

If you view your Payment Agreement you may notice that there is no McMaster Scholarship option to select where your Entrance Scholarship should be. And if you view your listing of scholarships in MUGSI, it states that the award payment ends in 2006 (which would be 2 years).

Upon e-mailing [email protected], an automated reply stated:

2007 Entrance and In-course awards will show on MUGSI at the end of July.

Therefore, it appears that the Entrance scholarships should appear in our Payment Agreement by the end of this month, and that we should be eligable for the extra two years. Lets hope so!


UPDATE!
After contacting Student Financial Aid & Scholarships, the reply came in that third and fourth year students who entered mac in 2005 are NOT eligable for renewal. We are stuck with only 2 years of scholarship money, while all the students entering Mac this year get their entrance scholarships for 4 years. Bummer!

Unfortunately, you are not eligible for an Entrance Award renewal. Our Entrance Award programs are set up in that the awards have certain criteria, values and retention periods that apply for the year in which it was awarded (For 2005 students, it was a two year award). The terms and conditions of your award were set the year that you entered and will not change.

However, with a sessional average of 9.5 or better you are eligible to be considered for in-course awards. Visit http://sfas.mcmaster.ca/incourse.html for details.