Newly admitted students transferring to Bridgewater State University this fall from a Massachusetts community college with an earned associate’s degree and a minimum GPA of 3.0 will be offered a full tuition-free scholarship.
Students who meet the criteria have been receiving a third off their $910 in-state, full-time tuition from the commonwealth. Bridgewater has agreed to cover the remaining two-thirds of the cost for day students attending on a full-time basis.
“This new scholarship will permit transfer students to receive the scholarship for two years, allowing them to complete their bachelor’s degree at a reduced rate,” said Janet Gumbris, director of the Financial Aid Office at Bridgewater. “Students need to stay continuously enrolled full-time for the four semesters of eligibility in addition to maintaining an overall GPA of at least 3.0.”
For students who do not meet full-time status, the state’s 33 percent tuition discount still applies.
Sandra Christoun, director of the Office of Transfer Services, called the full in-state tuition scholarships “a benefit to our growing population of transfer students and to the university. Every time we make education more affordable and accessible we are empowering our students to succeed. Offering full tuition scholarships is Bridgewater's way of demonstrating its commitment to the transfer population.”
To qualify, students with an earned associate’s degree from a Massachusetts community college or a transfer-approved program must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and enroll at Bridgewater within a year after graduation from a community college.
Once at Bridgewater, students must continue to maintain a 3.0 or higher GPA and attend class during the day on a full-time basis to continue to receive their scholarship for two years, or four semesters.
On average, approximately 140 students each academic year will be eligible for the tuition-free program at Bridgewater, which represents about 10 percent of Bridgewater’s total transfer student population.
For more information about the program, contact Ms. Christoun at 508.531.2625 or email at schristoun@bridgew.edu. (Story by Eva T. Gaffney, G ’01)