Everything You Need to Know About the Go Blue Guarantee

August 24, 2021

A Student Financial Aid Advisor explains it all

This year, University of Michigan reinforced its commitment to affordability for all students. Now, students at UM-Dearborn are eligible for the Go Blue Guarantee, the university’s landmark promise of free tuition for high-achieving students from qualifying backgrounds. Here, Logen Hill, a Student Financial Aid Advisor at UM-Dearborn, breaks down the award program by detailing who qualifies for the Go Blue Guarantee and what it means for our campus.

What’s your role in the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships?
Logen Hill: I am a Student Financial Aid Advisor, so I’m on the frontline of the office. If students generally have questions about things pertaining to financial aid — anything from submitting the FAFSA [Free Application for Federal Student Aid] or what kind of aid they will get for the year — me and three other colleagues would be the people that they speak to.

What does it mean for UM-Dearborn to offer the Go Blue Guarantee, since it’s been such a landmark at the Ann Arbor campus?
LH: One of the initial questions that I asked as a new employee was whether we were offering the Go Blue Guarantee or any type of tuition help to students who are lower-income so, I think it's fantastic that it’s being offered now. As a person who went through undergrad and did not qualify for need-based aid, I know that this is truly important to students who need help covering tuition if they’re part of a lower-income family. I wish I was attending during this time! The school is already affordable but this makes more of an impact for people who may not believe that they could attend because of cost concerns. I'm very glad that it's here at UM-Dearborn and that all three Michigan campuses are able to be a part of the Go Blue Guarantee. 

How are students responding to the news about the expansion of the program to UM-Dearborn?
LH: A lot of people are very grateful for it. It was really something new for all of us to hear about — not only for the employees that work here, but also the students. A lot of first-year students are excited that this is an option for them.

So, how do students go about applying for the Go Blue Guarantee?
LH: The Go Blue Guarantee does not have a formal application process. We, as a financial aid office, will review eligibility for all incoming and returning students every year once their FAFSAs come in. The FASFA is the key component in order for us to determine whether or not they will qualify for the award. Once we get the FAFSA, our office will review it and let first-year students and also incoming transfer and returning students know if they qualify for the award. It’s a pretty easy process if you ask me.

Why do you stress filing the FAFSA?
LH: As soon as the award notification was released, a lot of students asked, “Do I qualify? Well, if your FAFSA is not on file, we can't really tell you if you qualify or not. Often, we do have to tell students to complete that application, and not just to learn if they’re eligible for the Go Blue Guarantee, but to also for any other financial aid that can be offered through the federal government, or even aid we can offer to them institutionally. So the application is an important component for the Go Blue Guarantee, but for all other aid as well.

Once a student has filed the FAFSA, when will they find out whether they’re eligible for the Go Blue Guarantee?
LH: Because the Go Blue Guarantee was new for our campus, we had to go back and revise awards for incoming students. Next year, once the award has a little bit of time under its belt, incoming first-year and transfer students will find out upfront if they qualify for the Go Blue Guarantee once we get their FAFSA information and begin to package them for aid.

Is the process at all different for transfer students?
LH: No, transfer and first-year students have the same GPA requirements.*

Let’s talk about those requirements. What do students need to qualify?
LH: There are a few requirements for incoming first-year and transfer students. First thing is, you have to be admitted into the institution. You also have to have your FAFSA submitted to our school. It has to be correct and completed through the Department of Education and sent to us. From there, you have to have a 3.5 GPA as an incoming first-year or transfer student, and you have to be pursuing your first bachelor’s degree. You must be enrolled full time — a full-time student takes 12 credits and above — and you also have to meet the income requirement, which is an adjusted gross income [AGI] of $65,000 or less and assets that are less than $50,000.

Current students have to have a FAFSA on file, the same financial requirement of $65,000 or less for the AGI and assets have to be less than $50,000 as well. You can get the scholarship if you have a 3.0 GPA, so the only difference between incoming and current students is really the GPA requirement.

What if a current student meets the financial aid requirements but won’t meet the GPA requirement until next semester?
LH: Just as we review the FAFSA every year, GPA is going to be reviewed every year as well. There is a process called satisfactory academic progress, where a student has to be meeting not only GPA requirements, but also the completion rate for their degree. If an incoming first-year student does not currently meet requirements for the GPA component of the Go Blue Guarantee, they could qualify next year if they meet the returning-student GPA. This is the same for existing students that don't meet the GPA requirement.

Do part-time students qualify for the award?
LH: I know a lot of students do go part-time throughout the year but unfortunately, for the Go Blue Guarantee, you have to be full-time. You also have to be an in-state resident. Out-of-state residents can qualify for other options that we have. If you don't get the Go Blue Guarantee, don't be too upset because there is still institutional and federal funding that could be offered to you if you are a need-based student, and we're more than happy to discuss those with students.

What if you’re an out-of-state student who moves to Michigan during the school year — can you qualify?
LH: The residency process for UM-Dearborn goes through the Residency Classification Office in Ann Arbor, but if a student does become a resident of Michigan within a school year, the next year, the system will be updated to let us know that a student is in-state. At that point, we would package them as an in-state student, and then we would be able to review their eligibility for the Go Blue Guarantee. Again, we review eligibility every year, so that’s something that we could look at if they become an in-state student.

Do you see the Go Blue Guarantee evolving over time at UM-Dearborn?
LH: In the short amount of time that I've been here, a lot of things are changing — technology-wise and aid-wise — so I do believe that once we get the Go Blue Guarantee running over this next year, there might be things we can tweak to the program so that it's inclusive to our students. And because this is new to UM-Flint and UM-Dearborn, which are smaller schools, each institution will regulate it in their own way in terms of determining eligibility in ways that may differ from the Ann Arbor campus. We will see how it goes this year and if there are any changes that need to be made, I'm sure that we will adjust accordingly so that it's sufficient for our students.

*Editor’s Note: GPA requirements for first-year students are based on your high school transcripts, whereas the requirements for transfer students are based on your college coursework.