Robert C. Byrd Scholarship
Grants Dept.
With the increasing costs of funding a college education, the Robert C. Byrd scholarship award is a welcome relief to many American families. It is an extra source of income for many students who might not have had the opportunity to realize their dreams of going to college without it.
The Robert C. Byrd Scholarship is a federally funded scholarship program that is designed to aid promising high school students in making their college ambitions a reality. The program is run by the various State education agencies who issue the awards to deserving students for between one or four years spent at an accredited college. The fifty states, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories are all recipients of this fund.
The application forms can be collected from, and should be submitted directly
to the State Education agencies. Each state education agency has its own
submission deadlines and instructions for filling the forms so you have to be
careful on that particular aspect, completing the forms carefully will always
give you a better chance of being selected.
Are you eligible for the Robert C. Byrd scholarship?
To be considered eligible for nomination to receive the scholarship award, you should be a high school graduate that has been accepted for enrollment in an accredited institution of higher learning anywhere in the United States or its territories. You should have demonstrated a record of very good grades, (each state has its specific grade point requirements) good behavior in high school and shown promise of continued excellence in college (more of a general requirement but not always the norm). Home schooled students are also considered for the scholarship awards in some cases, contact your state education agency for more information on that.
Other requirements are:
• You must be a legal resident of the state in which you apply
• Must be a United States citizen, a U.S. national or permanent resident with
valid proof from the U.S. immigration and naturalization service
• You must also be able to show that you've not made yourself ineligible for the
scholarship due to having previously defaulted on a federal student loan.
• You must be registered for selective service (males)
• Should have been recommended by your school
• Be enrolled full-time in an accredited institution of higher learning for the
school year in which you are applying.
The Robert C. Byrd Scholarship is not available to students enrolled in military
colleges.
This year the number of new scholarship awards given by the Robert C. Byrd
foundation is expected to be 7,348, totaling an amount of $11,022,000. This
brings the total number of scholarship awards to 28,000 who are already
recipients of the scholarship and the total amount of funding for the program to
$42,000,000. The scholarship amount is $1,500 each year for four years.
The requirements aren't as tough as many other scholarship awards but that
largely depends on the state you're applying from as they all have slightly
different sets of rules for making their nominations. Florida for example,
requires a high GPA with excellent ACT scores, usually the best student from
each high school gets nominated; in other states the requirements might be
different.
It is important to keep yourself informed on the requirements for your home
state all the time. The period during which application forms are available also
differ from state to state; an extra reason to always keep informed with your
local authorities. Deadlines for submission are also decided by the states.
When you are nominated by your school, which is the first requirement, you
should fill your forms as accurately as possible and submit to your school's
guidance counselor who will forward your applications to the awards selection
committee for your state.
There are a couple of reasons that make this scholarship so attractive to many
students.
• The funds are distributed fairly amongst the 50 states and the territories,
these states then individually award deserving students the scholarship. That
way, the funds are quite evenly distributed, even to less populated states and
territories; everyone gets a fair chance.
• It is a renewable scholarship and most students receive the annual sum of
$1,500 over the four year period of college; this totals a sum of $6,000 for
each student.
Here is a quick look at the selection criteria for awarding the scholarship,
though it will differ between states.
1. Each applicant is required to indicate the congressional where they live.
This is probably used to decide if you are a resident of the state.
2. SAT scores (ACTs are usually required to be converted)
3. High school GPA usually not less than a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. However this
varies also largely depending on the state you're resident in.
4. Class rank is sometimes required, but depends on your state.
5. Transcript analysis is also sometimes requested and sometimes used to decide
who gets awarded the scholarship.
Be sure to meet with your school counselor for more information on submission guidelines and deadlines.
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