First-Year Scholarships and Grants

First-year scholarships and grants are awarded to new, incoming first-year students at Buffalo State. Scholarships are made possible through the generous donations of alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of Buffalo State. (For students starting in fall semester only)

• Merit-based scholarships are awarded to approximately 18% of admitted students based on their academic and extracurricular accomplishments. Students eligible for a merit-based scholarship typically have maintained an A average. Meeting the eligibility criteria is not a guarantee of a merit-based scholarship, but suggests the minimum type of academic performance necessary to be considered. A separate application is not needed to apply; students will automatically be reviewed for eligibility. 
• Grants do not take into consideration a student's high school performance and are awarded regardless of income. Grant aid is considered a last-dollar award and is not refundable. A separate application is not needed to apply; students will automatically be reviewed for eligibility. 

¹ New grants effective with the fall 2023 freshmen class.

2 Honors Plus and Bengal Scholarship are effective with the fall 2024 freshmen class. 

Amount: up to $2,500 per year (up to $1,250 per semester)

Requirements: Consideration for the Muriel A. Howard Honors Scholarship is based on a student's high school average as well as other factors such as extra-curricular activities, recommendations, and rigor of coursework.  For priority scholarship consideration an admission application must be submitted by November 30th. The scholarship is only awarded to those students who enroll for the fall term immediately following high school completion.

Renewable: Yes, for four years (8 semesters) if the student remains continuously enrolled full time (12+ credit hours) in the fall and spring semesters, and maintains a 3.3 cumulative GPA.  Students that graduate early forfeit any unused portions of the scholarship. 

Can be combined with: Presidential, Kenzie, Destination, Bengal Promise, and/or Bengal Experience 

Amount: up to $2,500 per year (up to $1,250 per semester)

Requirements: The Presidential Scholarship is awarded at the time of admission; no separate application is required. For priority scholarship consideration an admission application must be submitted by November 30th. Consideration will be based on a student's high school average as well as other considerations such as extra-curricular activities, recommendations, and rigor of coursework.  The scholarship is only awarded to those students who enroll for the fall term immediately following high school completion.

Renewable: Yes, for four years if the student remains continuously enrolled full time (12+ credit hours) in the fall and spring semesters, and maintains a 3.2 cumulative GPA. Students that graduate early forfeit any unused portions of the scholarship. 

Can be combined with: Muriel A Howard Honors, Kenzie, Destination, Bengal Promise, and/or Bengal Experience 

Amount: up to $2,000 per academic year (up to $1,000 per semester)

Requirements: The Provost Scholarship is awarded at the time of admission; no separate application is required.  For priority scholarship consideration an admission application must be submitted by November 30th. Consideration will be based on a student's high school average as well as other considerations such as extra-curricular activities, recommendations, and rigor of coursework.  The scholarship is only awarded to those students who enroll for the fall term immediately following high school completion.

Renewable: Yes, for four years if the student remains continuously enrolled full time (12+ credit hours) in the fall and spring semesters, and maintains a 3.0 cumulative GPA.  Students that graduate early forfeit any unused portions of the scholarship. 

Can be combined with: Kenzie, Destination, Bengal Promise, and/or Bengal Experience 

Amount: up to $2,000 per year (up to $1,000 per semester)

Requirements: The Honors Plus Scholarship is awarded at the time of admission; no separate application is required.  For priority scholarship consideration an admission application must be submitted by November 30th. The scholarship is only awarded to those students who enroll for the fall term immediately following high school completion.

Renewable: Yes, for four years (8 semesters), as long as the student participates in the Muriel A. Howard Honors Program, the student remains continuously enrolled full time (12+ credit hours) in the fall and spring semesters, and maintains a 3.3 cumulative GPA.  Students that graduate early forfeit any unused portions of the scholarship.

Can be combined with: Kenzie, Bengal Promise, and/or Bengal Experience 

Amount: up to $1,000 year (up to $500 per semester)

Requirements: The Bengal Scholarship is a one-time scholarship awarded at the time of admission; no separate application is required.  For priority scholarship consideration, an admission application must be submitted by November 30th.

Renewable: No, the scholarship will be awarded in the fall and spring semesters for one academic year.

Can be combined with: Kenzie, Bengal Promise, and/or Bengal Experience 

Amount: up to $1,000 year (up to $500 per semester)

Requirements: The Erie County (NY) Scholarship is a one-time scholarship awarded at the time of admission; no separate application is required. Scholarship recipients are required to reside in Erie County, New York, and are selected solely based on academic performance. For priority scholarship consideration, an admission application must be submitted by November 30th.

Renewable: No, the scholarship will be awarded in the fall and spring semesters for one academic year.

Can be combined with: Kenzie, Bengal Promise, and/or Bengal Experience 

Amount: up to $9,500 year (up to $4,750 per semester)

Requirements: Beginning in Fall 2023, out-of-state and international students will be eligible for the Destination Buffalo State Grant.  All new freshmen students that do not qualify for in-state tuition rates as a resident of New York State are eligible for this award.  The grant is targeted to support "non-tuition" billed expenses, such as fees, housing, meals, and books. 

Renewable: Yes, for four continuous years (fall and spring semesters) of full-time enrollment or until a bachelor's degree is earned, whichever happens first.  Additionally, the recipient must continue to be billed out-of-state tuition, live on-campus, and maintain a 2.25 overall grade point average.  GPAs are reviewed after each spring semester.

Can be combined with: Muriel A Howard Honors, Presidential or Provost, Bengal Experience

Other important notes:

• Awards are available to students enrolled in matriculated undergraduate programs only.
• Students graduating early may not apply “unused portions” of their grant(s) to their final semester(s).
• Students that become Residence Advisors become ineligible for the Destination Buffalo State Grant as their housing and meals are covered as an RA.  A student can regain eligibility for the Grant if they no longer are an RA, however, the terms they missed as an RA will still be counted toward the 8 eligible semesters. 
• Students that fail to meet the 2.25 overall gpa at the end of spring may appeal to have their grant reinstated.  Appeals should be directed to the Financial Aid Office, finaid@buffalostate.edu.  Documentation should be included which supports the appeal (medical records, obituary, court documents, etc).
• Students that have a break in their enrollment become ineligible for the grant upon their return to Buffalo State.  Students on a documented medical leave or those serving in the military may appeal to have their grant reinstated.
• Summer coursework can help a student regain a 2.25 grade point average.  Any summer course(s) should be taken under the consultation of an academic advisor. Students should notify the Financial Aid Office at finaid@buffalostate.edu if they recovered their GPA over summer. 

Amount: up to $3,000 year (up to $1,500 per semester)

Requirements:  Beginning with the fall 2023 freshmen class, the Bengal Promise Grant helps to reduce the financial barriers many students face with living on-campus. The grant is targeted to support "non-tuition" expenses, specifically billed on-campus housing and meal charges for in-state students.

Renewable: Yes, for four continuous years (fall and spring semesters) of full-time enrollment or until a bachelor's degree is earned, whichever happens first.  The recipient must maintain a 2.25 cumulative GPA and continue to live on-campus each semester.  GPAs are reviewed after the spring semester.  The student must live on-campus during the freshmen year to qualify.  This grant is only available to in-state students. 

Can be combined with: Muriel A. Howard, Presidential or Provost or Erie County, Kenzie, and/or Bengal Experience 

Bill Examples: The examples below show how the Bengal Promise Grant would be awarded to three different students at varying income levels and merit scholarship eligibility.  Note that students still have the options to borrow student loans to help offset any remaining balance.  In the event the student received institutional, state, or federal gift aid that exceeded their billed costs, the Bengal Promise Grant would be reduced or canceled.  

Other important notes:

• Awards are available to students enrolled in matriculated undergraduate programs only.
• If a student moves on-campus during their second semester of their freshmen year, they are eligible for a maximum of 7 Bengal Promise Grants. 
• Students graduating early may not apply “unused portions” of their grant(s) to their final semester(s).
• Students that become Residence Advisors become ineligible for the Bengal Promise Grant as their housing and meals are covered as an RA.  A student can regain eligibility for the Promise Grant if they no longer are an RA, however, the terms they missed as an RA will still be counted toward the 8 eligible semesters. 
• Students that fail to meet the 2.25 overall gpa at the end of spring may appeal to have their grant reinstated.  Appeals should be directed to the Financial Aid Office, finaid@buffalostate.edu.  Documentation should be included which supports the appeal (medical records, obituary, court documents, etc).
• Students that have a break in their enrollment become ineligible for the grant upon their return to Buffalo State.  Students on a documented medical leave or those serving in the military may appeal to have their grant reinstated.
• Summer coursework can help a student regain a 2.25 grade point average.  Any summer course(s) should be taken under the consultation of an academic advisor. Students should notify the Financial Aid Office at finaid@buffalostate.edu if they recovered their GPA over summer. 

Amount: up to $1,000 year (up to $500 per semester)

Requirements:  Beginning with the fall 2023 first-year student class, the Bengal Experience Grant is for all first-year students who make an official visit (Open House, Admitted Student Days or Virtual Visits as part of the recruitment process) are eligible to receive a $1,000 Bengal Experience Grant. Effective for the fall 2024 admit term, official visit must be made by May 1st before their anticipated entry term. The grant is targeted to support "non-tuition" billed expenses, such as fees, housing, meals, and books.  If the student's billed tuition, fees, housing, meals, and book costs are covered by other institutional, federal, or state grants or scholarships, the Bengal Experience Grant may be reduced or canceled. 

Renewable: Yes, for four continuous years (fall and spring semesters) of full-time enrollment or until a bachelor's degree is earned, whichever happens first.  The recipient must maintain a 2.25 cumulative GPA.  GPAs are reviewed after the spring semester.

Can be combined with: Muriel A. Howard, Presidential or Provost or Erie County, Kenzie, Destination, and/or Bengal Promise.

Bill Examples: The examples below illustrate how the Bengal Experience Grant must be applied to billed charges.  If a student's billed charges are covered by other institutional, federal, or state grants or scholarships, the Bengal Experience Grant may be reduced or canceled.

• In Example 1, the student does not qualify for the Experience Grant because their grants fully cover their charges. 
• In Example 2, the student's grants and scholarships covered all but $255 of their billed charges. Therefore, the Experience Grant was reduced to $255.
• In Example 3, the student still owes $788 on their billed charges before the Experience Grant, so they are eligible for the full $500.

Other important notes:

• Awards are available to students enrolled in matriculated undergraduate programs only.
• Students graduating early may not apply “unused portions” of their scholarship(s) to their final semester(s).
• Students that fail to meet the 2.25 overall gpa at the end of spring may appeal to have their grant reinstated.  Appeals should be directed to the Financial Aid Office, finaid@buffalostate.edu.  Documentation should be included which supports the appeal (medical records, obituary, court documents, etc).
• Students that have a break in their enrollment become ineligible for the grant upon their return to Buffalo State.  Students on a documented medical leave or those serving in the military may appeal to have their grant reinstated.
• Summer coursework can help a student regain a 2.25 grade point average.  Any summer course(s) should be taken under the consultation of an academic advisor. Students should notify the Financial Aid Office at finaid@buffalostate.edu if they recovered their GPA over summer. 

• All scholarships and grants are contingent upon available funds and are subject to change.
• The University reserves the right to revoke the student’s award at any time for not meeting the criteria listed.
• Grants are to be applied to student charges and not refunded. 
• Students that fail to meet the renewal criteria have a right to appeal if they had extenuating circumstances.  The Buffalo State Scholarship/Grant Appeal Form should be completed and emailed to finaid@buffalostate.edu, along with supporting documentation for the appeal reason.