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For Immediate Release
December 12, 2003
White: New Program Will Aid
High-Achieving Pa Students
Harrisburg – A new Academic Excellence
Scholarship Award Program has been launched to reward students with both
high academic potential and demonstrated financial need, according to
state Sen. Mary Jo White (R-21).
White said the program will benefit
Pennsylvania State Grant recipients who met the qualifications for the
federal Robert C. Byrd Scholarship Program but did not receive funding.
The Byrd Program rewards academic excellence in high school with a
$1,500 scholarship, renewable for three more years if the student
maintains continuous full-time enrollment and meets academic progress
standards.
More than two-thirds of the qualified Byrd
Program applicants at Pennsylvania schools who also have a state grant
do not receive awards due to insufficient funds, White said. Students
who were denied funding for their first year of college are not eligible
for Byrd funds in future years, under Byrd Program regulations.
"Federal assistance for college tuition,
such as the Byrd Program, is limited," said White. "This state-level
initiative provides another opportunity for aid to students who worked
hard and excelled in the classroom."
The senator said the Pennsylvania Higher
Education Assistance Agency expects to award about $1.2 million in the
fall of 2004 to those who demonstrate both academic excellence and
financial need. All funding for the program comes from PHEAA's business
earnings and does not require any taxpayer support, White noted.
Eligible high school graduates must be in
the top 5 percent of their high school graduating class or among the top
three students in a graduating class of fewer than 60 students. The
applicant must have at least a 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.
He or she must have a minimum score of 1150 on the SAT or an American
College Testing composite score of 25 or higher. If the applicant is a
qualifying GED recipient with a score of 355 or higher he or she must
have either an SAT score of at least 1150 or an American College Testing
composite score of 25 or higher. They must attend a Pennsylvania
postsecondary institution and may not be recipients of the Byrd Program.
The PHEAA Academic Excellence Scholarship
Award Program will begin providing awards to incoming qualifying
freshman at Pennsylvania postsecondary institutions in the fall of 2004
and 2005. First-year awards will equal $1,500 with the opportunity for
renewal for up to three additional academic years if the recipient
maintains continuous full-time enrollment and meets the satisfactory
academic progress requirements as determined by the student's
postsecondary institution.
The senator noted that qualified Byrd
Program applicants will automatically be considered for the PHEAA
Academic Excellence Scholarship Award Program, so no additional
application process will be required.
CONTACT:
Leigh Ramsey (717) 787-9684
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