Deadline nears for Arkansas Academic Scholarship applications

July 1 is the deadline to apply for the Arkansas Academic Scholarship for students and Arkansas residents planning to enroll in a two- or four-year college or university in the fall.

Applicants can be new high school graduates, students already enrolled in college and older, non-traditional students wanting to further their education. Link here for more info on the application process.

Since 2010, the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) has helped raise more than $1.1 billion to fund more than 675,000 scholarships for students attending 51 Arkansas public and private college and universities.

To be eligible for the scholarship, a student must be an Arkansas resident for at least 12 months prior to enrollment and receive at least a 19 on the ACT. To maintain eligibility, students must keep a 2.5 GPA.

“The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery was started with the mission of helping Arkansas students realize their higher education goals,” said Eric Hagler, ASL executive director. “We have never deviated from that objective and are proud that more than 92 cents of every dollar raised through the sale of lottery tickets goes to scholarships, prizes, retailer commissions and other expenses.”

Following are the scholarship award amounts.
Four-year college:
Year 1 – $1,000;
Year 2 – $4,000;
Year 3 – $4,000;
Year 4 – $5,000.

Two-year college:
Year 1 – $1,000;
Year 2 – $3,000.

The lottery also helps fund two other scholarships. The Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship is available for those attending technical schools. It is for students seeking certifications in high-demand occupations, such as healthcare and information technology. The Arkansas Concurrent Challenge Award provides financial incentives to eligible high school students who want to get an early start on college courses.

More than 92 cents of every dollar of ASL revenue goes to prizes, scholarships, retailer commissions, and other expenses in Arkansas. Since 2009, the lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion in proceeds for scholarships. More than 675,000 college scholarships have been awarded to Arkansans. The lottery has awarded more than $4 billion in prizes to players, about $347 million in retailer commissions and provided more than $154 million in state and federal tax revenue.