It is now up to the Michigan legislature to decide by October 1 whether the state can continue to fund the Michigan Promise Scholarships.
The Michigan Promise Scholarships are tied to the Michigan Merit Exam, which is completed by all high school juniors in the state, including Seaholm. If students receive a score of a level 1 (exceeds Michigan standards) or Level 2 (meets Michigan standards) on all portions of the test, they qualify to receive up to $4,000 toward an in state college of their choice. However, the state is now considering cutting the program to offset the state deficit.Cutting the program would save the state $140 million, helping out the $1.7 billion budget deficit, but it would also mean that over 96,000 Michigan college students would lose thousands of dollars in scholarships.
“Restoring the Michigan Promise Grant remains one of the foremost priorities of mine and most in the Michigan Legislature,” Ssaid Michigan Senator John Pappageorge.
Initially, $140 million was set aside for the 2009-10 Promise Scholarships, but since legislatures threatened to cut this program in June, the funds are said to be on hold.
“If we were told that the student was eligible for the grant, there was a temporary credit put on their bill,” said Val Meyers, associate director of MSU financial aid. “But MSU hasn’t received any money from the state.”
According to Meyers, approximately 1 in 4 students receives funding from the Promise Scholarship at Michigan State University.
For many students, the potential for the scholarship to be cut is upsetting.
“Ultimately, my family will be able to make up for the difference,” said 2009 Seaholm graduate, Brian Bjerke, who currently attends MSU. “But it’s really disappointing that the money that they promised won’t be there,”
“I never got a warning,” said 2009 Seaholm graduate Jenna Bouwens, now a freshman at Oakland University. “The only thing that was suspicious was the fact that the status of it on my financial aid page on my OU account changed to ‘not confirmed by the state,’”
As of right now, the students at the University of Michigan have been told that the scholarships are said to be considered an estimated award and will not appear on the fall billing statement. Until then, students are asked to plan on paying the amount that the Michigan Promise Scholarship would have covered.
