The University of South Florida has announced it will make a $20 million investment to help students who are experiencing financial hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic remain on a path to timely graduation. The university has begun awarding the We Got U-SF Scholarship and Waiver to nearly 22,000 eligible undergraduate and graduate students to encourage full-time enrollment in the fall semester.  

The university created this unique initiative upon recognizing that financial uncertainty may interrupt the academic progress of students, which could lead to increased debt and tens of thousands of dollars in lost wages from delayed entry into the workforce. USF determined eligibility for the scholarship and waiver program by identifying students who are not already receiving scholarships from the Office of Admissions or the Federal CARES Act Emergency Financial Aid funds for fall 2020, or who are not receiving tuition waivers or third-party payments of tuition. Eligible students will receive an email from USF’s Office of Financial Aid or the Office of Admissions. The funds used for this initiative are restricted institutional dollars that have been allocated for financial aid.