Scholarship Deadline to Apply

Annual Deadline
July 1

 Requirements

• Graduate high school with a Diploma of Distinction (only public high school students are eligible to earn this);
  • External agencies will report your completion data, and this should be available to ADHE by mid-July.  It will then be reflected in your SAMS account, and you should anticipate awarding by August 1 each year.
• Earn an associate’s degree by the end of the summer semester following your high school graduation; and/or
• Be the highest scoring student by ACT or SAT score, cumulative GPA, and class rank for an Arkansas county that a Governor’s Distinguished Scholar was not selected. This type of student has to apply for the Academic Challenge Scholarship to be considered.

 Award Amount

Up to $5,000 per academic year for 4 years ($20,000 total)

 Who May Apply:

High school seniors that are in their graduating academic year.  If you are graduating high school a year early, you will need to apply by July 1 following the Academic Year you are expecting to graduate.

NOTE: Non-U.S. Citizens with an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or have a parent who has an EAD may apply for the Governor’s Scholars Program (FAFSA will not be required for these students). Please contact our office by calling 501-371-1064 or email quinton.morgan@adhe.edu if this is your situation.

NOTE: ADHE will take the official composite or superscore from ACT only.  We are not able to manually add or remove the Science from any ACT test that is taken, Legacy or Enhanced. You will need to coordinate with ACT and/or your high school counselor to determine the best option to reach the ACT composite or superscore you are aiming for BEFORE you take the test.  You cannot then decide AFTER the test to add or remove the Science score.

 Detailed Description

Basic Eligibility Criteria

An applicant must:

• Be a bona fide resident of Arkansas for 12 months
• Be a United States citizen or a permanent resident alien
  
• Note: Or you or your parent are an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) holder
• Be a graduating high school senior
• Have completed the ACT or SAT prior to the annual deadline above
• Complete the FAFSA
• Begin attendance in at least 15 credit hours each semester at college/university (only 12 credit hours is required your first semester)
• You must be enrolled in the appropriate number of credit hours at ONE institution each semester.
  • This scholarship award and hours cannot be split among multiple colleges in a semester unless there is a consortium agreement between the colleges for that student or that student's program. If you are paying both schools separately for your tuition and fee charges, your program is likely not under a consortium agreement.

Continuing Eligibility Criteria

• Student must maintain a minimum 3.00 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale at the end of each academic year
• Student must earn 27 semester credit hours during the first academic year and 30 semester credit hours per year thereafter.

Award Amounts

• The Governor’s Scholars (Non-Distinguished) Scholarship will pay up to $5,000 per year for tuition, mandatory fees, room and board. Students are eligible to accept both the Academic Challenge and the Governor’s Scholars (Non-Distinguished) Scholarship.  If a student receives both, the award amounts are listed below for each year they are receiving the scholarships.  

• Student receiving both Governor’s Scholars (Non-Distinguished) Scholarship and Academic Challenge per Academic Year at a 4-Year institution:

• Student receiving both Governor’s Scholars (Non-Distinguished) Scholarship and Academic Challenge per Academic Year at a 2-Year institution until they transfer to a 4-Year institution:

 Other Information

Graduate School Criteria

Those that graduate from undergrad early have the option to use the remaining semesters for graduate school. There are a few rules that come with this option, listed below:

• Students who graduate early from undergrad have the option to use one or both remaining semester(s) from their Senior year of funding for graduate school. (Max 2 semesters)
• The Graduate school must be based in Arkansas, or an eligible Out-of-State School and Program
• See “Approved Institution” definition in Rules and Regulations.
• Student must be accepted and start the graduate program the semester immediately following their undergraduate graduation (summer semesters not included).
• Students must submit their Graduate School Form and attach their graduate acceptance letter, linked below.
• If a student has an extenuating circumstance or your graduate program doesn’t start immediately following your graduation, they can have their scholarship held up to a year by submitting a hold through their SAMS account.
• Students must earn 30 hours with a 3.00+ GPA the academic year prior to beginning their graduate program in a Fall semester or 15 hours with a 3.00+ GPA if your graduate program begins in a Spring semester following graduating in a Fall semester in the middle of an academic year.

The scholarship amount for graduate school is based on the hours enrolled in. Seniors receive $2,500 a semester, if enrolled in 9 or more hours. Below is a chart of the proration.

• Enrolled in 3-5 hours= 50%
• Enrolled in 6-8 hours= 75%
• Enrolled in 9+ hours=100%

To request your remaining semesters be used for graduate school, please submit your Graduate Acceptance Letter using the link below. 

Graduate School Form