What is the Tuition Exchange organization?
The Tuition Exchange (TE) Scholarship organization is a non-profit organization that serves as the coordinating body for a partnership of more than 550 schools nationally who offer "exchange" scholarships to dependent children of faculty and staff at member institutions.
The "exchange" scholarship means that selected students may attend a member institution and pay a significantly reduced tuition charge. In some cases, there is no charge for tuition. The Tuition Exchange Scholarship organization requires that participating institutions maintain a balance between the number of students enrolled at host institutions (exported) with a TE scholarship and the number of students from other member schools who are enrolled at the home institution (imported) and supported with a TE scholarship. As a member, the University of Pittsburgh agrees to abide by the national policies and practices of the organization.
For more information about the national Tuition Exchange organization, please visit their website: http://www.tuitionexchange.org/index.cfm
What should I do to begin the TE scholarship application process?
- Review the list of Tuition Exchange schools and decide whether there is a school or schools to which your son or daughter will or has applied for admission. To see a list of schools, click here. Most students will complete this process between September and January of their senior year in high school. If the school in which you are interested is not on the list, you cannot apply for a TE scholarship for that school. Unfortunately, the Tuition Exchange organization does not allow us to ask that a school or schools be added to the program
- If you decide to apply for a TE scholarship, print the two forms you will need to complete-- the actual Tuition Exchange Scholarship Application and the Employee
Certification of Eligibility.
You should complete the Tuition Exchange Scholarship application process at the same time that your student is applying for college admission. You do not need to wait for an admission decision before you apply for the Scholarship. Please note that only students who are pre-college freshmen are eligible to apply for a Tuition Exchange Scholarship through the University of Pittsburgh’s program, regardless of practices at other member institutions.
- Please complete all of the items on the Tuition Exchange Scholarship Application, including the name, city and state of the schools in which you are interested. While there is no institutional limit on the number of schools to which you can apply, please list only schools that your student might actually consider attending.
- Complete the Employee Certification of Eligibility form. Take this form to the Office of Human Resources if you are a staff member or Faculty Records if you are a faculty member to have it signed by an authorized representative in that office.
- You will also need a copy of your most recently completed US Income Tax Return when seeking a signature from Human Resources or Faculty Records. Your Tax Return will be reviewed to document the dependent status of your son or daughter.
- Send the completed Tuition Exchange Scholarship Application and the signed and completed Employee Certification of Eligibility form together to:
Cindy Henderson
Office of Admissions and Financial Aid
Alumni Hall
4227 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Do not send a copy of your US Income Tax return with your completed application materials.
Application Deadline: April 1
Please Note: While the University of Pittsburgh deadline to apply is April 1, many schools begin making scholarships decisions well before April 1. It is suggested that you complete this TE application process between October 15 and January 30 of your student’s senior year in high school.
What happens next in the process?
- Your application will be reviewed for completeness.
- If you have at least ten years of service as a full time employee at the University of Pittsburgh, an application will be sent electronically to each named school. A confirmation of those processed applications will be sent to your student.
- If you have fewer than ten years of service, the TE application will be held until it can be determined whether or not it will be possible to accommodate your student. Your applications will be sent to the named schools electronically and a confirmation of that action will be sent to your student if it is determined that space is available. No application will be held after June 1 each year. If no space is available for your student by June 1, your application will not be approved. Your student will not be eligible to be considered for a Tuition Exchange scholarship nor will you be able to re-apply for a Tuition Exchange Scholarship for a future year for this student.
- The host school or schools will evaluate your student’s application. The procedure for reviewing and processing TE applications at host schools varies. How many scholarships each school has to offer, how students are selected and when students are notified may be different at each school. Some schools may approve eligible scholarship students are soon as the TE application is received. Other schools have a TE application deadline and will wait until after the deadline passes to notify all students about their status. In most cases, students are notified by May 1. If you have not heard from a specific school or want more information about their selection process, you can contact the school directly for information about Tuition Exchange Scholarships at their institution.
- If you are awarded a Tuition Exchange Scholarship, please notify our office if you plan to use the scholarship as soon as you have made your decision.
- If you have a scholarship offer that you do not plan to use, please notify our office as soon as possible so that other wait listed students might be considered.
- If you are awarded a Tuition Exchange Scholarship as a freshman, you will not need to do anything to re-apply for future years. Reapplication for continuation of the Tuition Exchange Scholarship is done automatically by this office. Your continuing full time employment at the University of Pittsburgh is required for continuation of the scholarship.
- If your student receives a Tuition Exchange Scholarship and you are a University employee hired before 1989 and are covered under the cash tuition reimbursement program, you cannot receive both a Tuition Exchange Scholarship and the cash reimbursement, regardless of total tuition expenses at your student’s school.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which schools participate in the TE program?
To see a list of schools, click here. Each year some schools enter or leave the program, however, the changes from year to year are not dramatic.
What are the chances of my child being awarded a TE scholarship?
This program provides a scholarship opportunity, not a fringe benefit. Sons and daughters of employees cannot be guaranteed an award. The actual scholarship payment is provided by the host school, not the University of Pittsburgh. At most member schools, scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis. Our office will make every effort to assist you and your child through the process but we cannot guarantee or predict the likelihood of a scholarship award
As participating schools are required to maintain a balance between imported and exported students, smaller schools may have fewer scholarships available. Some schools may receive hundreds of applications for a very small number of anticipated openings. Families are, of course, welcomed to ask more specific questions at the schools they are considering.
How much is the TE scholarship worth?
Each year the Tuition Exchange organization determines the minimum scholarship amount that must be provided by member institutions. For the 2012-13 school year, the minimum amount is $31,000. Scholarship amounts are adjusted each year, based on the average tuition charge at member institutions. Most schools provide the scholarships for four years of undergraduate study. For schools whose tuition is less than the annual minimum, TE recipients will receive a full tuition scholarship.
At schools where the tuition exceeds the annual minimum, schools are free to increase their scholarship to cover the entire tuition charge. Higher cost schools, however, often offer the minimum award. Most schools expect students with TE scholarships to maintain institutional academic performance and personal conduct standards to have a TE scholarship continued.
How many scholarships are available each year at Pitt?
Over the past several years, the University has been able to offer approximately 25-30 new scholarships each year to dependent children of faculty and staff. The number available each year varies slightly, depending on our ability to import students from other member institutions.
Who is eligible to apply for a Tuition Exchange scholarship?
The general policy requires that an employee have a minimum of twelve months of continuous full-time employment prior to application for scholarship consideration for their dependent child. Determination of employee and dependent eligibility is made by the Office of Human Resources or Faculty Records. There is no job classification or salary requirement. Students who want to be considered must apply prior to attending any post-secondary educational institution. Only pre-freshmen are eligible to apply. Once your student begins his or her post-secondary education, they will not be eligible to apply for Tuition Exchange Scholarship consideration for any future years. This applies to all continuing students, regardless of whether they are currently enrolled at a participating Tuition Exchange school or not.
In practice, because the number of scholarships is limited, not every request for TE can be honored. In years where the number of requests for a Tuition Exchange scholarship exceeds the number expected to be available, "selection will be made based on the parent’s length of service." The length of service is determined by the Office of Human Resources, or Faculty Records based on the date of hire maintained by that office. Please see University Policy 09-03-01.
In addition when scholarships are not sufficient to meet all requests, University policy provides that participation may be limited to one scholarship per family.
At the University of Pittsburgh, students who want to be considered for a TE scholarship must plan to be full-time undergraduate students. Employees or their spouses are not eligible for TE scholarship consideration.
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