Pittsburgh Promise allowing for gap years due to virus

The Pittsburgh Promise said Thursday it will not penalize recipients who choose to take a gap year away from their studies because of COVID-19.

The scholarship usually covers students for four years of college or a trade school after graduation, but the classes of 2017 through 2020 will have five years of coverage.

The Promise said it made the accommodation to ensure students who must, or choose, to take a year off because of COVID-19 will have the ability to continue to attend the postsecondary school of their choice.

“We know that for some students online learning is not a viable option. For others, the mental and physical health toll of the pandemic will be too great to continue their studies,” Saleem Ghubril, executive director of the Promise, said in a statement. “Our message to those students is this — ‘Your scholarship will be waiting for you, but you have to come back and you have to finish. Your dreams are still within reach.’”

Eligibility criteria and the maximum amount of money per student will not change, according to the Promise.

Students who enroll for the upcoming fall semester must be full time — taking at least 12 credits — and maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA.

Since its inception in 2006, the Promise has invested more than $146 million in scholarships to send nearly 10,000 urban youth to a postsecondary institution; more than 3,300 have graduated.

Pittsburgh has the largest Promise program in the country.