Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship (HOPE Scholarship)
The TN HOPE Scholarship is awarded to entering freshmen who graduate from a TN eligible high school with a minimum of a 21 ACT or an overall minimum 3.0 GPA. Completion of the FAFSA is a requirement each year. To retain the HOPE Scholarship, there are minimum grade point averages a student must maintain. For full award information and eligibility requirements, visit the TSAC website.
Tennessee Promise The TN Promise Scholarship is a last dollar scholarship awarded to entering freshman enrolled full-time in an associate’s degree program. Students must file a FAFSA, complete the TN Promise application on the TSAC Student Portal, attend mandatory meetings, perform community service, and participate in a mentoring program. When award amounts are determined, the state sets a rate for private universities to use that is comparable to the rate of a community college. From that rate, we must subtract any HOPE, TSAA, and Pell Grant amounts a student is eligible for and what is remaining is what the student is awarded in TN Promise funds. For full award information, requirements, and deadlines, visit the TSAC website.
KENTUCKY STUDENTS Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES)
The KEES program provides scholarships to students who earn at least a 2.5 GPA each year of attendance at a certified Kentucky high school. The better you do in high school, the more you earn toward college. You may also earn awards for ACT/SAT scores and Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) or Cambridge Advanced International (CAI) test scores.
Where is the best place to look for scholarships?
Believe it or not, there are thousands of scholarships at your fingertips. While the process may seem daunting, creating a Scholarships.com account can help you narrow down the best scholarships for you. Find scholarships based on your academic achievements, sports talents, special skills, and hobbies and associations. You can also find scholarships for your future college major and your ethnicity.
Don’t forget to look outside the internet for unique scholarship opportunities within your community. Sometimes local businesses will award high school seniors a top scholarship but only advertise it locally. You can find these opportunities by talking with your high school counselor , your Talent Search Adviser, or your school page.
Treat scholarship applications like a job
Finding and applying for scholarships can be time-consuming. Take advantage of your free time this summer to organize which scholarships you want to apply for. Don’t worry — you don’t have to give up all your pool time to applications. Devoting an hour, a day to searching for scholarships and writing well-crafted essays and prompts will help the process feel less stressful.
You will increase your chances of winning a scholarship by taking your time to fill out each application thoroughly. Forgo the urge to copy and paste, even if two scholarship essay questions seem identical. Don’t skip optional questions either, since they are a wonderful way to share more about yourself and your goals.
The more involved, the less amount of competition
Does the thought of writing an essay or tracking down personal recommendation letters feel overwhelming? Many scholarship applications are designed to take a few hours to complete. Remember what we said about treating it like your new job? The fact that several applications take a long time is actually a good thing. The more that is involved in a scholarship, the less competition you might have, since others might not have the patience to complete all of the steps.
Look for local scholarships
Using scholarship search sites is a wonderful resource to finding hundreds of opportunities at your fingertips. It is wise to apply to as many eligible scholarships as you can. However, don’t forget to check in your local community for opportunities too. Ask your school’s guidance counselor or Talent Search Advisor if they know of local scholarship opportunities. Your local library or Chamber of Commerce might also know of scholarships in the community.
Find scholarships that fit your unique personality. Make a list of everything that makes you special.
Helpful Websites
FASTWEB- allows you to search for scholarships. internships, and more.
UNIGO - has multiple ways to search for scholarships and explore various colleges
Learn To Become- Interactive guide that helps you learn about career paths associated with various careers and understand what it takes to get the career from picking the college/classes to climbing the company ladder.
LEE J. JONES MEMORIAL ENGINEERING SCHOLARSHIP
$3,000 renewable scholarship is for DCEA TRIO participants who are accepted to a college engineering program.
Selection Criteria:
1) Must have been accepted for admission into a two-year or four-year engineering post-secondary education program.
2) The post-secondary institution must be an accredited “brick and mortar institution” (not an online college or university). Preference is given to students entering public universities in Tennessee.
3) Submit a letter of recommendation from a high school mathematics teacher describing the students’ math coursework in high school, including dual-credit and AP courses.
4) Submit a copy of high school transcripts.
5) Be recommended for selection by Douglas-Cherokee’s TRIO Project Director.
6) Be registered/enrolled full-time before scholarship funds are disbursed for the first semester.
The deadline to apply is December 1, 2023. To continue to receive scholarship funds for a second semester, during the first semester the recipient must continue to be enrolled full-time, successfully complete all courses required for an engineering major, and earn a minimum GPA of 3.0. Recipient must submit college transcripts each semester. Note: $3,000 per year (breakdown of $1500 per semester).
UT Scholarships: Students must apply to UT by November 1st to be eligible for these institutional AND competitive scholarships: https://onestop.utk.edu/scholarships/first-year/
UK Scholarships: Students must apply to UK by December 1st to be eligible for these institutional scholarships: https://www.uky.edu/financialaid/scholarship-incoming-freshmen
Selection Criteria:
1
TRIO programs are funded by the U.S. Department of Education and sponsored by Douglas-Cherokee Economic Authority.