The Grand Valley Pledge
When it comes to access to a first-class college education, a student's family income should not be a barrier. That's why we've vowed to help make a Grand Valley education accessible to more students than ever with our Grand Valley Pledge.
Our pledge is simple: eligible students will have their entire undergraduate tuition and fees covered.
Request Information
Here's how it works
That's it! If you meet the eligibility criteria listed below, you will have federal, state, and institutional gift aid that covers (or even exceeds) the cost of your tuition.
- President Philomena V. Mantella
Eligibility
Recipients must meet the following criteria:
- Must be admitted Fall 2026 as an undergraduate degree-seeking freshman*
- Live in the State of Michigan
- Family Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $0 - $50,000, as reported on the FAFSA
- Family Assets of $50,000 or less, as reported on the FAFSA
- Must be enrolled full-time
Incoming Freshmen
- Renewable for an additional three years (total award of eight consecutive fall and winter semesters)
- Must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress
- Must file a FAFSA annually
- Must continue to meet family AGI and asset requirements as outlined above
*Please note, if you have been awarded funds intended to cover your tuition or are utilizing benefits to cover your tuition, the GV Pledge will be adjusted accordingly.*
The Grand Valley Pledge guarantees that you will have a combination of the Federal Pell Grant, other federal grants, state, and institutional gift and grant aid that at least covers the following:
- Full tuition of the block rate (12-15 credits) for undergraduate level coursework
- Additional tuition charges that are assessed per credit hour for certain classes (more info on additional tuition)
If you qualify for aid in excess of tuition, you can use those funds to cover your other costs (i.e. books, housing, food, parking permit, other educational expenses).
We are strongly recommending that you file your FAFSA by March 1, as funds may be limited for this program.
We will use information as it is reported on the FAFSA. You may be selected to submit documentation to verify that the information reported on your FAFSA is accurate. The most simple way to ensure this is by utilizing the IRS Data Retrieval Tool that is built into the FAFSA application. Total AGI for both the parent(s) and the student will be combined to determine eligibility for the program.
We will use asset information as it is reported on the FAFSA. The asset information that is reported is as follows:
- Total current balance of cash, savings, and checking accounts
- Net worth of investments
- Net worth of your current businesses and/or investment farms
For more information on this, please visit the Federal Student Aid website. Total assets for both the parent(s) and the student will be combined to determine eligibility for the program.
You will receive an email notification if you are eligible for the Grand Valley Pledge. You can also determine this once you receive your GVSU financial aid offer by looking at the total amount of grants and scholarships and seeing that it meets or exceeds the total amount of tuition listed.
Federal and institutional gift and grant aid will automatically be renewed for students who continue to qualify. In order to meet the requirements for renewal, you must
- complete the FAFSA each academic year you attend to show that you continue to meet income and asset requirements, and
- maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress,
We have a Special Circumstances process in place to review changes in household income, divorce, death of a parent, etc. For more information, please visit the Financial Aid Special Circumstances webpage.
No. Only students seeking first bachelor's degrees qualify.
No, you must be enrolled in at least 12 credits to qualify for the Grand Valley Pledge.
No, the GV Pledge is only awarded in the fall and winter semesters.
Your total financial aid award and outside resources may not exceed your total cost of attendance. If you are awarded up to the cost of attendance, your outside scholarship award(s) will be used to reduce or eliminate your student loan awards before any adjustments to other awards are made.
However, if the outside scholarship or funding covers the amount of tuition, the GV Pledge will be adjusted accordingly. This includes VA benefits, Promise programs, dependent tuition coverage at GV, and more.
Please visit financial aid's Outside Scholarship Policy to learn more about your outside scholarship
No. There is no on-campus housing requirement included with the Grand Valley Pledge program. There is, however, a separate on-campus housing policy for new freshmen.
