Gonzaga Guarantee

The Gonzaga Guarantee is an institutional policy that regulates the year-to-year value of an undergraduate student's institutional financial aid.  The purpose of the Gonzaga Guarantee is to eliminate the unknown with respect to the amount of financial assistance a student can expect to receive in subsequent years.  If a student completes an undergraduate degree in less than 8 semesters, the remaining value of the guarantee is forfeited.

Eligibility Requirements

  • To qualify for the four year guarantee, a student must:
    • Be admitted to the University as a first-year undergraduate student; and
    • Be matriculated; and
    • Be enrolled full time (12+ credits)
  • To qualify for the transfer guarantee (up to three years), a student must:
    • Be admitted to the University as a transfer student; and
    • Be matriculated; and
    • Be registered for 12 or more credits as of the end of the official Add/Drop period.
  • To continue to qualify for institutional aid under the Gonzaga Guarantee, a student must:
    • Be enrolled over consecutive years without transferring to another institution; and
    • Complete 12 or more credits for each term; and
    • Maintain "good academic standing," as defined in the current University Catalog; and 
    • Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for financial aid purposes, as defined by the SAP Policy.  Students who fail to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress, and whose aid is revoked, may refer to the SAP Policy pertaining to the reinstatement of institutional aid.

Terms of the Guarantee

  • Gonzaga guarantees that a student's institutional grants and scholarships will not decrease during a student's continuous enrollment.
    • Institutional financial aid covered under the guarantee includes:
      • Merit Scholarships (e.g. Trustee, Regent, Dean's, Dussault, Achievement, Aloysius, Excellence, Enrichment, University and Garvin).
      • Gonzaga Grant
      • Most Gonzaga scholarships, including: Dauna Leigh Bauer, Joseph Cataldo, S.J., Charlotte Y. Martin, and the Gonzaga Leaders Scholarships.
    • The following types of financial aid are not covered under the Gonzaga Guarantee: the Federal Pell Grant or SEOG Grant, Washington College Grant and other state grants/scholarships, Federal or State Work Study Opportunity, Resident Advisor Waivers, Federal Direct Loans, ROTC Scholarships, Faculty/Staff Waivers, Financial Aid Discretionary Scholarships, Presidential Scholarships, and any other scholarships received from outside sources. 
    • Some Gonzaga grants, scholarships and assistantships (e.g. Music scholarships, the Brajcich scholarship) have special conditions which may or may not be covered under the Guarantee.  Other scholarships are awarded for one year only, by donor request.  Special conditions or stipulations are communicated in those cases by the department which makes the award.
    • Students receiving ROTC scholarships, Faculty/Staff Waivers, FACHEX, Tuition Exchange, and Athletic Scholarships are not part of the Guarantee as different policies apply.

Distribution of Aid

  • A student's annual institutional award (grants, scholarships) is paid to the student's account in equal proportion, by semester.  One half of the annual amount is disbursed at the beginning of fall semester, the other half is disbursed at the beginning of spring semester.  At no time will the full annual amount be credited to only one semester within an academic year.
  • No institutional financial aid governed by this policy is provided to students during the summer term.

Time Frame

  • For undergraduates admitted as new students and transfers admitted with less than 30 credits the guarantee remains in place until the end of the fourth consecutive year in which the student has been enrolled and receiving financial aid under this policy.
  • For transfer students, the timeframe of the guarantee depends on the amount of credits a student transferred to Gonzaga:
    • 31-59 credits: 6 semesters
    • 60+ credits: 4 semesters
  • No automatic renewal of institutional aid is guaranteed after the guarantee has expired.  Students may appeal for additional semesters of institutional aid through the Extension Request electronic form.  

Please contact the Financial Aid Office if you have any questions or concerns.  See the full terms of the Gonzaga Guarantee here.