Lottery scholarship deadline indefinitely extended

The deadline had been set for Friday, but higher education officials said they wanted every eligible student to have ample time to apply for the new program.

“We just wanted to make sure absolutely no student misses this opportunity because they simply didn’t have their paperwork turned in yet or they couldn’t figure out how to apply,” said Carrington Fox, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Student Assistance Corp. “We’re just making sure everybody gets the benefit of the doubt.”

More than 45,000 students have qualified for scholarships as of Wednesday, but that’s still much lower than the estimated 65,000 students that would have been eligible.

Fox said the deadline will eventually be reset, and students shouldn’t expect the leniency in future years.

The scholarships are available to students with a 19 or better on their ACT college-entrance exam or a 3.0 or better high school grade-point average.

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Information from: The Tennessean, http://www.tennessean.com