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Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to www.wvapply.wvnet.edu? This web site represents a major redesign of the old www.wvapply.wvnet.edu site maintained by the Student Services division of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. Although the content and layout have both been radically changed, the core focus of the site remains the same: connecting students with useful information to help them apply for admission to college and obtain financial assistance to pay for higher education. You may have noticed different pieces of literature referring to www.wvapply.com, www.wvapply.net, and www.wvapply.org. These alternate addresses all point to the same place (here), and were established to make this site easier to find on the Internet. What is the Common Application for State Level Financial Aid Programs? The Common Application for State Level Financial Aid Programs is a revolutionary process for obtaining financial assistance in West Virginia on two fronts. First, it is the first time the application process for West Virginia's major programs (the PROMISE Scholarship and the West Virginia Higher Education Grant) have been consolidated into one simple form. Second, it is the first time such a form has been made available to fill out on-line, simplifying the process for everyone involved. See our section on applying for financial aid for more information. How do I apply for a PROMISE Scholarship? The PROMISE scholarship once employed a paper form that needed to be filled out and mailed in. Now, students apply for a PROMISE scholarship through the on-line form for the Common Application for State Level Financial Aid Programs. Do I need to file a Common Application for State Level Financial Aid Programs if I just want to apply for the West Virginia Grant? Yes. You are required to file the Common Application for State Level Financial Aid Programs to apply to the West Virginia Grant Program or the PROMISE Scholarship Program. Do I still need to file a FAFSA? Yes. You are required to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) if you wish to apply for PROMISE or a West Virginia Grant. Failure to fill out and submit a FAFSA will make you ineligible for a West Virginia Grant or a PROMISE Scholarship, even if you have submitted the Common Application for State Level Financial Aid. Although this sounds like a complicated process, it is really quite easy thanks to our partnership with the West Virginia Mentor. Once you establish a Mentor account, the Common Application for State Level Financial Aid Programs comes up with much of your information already filled in for you, as is the case with Mentor's on-line applications for admission. Furthermore, Mentor hosts a FAFSA transfer module, which fills in much of this form for you automatically as well. This is very important. Students submitting the Common Application for State Level Financial Aid Programs before January 1, 2006 need to wait to file the FAFSA until after January 1st. Anyone attempting to fill out the FAFSA for the coming year before January 1st will be submitting the FAFSA for the wrong academic year. Students applying for financial aid for the coming academic year must file the 2006-2007 FAFSA, which is only available after January 1st. The FAFSA Processing Center must receive the completed 2006-2007 FAFSA no later than March 1, 2006. What if I didn't plan on filing a FAFSA to begin with? All students who wish to be considered for a West Virginia Grant or PROMISE Scholarship must file a FAFSA, as outlined in the Common Application for State Level Financial Aid. This requirement is absolute and unavoidable, regardless of whether or not the student feels he/she will be qualified to receive student aid on the federal level. If I want to apply for college in West Virginia on-line, can I only do it here? Although this site hosts links to on-line admissions forms for West Virginia institutions of higher learning, this is by no means the only place you can access these resources. Most colleges and universities in West Virginia have links on their own web sites leading you to an on-line application process. Why are the on-line applications for financial aid and admission hosted on the West Virginia Mentor site instead of here? The West Virginia Mentor is already well-known for their successful on-line applications for admission in addition to maintaining a wealth of information and useful resources related to higher education in the state. The partnership between the West Virginia Mentor and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission offers both organizations the opportunity to expand their offerings while serving the needs of the students we were chartered to serve as effectively as possible. How do I get my own "frequently asked question" answered on this page? Simply send an e-mail using this link and submit your question. We will either answer it directly, or post it to this page for all to see and benefit from!
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