A deferment is used to put your Regents’ Scholarship “on hold.” Students must submit a deferment request if they have applied for the scholarship, but will not attend college for the fall semester immediately after graduating from high school.

A deferment is generally used when you are serving in the military, have a major medical issue, or are participating in a humanitarian/religious service. Deferment requests for reasons such as traveling, attending a non-eligible college/university or working to save money will not be approved. Requests for deferment are evaluated on a case-by-case basis with no guarantee of approval. Even if you are granted a deferment, the scholarship will still expire five years from the date of high school graduation.

After you apply for the Regents’ Scholarship, a preliminary review is conducted. Students will be notified of the outcome of the review by May 15. If you are found to be “on-track” for the scholarship, you are required to submit final verification documents by July 1 to confirm that all requirements were in fact met. As part of the verification documents you must submit information regarding your enrollment plans for fall semester after high school graduation. The Enrollment Plans for Fall form will be available in your account to submit a request for a deferment. Students who request a deferment must include supporting documentation related to the request. All required documentation is due (postmarked) by July 1. See information below for further guidelines and details.

You are responsible for managing your scholarship even while on deferment. If you will not be able to monitor your scholarship account online, it is STRONGLY recommended that you authorize someone to act on your behalf by obtaining and submitting a copy of a notarized power of attorney. Even if you think you will be able to monitor your account in your absence, it is highly recommended that you mail in the Student Information Release Form to authorize someone else to receive information about your account while you are gone. Receiving an approved deferment does not exempt you from meeting the requirements and deadlines. So be sure to check your account regularly or have an authorized person do it for you.

Required Supporting Document:

• You must submit a copy of your mission call.
• Or, if you have not received your call yet you will need to submit a letter from your bishop on church letterhead stating your intent to serve a mission and the date you have set for availability to serve.

If you will not be of age to serve a mission and do not set your availability date prior to December 1, you will not be eligible for a deferment. Therefore, to remain eligible for the scholarship, you will need to enroll at an eligible school during the fall semester immediately after high school graduation.

If you return early from your mission, you must contact the Regents’ Scholarship office immediately as the terms of the deferment are now void. For example, let’s say your original intent was to serve a mission from August 2020 to August 2022, but then your circumstances changed and you return in May 2021. You will be expected to enroll at an eligible school for fall semester 2021, unless a new deferment request has been submitted and approved. Failure to do so may result in the forfeiture of the scholarship.

Required Supporting Documents:

You must submit a letter from the program on letterhead stating the length of time you will be gone and the service you will be participating in. This letter needs to include details regarding the service you will be providing.

Required Supporting Documents:

If you are seeking the deferment due to medical reasons, you must provide a formal doctor’s note describing your individual circumstances which prevent you from meeting the scholarship requirements and your doctor’s recommendation regarding your academics. Information related to the medical condition must be current (less than 3 months old).

Deferment requests related to medical reasons are typically only approved one semester at a time.

Required Supporting Documents: You must submit a copy of your military orders that state the length of time you will be gone and the date you will report for service.

When your deferment has ended, in order to reactivate your scholarship, you’ll be required to submit an Enrollment Information form that will be available in your scholarship account. Additional information will be included in your final review notification.