Scholarships, Financial Aid, Work-Study and Tuition Exemptions

The Office of Student Financial Services (OSFS) coordinates the University's scholarship programs.

The Freshman Scholarship Application is required of applicants who wish to be considered for any/all available merit-based scholarships offered by the University of Texas, the Texas Exes Association, Plan II Honors and most college and departmental scholarships. 

An applicant who submits the Freshman Scholarship Application (FSA), (see:  ApplyTexas.org),  will be automatically considered for Plan II Honors scholarships.  The deadline is December 1,  2009.

The FSA goes to the University's Office of Student Financial Services (OSFS).  It does not come to Plan II.  But Plan II cannot consider an incoming student for scholarships without an on-time Freshman Scholarship Application.

• All Plan II applicants should submit the Freshman Scholarship application.

• All Plan II applicans should submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

  
  
  • The Plan II scholarship committee uses the "need ranking" assigned by OSFS using the information provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) helps us decide how to award most of these scholarships.
  • Applicants who do not submit the FAFSA application are less likely to be eligible for and/or considered for Plan II scholarships.

• There is not a separate merit scholarship application or financial aid scholarship application for Plan II Honors applicants.

The University of Texas at Austin through the Office of Student Financial Services offers a number of competitive merit-based and need-based scholarships and need-based work-study programs to entering students.  These Plan II Honors scholarships, awarded primarily on a financial need-basis, range from $1,000 to $4,000. 

They include, but are not limited to:

• The Leslie Dyess Blanton Scholarship
• The Macey Hodges Reasoner Endowment Scholarship
• The Corbin J. Robertson, Jr. Family Scholarship
• The Kirsten Torgerson Endowed Presidential Scholarship
• The Tucker Family Endowed Presidential Scholarship
• The Louise and Ira Iscoe Endowed Presidential Scholarship
• The Gregory George Shia Memorial Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Plan II

There is not a separate merit scholarship application or financial aid scholarship application for Plan II Honors applicants.

Merit Scholarships

• For an overview of the UT scholarship process, see TexasScholarships.

Fellowships and scholarships affect your total eligibility for aid. At the start of the awarding process, your total cost of education is determined. Next, OSFS will subtract any fellowships/scholarships/additional resources from this amount. The remaining balance represents your total eligibility for financial aid.

Financial aid must be re-evaluated whenever a scholarship or fellowship is awarded, even if you have already accepted/received awards.

Financial Need-Based Scholarships

All applicants (and their parents/families), regardless of income level,  should submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application by March 31, to be considered for the many federal and state grants that take financial need into account.

Most families will be eligible for some type of support.  At worst case, most families are eligible for low interest student and parent loan packages.

There is not a separate financial-need scholarship application for Plan II Honors applicants.

Valedictorian Exemption

This Accredited School Scholarship exempts the student from tuition charges during both semesters of the first regular session immediately following the student's high school graduation. Fees are not covered. No funds may be used to pay tuition for continuing education classes for which the college receives no state tax support.

Eligibility:
Highest ranking graduate of an accredited Texas high school

Exempted:
Tuition during first two semesters (long session) following graduation

Where to apply:
Obtain certification from high school and present to Student Accounts Receivable,
Main Building, Room 4

See other tuition exemptions at:  Exemptions.

Work-Study

Work Study is administered through the Office of Student Financial Services.

Work-Study is a part-time employment program for students who have demonstrated financial need.   Unlike other types of financial aid, students will receive their Work-Study award in the form of a paycheck once or twice a month throughout the semester. The student must find a job, work, and earn the award. Students may earn up to the amount of their Work-Study award each semester.

In order to be considered for a Work-Study award, students must complete the FAFSA every year, before UT-Austin’s priority deadline. They must demonstrate financial need, and maintain satisfactory academic progress. For returning students, preference is given to those who earned at least 80% of their award in the previous academic year.

Plan II Honors Scholarships

Most, but not all, of the Plan II endowed scholarships have a need-based component.  However it’s important to make a few strong points:  First, applicants with a great deal of financial need usually have that need met through state and federal entitlement programs.  Plan II is often unable to give those students a Plan II scholarship without affecting the level of grants and scholarships they have already received.  So, often the admitted applicants and continuing students who are left with “unmet” need are those who did not qualify for financial aid—those whose families made too much to qualify for entitlement programs. 

Since we consider all our incoming students meritorious, that's why they were offered admission.   Almost all of the Plan II scholarships are awarded on the basis of “unmet” financial need.  We don’t consider applicants for scholarships who have not submitted both the UT Office of Student Financial Services (OSFS) Freshman Scholarship Application (FSA) and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).   Although top scores are important, they are only a small part of what we seek when we conduct admissions or award scholarships.  The FSA is the basis of ALL UT, Texas Exes and Plan II scholarships for merit and financial need.  The FAFSA, as its name says, is the application on which all federal aid is based.  As our Web site explains, an application to Plan II Honors makes an applicant eligible for Plan II scholarships IF other financial aid applications have been completed.

The FAFSA is worth your while, even if the family’s financial need level is low or even non-existent.  The FAFSA can qualify a family for much lower-interest education loans, if not for grants.  The OSFS information states that there is some kind of financial aid available for every student.  (This "aid" is often in the guise of parent and student loans.)  However, student loan resources and lower interest rates are certainly preferable to the alternatives—particularly in the scary financial straights we find ourselves in these days.

Finally, although we do have a small handful of scholarships which are strictly for incoming freshmen, the majority of Plan II scholarships are for continuing students, travel and thesis funding.  So, please also keep in mind that the first year will not necessarily be indicative all future years’ funding.  All continuing students will have the opportunity to apply for both UT and Plan II merit and need-based scholarships each year. 

Although the same holds true, that most of Plan II’s continuing scholarship funding is awarded primarily on a need-basis, there are funds for undergraduate research, some funding for study abroad and thesis research and thesis travel.  Additionally, students in Plan II Honors can apply to the College of Liberal Arts (all Plan II students are Liberal Arts students, regardless of other majors and college designations) for continuing student scholarships.  Plan II also has funding available in later years for student thesis research and travel, travel to professional conferences and funding for study abroad. 

National Merit

 This is no scholarship connected to National Merit Finalist or semi-finalist (or National Hispanic or National Achievement Scholar) status.  The National Merit scholarship program at UT has been suspended.  No UT scholarships will be awarded for National Merit recognition in future admission cycles.  The fall 2009 freshmen were the last to receive NM scholarships at UT Austin.  Those scholarship fund have been moved to need-based scholarships or to supplement other existing merit scholarships.  (There are still plenty of merit and need-based scholarships, but the competition is intense.)