Because of its low population, the state of Wyoming has a very small number of colleges and universities. At the same time, the state wants to not only educate its local residents, but keep them after they graduate. So it has teamed up with a few large partners. There aren't that many, but the financial aid contributions are considerable.
The state's primary scholarship is the Hathaway, which is named after a former governor of the Wyoming. It is based both on scholastic merit and need but can only be used at the state's one public university and related community colleges. The prerequisites are determined by each individual college, which is where the student should apply. What is acknowledged by all is entrance is determined by a combination of ACT and GPA scores, while the award is determined by a FAFSA. It can go up as high as $1,600 per semester, or $3,200 per academic year.
The state also has one other scholarship, the Douvas Memorial. It is awarded to hi gh school graduates who also are First Generation Americans. Recipients will get $500 for continuing their education.
Lastly, the state already offers students a loan forgiveness program for educators, but it also has a scholarship plan, the Superior Student in Education Scholarship. If a future K-12 teacher graduates high school with at least a 3.0 grade point average, he or she can get a supplemental $3,000 a year to a participating college. It is also renewable if one maintains that average while an undergraduate. Students must also go to college on a full time basis.
One of the biggest contributors to the state's scholarships is NASA. Like a handful of other states in the country, the space foundation has set up its Space Grant Consortium Program inside Wyoming, which then is split in two. The first program is the undergraduate plan; top STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) high school graduates can get as much as $5,000 if they meet the Consortium's high expectations.
The other key plan is for postgraduates. Th is is a fellowship program that will provide as much as $18,000 a year towards a PhD and $13,500 a year towards a Master's degree in the STEM fields, particularly those associated with aeronautics, aerospace engineering and other NASA-related studies.
Another key contributor the state's scholarship funds is the BNSF Foundation. It has set up a number of different plans for the academically gifted, each with its own criteria. To help the Foundation process all the demands placed on it, it set up the International Scholarship and Tuition Service. Further, these awards are only available to residents of the states of New Mexico and Wyoming.
As it stands, the BNSF handed out 35 different awards last year, ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 a year. The plans ranged from the College Scholarship Program, which is for direct descendants of the old Santa Fe railroad. Its Leadership Scholarship divides the program's territories into eight quadrants, and then selects two top students from each region; they can get up to $10,000 ($2,500 per year). In all, this plan handed out $50,000 in 2010. In addition to this program as well as those mentioned above, students may also find scholarships and grants offered by other resources and organizations, many of which can be applied toward online degrees.
No comments:
Post a Comment