Baccalaureate Scholars

• Scholar Portal 
• Scholarship funding details & deadlines
• Keeping your scholarship
• Deferring your scholarship
• Eligible majors and colleges/universities
• Scholar support services
• FAQs
• Contact us

Overview

This page is for current Opportunity Scholars in the Baccalaureate Scholarship program. If you’re applying for the Baccalaureate Scholarship, visit the Baccalaureate Applicants webpage.

Below are details about your scholarship. The quick links above provide access to frequently used documents and processes.

Looking for the Scholar Portal? Use this link.

Upcoming Milestones and Deadlines for Current Baccalaureate Scholars

Note: If you will be attending a different school for the upcoming term, you must submit a College of Enrollment Update form at least two weeks prior to the disbursement date. You can access the form and find the deadline for submitting the form in the Scholar Portal under the “Submit Request” tab.

The Baccalaureate Scholarship (BaS) provides up to $22,500 in scholarship funding to students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in high-demand STEM and health care majors in Washington state. This scholarship can stack on top of other financial aid to cover tuition, fees, and other costs, such as living expenses, food, and more. 

WSOS is more than a scholarship! You could receive access to connections, advice, networks, mentorship, and career development resources to help you succeed in college and find a job.   

What do I need to do to keep receiving my scholarship? What if I’m graduating?

Submit the Renewal Form each year

All Opportunity Scholars are required to complete the Renewal form every year. This means: 

• Submitting the Renewal form in the Scholar Portal by the advertised deadline.
• Completing your FAFSA or WASFA and having it processed by the advertised deadline.

If you already graduated or will be graduating this year, please submit the Graduation Form instead. You can find the Graduation Form in the Scholar Portal under the “Submit Request” tab

Watch the video below to learn more about how to renew your scholarship. 

Submit an Award Increase Request by your deadline

Baccalaureate Scholars are also required to submit and be approved for an Award Increase Request by their deadline. Each Scholar has a unique Award Increase Deadline, which can be found in the Scholar Portal under “Scholarship Info”. You may submit the Award Increase Request before the deadline if you meet the requirements. Read more about the Award Increase Request requirements.  

How long do I receive WSOS funding? 

You can receive WSOS funding for a total of 18 quarters or 12 semesters, but it can depend on a few different factors.

• If you’ve already completed some college semesters, read the section below about finding your application grade.
• If you’ve already received funding from the Washington College Grant (WCG), read the section below about WGC.

Note: Once you become a Scholar, make sure to add the @waopportunityscholarship.org domain to your list of safe senders, so you receive our emails! These emails will remind you of important deadlines. If you miss important scholarship deadlines (such as renewing your scholarship or submitting an award increase), exceed the maximum number of years of funding, or have received the maximum funding of $22,500, you will be withdrawn from the scholarship.   

How to calculate how long you’ll receive funding using application grade

WSOS calculates what we consider to be your grade level, “Application Grade,” when you apply for the scholarship.

• This is based on the number of terms you have received state financial aid, the number of credits you have earned post-high school, or the number of terms of college you have completed post-high school (including Running Start credits).  
• As outlined in the chart below, your “application grade” determines how long you can receive $2,500 of WSOS funding before you must be accepted into your major and submit an Award Increase Request. If your request is approved, you’ll receive more funding.
• You can learn more about your funding in your Scholar Portal.

Washington College Grant Funding

When you apply for WSOS, WSOS verifies your FAFSA/WASFA completion, income eligibility, and any Washington College Grant (WCG) terms you have used.

• WCG terms are the number of quarters or semesters that an applicant has received WCG funding.
• All Scholars can receive a maximum of 12 semesters or 18 quarters of funding from WSOS, including any previous WCG funding terms they’ve received. Once you accept the scholarship, we will confirm how long you’ve received WCG funding (if you’ve received any) and subtract that from the total 18 quarters or 12 semesters of WSOS funding you can receive.
  • For example, if you received WCG funding for all three quarters of your first year of college, then you have used three WCG terms. Those three terms are then subtracted from the total WSOS funding terms you can receive – 18 WSOS total funding terms minus three WCG funding terms means you could receive WSOS funding for up to 15 terms.
• You will be notified when you approach your final academic year of funding.

How much funding do I receive? 

Amount per academic year 

You will receive up to $2,500 each year until you submit an Award Increase Request. Learn more about Award Increase Requests.   

Note: Opportunity Scholars will receive the funding described above up to their Cost of Attendance (COA) after other financial aid has been applied. Depending on the amount of other aid you are receiving, it is possible that you may not receive the full scholarship amount. We encourage you to contact your Financial Aid office to better understand COA and how WSOS funds stack on top of other aid.

Once you receive 18 quarter or 12-semester terms of funding or have received the maximum funding of $22,500, you will be withdrawn from WSOS.

Scholars enrolled part-time will receive a prorated scholarship amount. 

• Full-time enrollment, 12 credits: Eligible for 100% of funding 
• Part-time enrollment, 3-11 credits: Eligible for prorated (partial) funding 
• Less than part-time enrollment, fewer than 3 credits: Not eligible for funding 

*The academic year includes the fall, winter, and spring terms. Your funding amount per year may change if you use summer funding. 

Note: If you are not meeting your school’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy during a given term, you will not be eligible for WSOS funding until you are meeting SAP again. Please reach out to your school’s financial aid office if you would like to make an appeal.

When do I receive funding? 

Disbursements are sent directly to your financial aid office before the start of each term.  

You can see if funds were sent to your school by logging into the Scholar Portal and reviewing the disbursements section on the homepage. “Target Date” is when your disbursement is scheduled, and “Actual Disbursement Date” is when your scholarship was sent to your school.

Note that it can take a month or longer for schools to apply your scholarship to your account. Please be patient if the disbursement date has passed but don’t see the funds in your financial aid account as it may be due to processing time.

If you have questions or concerns about the status of your award, please reach out to your school’s financial aid office.

How do I request summer funding? 

All current Baccalaureate Scholars who have not reached the maximum term or maximum amount of funding by the end of the current academic year are eligible for summer funding. Summer funding can be requested through the renewal form, which is available in the Scholar Portal every spring. Scholars will be notified via email when the Renewal form opens each year.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What if I decide to attend a different school than what’s in my Scholar Portal? 

• If you have not been approved for an Award Increase Request: You must submit a College of Enrollment Update Form in your Scholar Portal.  
  • In your Scholar Portal, go to Submit Request > Submit College of Enrollment Update. 

• If you have already been approved for an Award Increase Request at your previous school: You need to submit a new Award Increase Request to show that you are still pursuing an eligible major at your new school and that your credits from your previous school have transferred over to your new school. 
  • In your Scholar Portal, go to Submit Request > Request Award Increase. 

What if I decide to change my major/program? 

• If you have not been approved for an Award Increase Request: Update your major/program when you submit an Award Increase Request or the Annual Renewal form, whichever comes first. 
• If you have already been approved for an Award Increase Request for your original major: Submit a new Award Increase Request to show that you are still pursuing an eligible major. 
  • In your Scholar Portal, go to Submit Request > Request Award Increase. 

Why don’t I see my scholarship in my financial aid award letter? 

Your scholarship may not show up in your financial aid award letter from your school before the start of the academic year because WSOS sends fall term funds later in the summer. 

Can I use my scholarship to pay for remedial, transitional (ABE, ESL, high school completion), and continuing education classes? 

• WSOS funds remedial courses since they are college credit classes, and the cost is equivalent to the total cost of a college credit class.  
• We do not fund transitional or continuing education classes, as they are typically free or low in cost. 

Why did I receive less than my full award amount? 

Please contact your school’s financial aid office to confirm why you didn’t receive your full award amount.

WSOS sends your full award amount to your school each term. When you don’t receive the total WSOS amount, it could mean one of the following:

• WSOS can be used to cover up to your Cost of Attendance (COA). COA = tuition, fees, books, supplies, and living expenses for one academic year. When you don’t receive the total WSOS amount, it could mean your COA is met for that term or academic year by other sources of your financial aid package.
• When you do the FAFSA this year, you will receive a Student Aid Index (SAI) number. If your SAI is higher than your COA, you are not eligible for WSOS funding.
• If you receive other forms of financial aid, such as the Federal Pell Grant, Washington College Grant, or other scholarships, it may impact how much WSOS funding you receive.
• Scholars enrolled part-time will receive a prorated scholarship amount. 
  • Full-time enrollment, 12 credits: Eligible for 100% of funding 
  • Part-time enrollment, 3-11 credits: Eligible for prorated (partial) funding 
  • Less than part-time enrollment, fewer than 3 credits: Not eligible for funding