Now is the time to apply for lottery scholarships
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“For years we’ve been telling kids if they go to school and study hard it will pay off. Now it really does pay off,” said Dr. Myron Oglesby-Pitts, director of the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship Program.
Approved by state voters in November 2002, the lottery was passed in large part because the wording of the initiative requires all lottery proceeds, after awards and operational costs, to be used to fund post-secondary scholarships for Tennessee students.
In all, the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship Program will sponsor five different scholarships or awards, the most well-known of these being the HOPE Scholarship.
To receive this $3,000-a-year, merit-based scholarship, a student must be a Tennessee resident for at least one year and must have graduated high school with a 3.0 unweighted GPA on a 4.0 scale OR have scored at least a 19 on the ACT. These scholarships can be used only at a Tennessee public or private college or university that is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
Additional scholarships and awards which can be received in addition to the HOPE Scholarship include the $1,000 a year General Assembly Merit Scholarship with requires a 3.75 unweighted GPA AND at least a 29 ACT score. The $1,000 Need-Based Supplemental Award will also be given to students whose parents’ adjusted gross income is $36,000 a year or less.
Students who do not meet the requirements for the HOPE Scholarship may be eligible for the Tennessee HOPE Access Grant, which requires a student to have a 2.75 un-weighted GPA AND an 18 ACT score AND have parents whose adjusted gross income is $36,000 a year or less. This $2,000 grant is non-renewable, though recipients may qualify for the HOPE Scholarship in their second year.
Finally, the Wilder-Naifeh Technical Skills Grant is awarded to students applying to a Tennessee Technology Center. While there is no GPA or ACT requirements, these students are not eligible for the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship.
Oglesby-Pitts said applying for the scholarships couldn’t be easier.
“The first step is to apply to a Tennessee institution that is SACS-accredited. The second is to take the ACT. The third is fill out FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. That’s it. It’s that simple,” she said. “We have a contract with FAFSA and ACT and that information will come directly to us.”
There are no special forms or applications, she said, only FAFSA, which must be completed regardless of income.
Online FAFSA applications covering the 2004-2005 academic year will be available tomorrow. And while hard copies can be had from high school guidance counselors and college financial aid offices, Oglesby-Pitts highly recommends using the online form.
It’s much quicker, she said, and since the scholarships will be given on a first come-first served basis, time is of the essence. While a May application deadline will be in effect, it is estimated scholarship award letters will be sent beginning in March or April.