Merit Tuition Scholarship Appeal
You have the option to submit a merit tuition scholarship appeal if extenuating circumstances caused you not to meet the renewal requirements of your merit tuition scholarship.
This appeal cannot be used for students who:
- Did not receive a merit tuition scholarship upon admission to the University of Arizona or
- Do not have an extenuating circumstance that caused their merit tuition scholarship to not be renewed
- Are currently in their merit tuition scholarship grace period
| FORM TYPE | SUBMISSION DATE |
|---|---|
2025-2026 Merit Tuition Scholarship Appeal To complete this appeal, log in with your University of Arizona netid (netid@arizona.edu). Please note, you will only have 120 minutes to complete this form. We encourage you to first review the form, prepare your documentation, and then complete the form. | Priority Submission: July 1, 2025 Final Submission Deadline: October 1, 2025 |
Please note: Students with an approved appeal will receive 80% of their original Merit Tuition Scholarship Award amount for the academic year for which the appeal was approved.
Reasons for Submitting the Merit Tuition Scholarship Appeal
Common examples of situations to request an appeal include, but are not limited to:
- Student’s own medical or physical illness or injury or disability
- Personal Reasons
- Withdrawal/Non-enrollment
- Family, including death of a family member
- Other extenuating circumstances that are beyond the student’s control
Requirements for the Merit Tuition Scholarship Appeal
- Complete the Merit Tuition Scholarship Appeal form in its entirety and
- Include a personal statement explaining the circumstances of the request, which should be no longer than one page in length and
- If applicable, you may provide supporting documentation (e.g., letter of support from academic advisor, letter from religious leader related to religious missions, letter of acceptance into non-Arizona-study abroad program, call to active duty, letter from attorney or other individual confirming circumstances beyond the student’s control, etc.) to support your appeal reason
Non-Medical Reasons
Students seeking an appeal for reasons other than mental or physical illness or injury or disability must submit the following to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (address on the form):
- Complete the Merit Tuition Scholarship Appeal form in its entirety
- Include a personal statement explaining the circumstances of the request, which should be no longer than one page in length;
- Attach supporting documentation (e.g., letter of support from academic advisor, third-party statements, police reports, an obituary or death certificate, court documentation, or a letter from an attorney or other professional, detailing the reasons for the student’s inability to meet requirements ).
Student’s own mental or physical illness or injury or disability
Students are not required to submit medical documentation.
Alternatively, if you are appealing for your own mental or physical illness or injury or disability, you must:
- Provide a personal statement without describing the condition itself. The personal statement should address all items listed below:
- How the condition negatively impacted your ability to maintain necessary renewal requirements.
- How you attempted to maintain your scholarship eligibility during the most recent term, considering these circumstances.
- How the circumstance(s) that prevented you from meeting the renewal requirements have now been resolved.
- If this condition occurred during prior semesters, you must indicate what steps were taken to improve your condition.
Important Information About the Appeal Process
The University reserves the right to modify the appeal policy at any time. Submission of an appeal request does not guarantee approval. Incomplete or missing documentation will delay the appeal process. Any changes to financial aid awards will be contingent on the types of funds available, eligibility policies, and regulations. After initial review, additional documentation may be required. Appeal review may result in required application corrections. Students waiting for an appeal decision should be fully prepared to assume responsibility for all course enrollment and account balance payment, regardless of the appeal decision. Appeal decisions are final and cannot be overturned or re-appealed.
If your merit tuition scholarship was previously not renewed due to not meeting renewal requirements, but you are now meeting renewal requirements as outlined in your terms and conditions, you can contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) to request a reinstatement review.
At the conclusion of each spring semester (or summer for those who enroll), our office will review all students who received a merit tuition scholarship in the academic year to determine their eligibility for the upcoming year. Refer the scholarships listed below under Eligible Awards to view the list of scholarships that are reviewed by our office. Review the terms and conditions for each specific merit scholarship for more information on the renewal criteria.
An email notification will be sent to the student based on their renewal status:
- Meets renewal requirements
- Does not meet renewal requirements
- Does not meet renewal requirements at the end of the spring semester, but student is enrolled at the University of Arizona for the following summer semester. For students enrolled in summer classes, eligibility for renewal will be reviewed after all summer grades have posted.
This policy relates to the following scholarships:
- All-Arizona Academic Team Scholarship
- Arizona Alumni Club Tuition Scholarship (UAHA, UABA, AASFAA, AIA)
- Arizona Tuition Scholarship (Recognition | Excellence | Distinction)
- Baird Scholarship
- Fine Arts Tuition Award (Art, Dance, Music, TFTV)
- Flinn Semi-Finalist Tuition Award
- Gatos MX Partial Tuition Award
- IB Tuition Scholarship
- International Tuition Scholarship
- National Merit Finalist Tuition Scholarship
- National Merit Semifinalist Tuition Scholarship
- National Scholar Tuition Scholarship
- Online Transfer Tuition
- Phi Theta Kappa Tuition Scholarship
- Presidential Scholarship
- ROTC Room and Board
- Sonoran Tuition Award
- Transfer Tuition Scholarship
- Wildcat Tuition Scholarship (Recognition | Excellence | Distinction)
For any scholarship not listed here, contact the awarding department/donor to learn about their appeal policies.
If your merit tuition scholarship appeal is not approved, you will not be eligible for your merit tuition scholarship. The Scholarship Appeals Committee's decision is final and cannot be overturned or re-appealed.
Although we were unable to re-offer your merit scholarship, we still want you to excel at the University of Arizona and are here to support you in exploring your options and other funding opportunities. Please review the bulleted information below for some potential next steps.
- Reinstating your merit scholarship: There is potential to reinstate your merit scholarship in future semesters. If you can get back on track with renewal requirements in the future, you may contact our office to request to have your merit scholarship reinstated. Merit scholarships are only eligible for reinstatement for a total of four consecutive years (eight semesters total) for first-year students and two consecutive years (four semesters total) for transfer students. Please keep in mind that semesters in which you do not receive your scholarship will still count toward your total scholarship eligibility.
- Other scholarship opportunities: Log in to Scholarship Universe using your NetID and password at financialaid.arizona.edu/scholarshipuniverse. You can also check out the short videos we created to help you navigate and secure additional scholarship funding at financialaid.arizona.edu/resources/video-library.
- Complete your FAFSA: If you have not already done so, apply for federal financial aid at studentaid.gov.
- Research student loans: Many students utilize student loans to help cover the costs of their education. For information on the types of loans you may have been offered, please visit financialaid.arizona.edu/types-of-aid/loans.
- Federal Work Study: The Federal Work-Study program provides opportunities for students to find employment. For information on Federal Work Study and/or on campus employment opportunities check out financialaid.arizona.edu/types-of-aid/fws.
If your merit tuition scholarship appeal is approved, your financial aid offer will be updated to include your scholarship at 80% of the initial offered amount.
If you are able to meet renewal requirements at a later time as outlined in your terms and conditions and still have remaining semesters of eligibility, you can contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) to request a reinstatement of 100% of your offered scholarship for future semesters.
Please note, other institutional aid (Arizona Promise Grant, Arizona Native Scholars Grant, etc) may be adjusted after your scholarship is added to your financial aid offer.
The University of Arizona Scholarship Appeals Committee will review all complete Financial Aid Appeals for Merit Tuition Scholarship submissions and may take up to 6 weeks to review. Appeals received by July 1st will receive a decision prior to the first day of Fall classes. The final deadline to submit a Merit Tuition Scholarship Appeal is October 1, 2025.