Alaska is absolutely beautiful any time of year, although it’s obviously colder during the winter months. There’s such a vast array of activities available to the avid outdoorsman or woman. Let’s not forget that Alaska also offers great colleges and universities to their student population. Now they only challenge, as for any college student, is to find some financial aid to help pay for their college experience. This is exactly why Alaska offers a variety of scholarship and grant programs to meet the needs of current resident students as well as those out of state, looking to attend college in Alaska.
There is a broad spectrum of organizations that are more than happy to grant individuals funds in order to further their academic education. The Alaska Advantage Grant is one of the most common grants available to students of Alaska. This is a state-funded, need based award to acts as additional financial assistance to those that qualify. A FASFA is required to be filled out with this grant and if found eligible the recipient may be awarded between $500 and $2000. This can definitely helpful when it comes to tuition and text books.
GEAR UP Alaska is a unique program that students begin working towards as early as middle school. In order to meet requirements for this particular scholarship there is a particular academic criterion that needs to be met. Individuals have to have graduated from a GEAR UP program, meet all criteria, and have the plans to enroll in a college program. This scholarship is not for the common individual who lacks drive or a clear academic plan. For those motivated enough to complete are requirements may be rewarded with a scholarship for as much as $7000 per academic year.
For those not quite so driven or missed the middle school opportunity, but still successful in their high school academics and involved in volunteer work has a chance at the Robert C. Byrd honors Scholarship. This is a federally funded scholarship which is offered to Alaska’s own graduating seniors. As with many programs such as these, there are guidelines that need to be met in order to qualify.
An individual has to already been accepted into certain college or university programs anywhere in the United States. This is great for those who want to wander away from home for their college experience. The eligibility is also based upon ACT/SAT scores, GPA’s, and graduation rank. If fortunate enough to be awarded this scholarship it can earn an individual $1500 that can be renewed for a total of four years.
