Graduates

Waiver Information

• If I use my HSTA waiver for undergraduate college can I use it for graduate school?
  • Yes. You have 8 semesters of under graduate tuition waiver and then you have a waiver for graduate school. Right now WVU offers a graduate HSTA waiver for degrees in the college of Health Sciences and Marshall offers the graduate waiver for all masters' degrees.
• Will my HSTA waiver expire if I take some time off school?
• No, the HSTA waiver never expires until you have used 8 semesters or have completed a bachelors degree.
• Can I get more than one 4 year undergraduate degree with my HSTA waiver if I haven't used all my semesters?
• No, your HSTA waiver is good for 8 undergraduate semesters or you have completed a bachelor's degree. You cannot get a second undergraduate degree, but you can use your waiver for a graduate degree.
• What do I need to do to stay eligible for my HSTA waiver?
• You need to be enrolled full time in a degree granting program, and you need to be making satisfactory progress according to the college you attend. This includes maintaining the GPA your college requires for satisfactory progress. You should ask your financial aid counselor what this GPA is. This link is a list of financial aid counselors that process the HSTA waiver. Also complete your HSTA waiver maintenance.
• Why didn't I get my HSTA waiver this semester?
• Here are some possible reasons:
  • You have changed schools and did not inform the financial aid office
  • Your name has changed.
  • Your GPA is not what your school requires for satisfactory progress.
  • You have used 8 semesters of the waiver.
  • You are not enrolled full time. Call the HSTA office at 1-800-345-4267 for help with this problem.
• How is my tuition waiver eligibility determined?
• Once you successfully complete HSTA, your information is sent to schools across the state telling them you are a HSTA scholar and eligible for the HSTA waiver. There are certain rules all schools must follow to give the waiver: you must be enrolled fulltime and you have 8 semesters or until you complete your first bachelors. Schools then have the right to add their own eligibility rules such as a GPA requirement, and whether or not you can use the waiver for online or summer classes. HSTA has no control over the school's eligibility rules; they must be followed to receive your HSTA waiver.
• What happens if I lose waiver eligibility?
• If you are not currently eligible for your waiver due to grades, you can get your waiver back when you pull your GPA back up to school requirements. If you are not eligible because you are not enrolled fulltime, you can use it again when you are enrolled fulltime. Your waiver will not be gone for good until you have used up your semesters or have graduated whichever comes first.
• What should I do if I change schools?
• You should contact the financial aid office at your new school and the HSTA college coordinator at kkasten@hsc.wvu.edu so that your waiver can be transferred and applied to your account without any interruption.
• Why is the HSTA waiver amount different for different schools?
• HSTA does not send any money to any schools. The HSTA tuition waiver is provided by WV State Code18B-10-4b and 18B-10-6. It says that state run colleges can waive (or forgive) tuition for students who have successfully completed the HSTA waiver. It also allows the schools to set their own criteria such as GPA. Different schools have different tuition and fee amounts. Tuition and fees are part of the school's total cost. Most schools only waive the tuition and the student is responsible for the fees. It is important to know what part are fees and what part are the tuition costs. Since you will be responsible for paying the fees, you want to choose a school with low fees. The school's financial aid department can tell you this amount.
• What are fees at a college?
• Every college charges fees for services they provide for all of their students as well as fees to help pay for certain facilities. These include: lab fees, library fees, student healthcare fees, and athletic fees.
• Why can't I use my waiver at schools out of state?
• There is no money sent to any schools for your account. The HSTA waiver is an agreement by WV state schools to waive the tuition costs of students who have successfully completed HSTA. This agreement is provided for by West Virginia state law, and WV state law has no jurisdiction over any schools in any other state.
• Do private schools in WV accept the HSTA waiver?
• No. Some private schools will give a small scholarship to HSTA students, but it is a much smaller amount than their tuition and fee costs.
• What is the HSTA policy at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine?
• Their policy is to grant a HSTA tuition waiver to one new student per year, and that student will keep their waiver as long as they are making satisfactory grades and finishing classes on time. In the event that 2 HSTA students apply at the same time, the waiver will be given to the one with higher GPA and MCAT scores. For more information, visit their website.