Navigating UNM Scholarships: A Guide to Petitions and Eligibility

For students seeking financial assistance at the University of New Mexico (UNM), understanding the requirements and processes for scholarships is crucial. This article provides a comprehensive overview of scholarship eligibility, focusing on the petition process for the Legislative Lottery Scholarship and the Opportunity Scholarship, as well as other relevant financial aid information.

Understanding Scholarship Eligibility at UNM

UNM offers various scholarships to support students in their academic pursuits. Two prominent scholarships are the Legislative Lottery Scholarship and the Opportunity Scholarship, each with specific eligibility criteria. Both scholarships require New Mexico residency.

Legislative Lottery Scholarship

The Legislative Lottery Scholarship is available to New Mexico residents and continues for seven regular semesters and three summer semesters. It covers 100% of tuition fees and requires full-time enrollment. Key eligibility requirements include:

Completing at least twelve credit hours with a semester GPA of 2.5 or better in the first term of college, the Qualifying Semester.
Successfully completing 30 credits hours per academic year (Fall, Spring, and Summer).
Achieving and maintaining a 2.5 grade point average (GPA).
Maintaining full-time enrollment every fall and spring semesters.

The scholarship is awarded for the second semester of attendance to students who have met all the eligibility requirements during their Qualifying Semester. The scholarship pays up to $4,252 of tuition per semester for the academic year - it does NOT cover mandatory student fees or course fees. It can be awarded for summer semesters if a student requires it to make up credit hours to complete 30 credit hours by the end of the academic year.

Branch Campus students need to complete at least 9 credit hours in each consecutive fall and spring terms while maintaining a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better. A branch campus student MUST complete 24 credit hours by the end of the academic year, summer can be used to help meet the credit requirement.

Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree at a four-year college or university who continue to meet eligibility requirements can receive the scholarship up to seven regular semesters and 3 summer semesters or when they complete their first bachelor’s degree, whichever comes first. Students attending a community college can receive the Lottery Scholarship for up to three semesters.

Opportunity Scholarship

The Opportunity Scholarship also covers 100% of tuition fees, plus mandatory fees up to $50 per credit hour. It is available to "Recent Graduates" and "Returning Learners." Eligibility criteria include:

Successfully completing at least twelve credit hours with a semester GPA of 2.5 or better in the first term of college, the Qualifying Semester.
Completing 30 credits hours per academic year (Fall, Spring, and Summer).
Achieving and maintaining a 2.5 grade point average (GPA).
Maintaining full-time enrollment every fall and spring semesters.
Cannot have more than 160 attempted credit hours.

To qualify for the Opportunity Scholarship as a Returning Learner, you cannot be a “Recent Graduate Learner,” cannot have earned a Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral Degree, must maintain NM Residency, enroll in at least 6 credit hours, earn a 2.5 cumulative GPA, and cannot have more than 160 attempted credit hours. The Opportunity Scholarship is capped at 18 credits per term.

Recent Graduate Learners must also meet the minimum requirements to maintain their Lottery Scholarship in order to remain eligible for the Lottery Scholarship; which includes fulltime enrollment and 30 credit hours by the end of the academic year. Students in 2 year program must complete 9 credits per term and 24 credit hours per academic year (*note: for the first term must successfully complete 12 credits).

You can receive Opportunity up to 160 attempted credit hours. Dual credit hours are excluded from attempted hours, but not excluded from GPA or associate’s degree for incoming freshman.

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Common Requirements and Considerations

Several requirements are common to both scholarships:

New Mexico Residency: Both scholarships are available to NM residents.
GPA: A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required for both scholarships. The Grade Point Average (GPA) is the average of traditional letter grades, A, B, C, D, F and WF. The grade of CR counts towards total credit hours completed but does not affect GPA. Grades of F, NC, I, W, WP, WF and Audit do NOT count towards total credit hours completed but may negatively impact GPA.
Full-time Enrollment: Both scholarships generally require full-time enrollment, but students with disabilities may qualify for reduced credit hour requirements.
No Application: Neither the Lottery nor the Opportunity Scholarship requires a separate application.
FAFSA Encouraged: While not required, completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is encouraged.

Scholarship Petitions: Regaining Eligibility

If a student does not meet all the eligibility requirements for either the Lottery or Opportunity Scholarship, they may submit a Scholarship Petition. This petition is considered only when exceptional mitigating circumstances beyond the student's control precluded them from meeting the requirements during their Qualifying Semester.

Grounds for Petition

Only exceptional mitigating circumstances that are beyond the student's control and precluded the student from meeting the requirements during their Qualifying Semester can be considered and will require the submission of a Scholarship Petition with supporting documentation.

The Petition Process

To re-establish eligibility, students MUST submit a Scholarship Petition with a personal statement explaining the mitigating circumstance. Supporting documentation must also be submitted.

These must be submitted by the end of the third week of the semester: Accessibility Resource Center waivers, Scholarship Petition, and Consortium Agreements. Any disbursements after the add/drop period for the applicable term, will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

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If a student is NOT registered full time by the end of the 3rd week of classes, the student forfeits eligibility for the Lottery Scholarship and can no longer receive Lottery funding.

Leave of Absence

Previously qualified students may be approved for a leave of absence for cooperative education, military obligations, participation in a study abroad program, or other exceptional mitigating circumstance. A Petition for Leave of Absence with supporting documentation must be submitted to UNM’s Student Financial Aid Office for consideration.

Maintaining Scholarship Eligibility

To maintain eligibility for either scholarship, students must continue to meet the GPA and credit hour requirements. Several academic policies can impact scholarship eligibility.

Impact of Grades and Course Types

The grade of CR counts towards total credit hours completed but does not affect GPA.
Grades of F, NC, I, W, WP, WF and Audit do NOT count towards total credit hours completed but may negatively impact GPA.
"T" courses include technical, vocational, or special courses and do not count toward scholarship credit hour or GPA requirements.
Audit courses do not count toward scholarship credit hour or GPA requirements.
Credit hours received through CLEP, ACT, SAT, advanced placement or concurrent enrollment may apply to specific degree programs but will not count toward scholarship credit hour or GPA requirements.
Credit hours earned through the "Examination to Establish Credit" Program may be counted toward scholarship credit hour and GPA requirements.
Students may use credit for only one non-professional PE course toward scholarship requirements each semester.
Students are permitted to receive credit hours for scholarship purposes by participating in UNM correspondence courses applicable to their degree program. Complete the Correspondence Course Verification Form for Scholarships and submit it to the UNM Financial Aid Office. To count as earned credit, or to be calculated as part of your GPA in order to meet scholarship requirements, all UNM correspondence courses need to be completed by the last day of the semester during which the correspondence course(s) was/were added to your schedule.
Grades of "F, I, W, or NC” do not result in earned credit hours toward scholarship credit hour requirements.
100 level courses will not appear on your grade transcript; These courses do count toward scholarship hour requirements. However, they do not count towards GPA requirements.

Students with Disabilities

Students with qualified disabilities who are registered with UNM’s Accessibility Resource Center may be approved for reduced credit hour requirements. The Financial Aid Office must receive certifications by the end of the third week each fall and spring semester. All other scholarship requirements remain the same. Students with disabilities may qualify for reduced credit hour requirements and additional semesters of the scholarship. Students with qualified disabilities who are registered with UNM’s Accessibility Resource Center may be approved to attend part time up to 14 terms. All other Lottery requirements remain the same.

Consortium Agreements

Students can maintain full time enrollment by taking classes at multiple public New Mexico secondary educational institutions. The Lottery Scholarship will be adjusted to pay tuition accrued at UNM and tuition accrued at the host school. To mix enrollment between schools, students MUST complete the Consortium Agreement Form and submit it to the Student Financial Aid Office.

Summer Enrollment

Summer enrollment is optional unless attendance is required to MAINTAIN eligibility or as part of accelerated program. Summer can be used to help meet the credit hour requirement.

For the Lottery Scholarship, it can be awarded for summer semesters if student requires to make up credit hours. A student MUST complete 30 credit hours by the end of the academic year, summer can be used to help meet the credit hour requirement. May enroll in 3-9 credits during summer with funding for up to 3 summer terms.

For the Opportunity Scholarship, students may enroll for summer and receive Opportunity to cover summer tuition. Any credits hours attempted in summer count towards 160 attempted hours limit. 9 credit hours maximum and 3 credit hours minimum.

Additional Financial Aid Resources

UNM provides several other resources to assist students with financial aid.

Special Circumstances

If you or your family have experienced a significant change in your financial situation or a change in your family size that is not reflected on the prior-prior year tax information used on the FAFSA you may submit a Special Circumstance Petition. Submitting the Special Circumstance Petition allows the Financial Aid Office to respond to events in real-time that would not otherwise be reflected in your prior-prior years taxes. You should review the Petition form carefully to see if your situation is something the Financial Aid Office can consider in order to recalculate your financial aid eligibility. Loss or reduction of employment, wages, or unemployment compensation or loss of untaxed income or benefits.

Dependency Status

Dependency status defines the degree to which your parents are viewed as responsible for your education. If you do not meet the definition of an independent student, but you believe you have extenuating circumstances that would allow you to receive financial aid as an independent student, you can submit a Petition for Independency Status to the Financial Aid Office to have your situation considered. Be aware that parental disagreements and refusal of your parent or stepparent to provide support or information is not considered an unusual circumstance for the purpose of achieving independent status for financial aid.

On the FAFSA you can indicate that you cannot provide parental data on the FAFSA and indicate you have an “unusual circumstance”. You will be granted a “provisional independent status” until you follow-up with the Financial Aid Office and provide necessary documentation.

Acceptable documentation may include:

A documented interview between the student and the financial aid administrator;
Submission of a court order or official Federal or State documentation that the students’ parents or legal guardian are incarcerated;
A documented phone call or written statement from an attorney, a guardian ad litem, a court-appointed special advocate (or similar), or a representative of a TRIO or GEAR UP program that confirms the circumstances and the person’s relationship to the student;
A documented determination of independence made by a financial aid administrator at another institution in the same or a prior award year; or
Utility bills, health insurance, or other documents that demonstrate a separation from parents or legal guardians.
A State, county, or Tribal welfare agency;
An independent living case worker who supports current and former foster youth with the transition to adulthood; or
A public or private agency, facility, or program servicing the victims of abuse, neglect, assault, or violence.

A petition is not required each year to make a determination for independent status; however, if your situation does change you must let our office know or if we encounter conflicting information we may ask for new documentation from you to support the continuation of your independent status.

You must update anything that changes your dependency status (for instance, you are now pregnant or are now in legal guardianship) except a change in your marital status.

If you are a foster youth or ward of the court, you are considered independent for FAFSA purposes and are not required to provide any parental data on the FAFSA. If you are in Foster Care, please answer “yes” to the foster care question on the FAFSA if at any time since you turned age 13 you were in foster care or a dependent or ward of the court, even if that is no longer your situation. Students in foster care can bring letter of proof from CYFD to UNM Registrar’s Office for waiver

Cost of Attendance (COA)

If you have costs that differ significantly from the standard COA you can submit the Cost of Attendance Increase Request form. Adjustments to COA do not always result in an increase in aid.

Withdrawal Policies

If a student begins instruction at UNM, receives federal financial aid, and then withdraws from all classes (or fails to earn any credit for a semester), their financial aid may be adjusted according to federal regulations. If you completely withdraw or do not earn any academic credit for the semester your financial aid may be prorated based on the last date you attended an academic related event. To earn 100% of your financial aid and not owe the University you have to attend at least 60% of the semester. If you withdraw prior to 60% of the semester being completed, you may have to repay a portion of the financial aid you received.

International Students

UNM offers competitive scholarships for high-achieving students. Our most prestigious scholarship, the International Amigo Scholarship, grants international students (non-immigrant visa holders) the resident, in-state tuition rate. All undergraduate applicants are automatically considered for these generous scholarships - no additional application paperwork is needed!

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