Most scholarships are given to students in recognition of accomplishments such as good high school grades. But a new $25 million scholarship, announced Thursday, will reward students simply for taking steps to get ready for college.
The , outlines six steps it considers key in the college process. Completion of each step enters students into a monthly lottery to win a scholarship tied to that step. Finishing all six puts a student in the running for one of 25 鈥渃ompletion scholarships鈥� worth $40,000 in the spring of 12th grade.
The organization, which makes the SAT, will give out $25 million in scholarships over the next five years. Half of the money will be reserved for students from families with annual incomes of $60,000 or less. The program will open in December, for the graduating class of 2020.
College Board officials said that the scholarships are open to all students, since there are no minimum grade or score requirements, and no essay is required.
But thousands of students, such as those who take only the ACT, would be ineligible for two of the six steps鈥攁nd thus the big $40,000 scholarship鈥攕ince they require actions that pertain only to the SAT. To be eligible for money linked to any of the six steps, students must on the College Board鈥檚 website.
Here are the six steps in the 鈥淐ollege Board Opportunity Scholarships,鈥� with the amount of money students qualify for by completing them:
- Exploring colleges of interest and building a list on the College Board鈥檚 website (600 scholarships of $500 each)
- Practicing for the SAT with the College Board鈥檚 own online practice program (1,500 scholarships of $1,000 each)
- Improving SAT scores (150 scholarships of $2,000 each)
- Refining college lists by including a mix of 鈥渟afety,鈥� 鈥渇it鈥� and 鈥渞each鈥� schools (400 scholarships of $500 each)
- Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA (800 scholarships of $1,000 each)
- Applying to colleges (500 scholarships of $1,000 each)