Deadline nears for lottery scholarship applications

Applications for the state lottery scholarship, the Arkansas Challenge Scholarship, are due in fewer than 10 days for state residents entering college in the 201718 school year.

Students apply through the state’s YOUniversal application.

The scholarship requires recent high school graduates to have a 19 composite ACT score and to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, according to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. Applicants also must have lived in Arkansas for at least the past 12 months.

Those entering college who are not immediate high school graduates do not have to have a 19 ACT score, but have other requirements to meet, said Alisha Lewis, spokeswoman for the department. Nontraditional students must have a 2.5 gradepoint average from high school if they have fewer than 12 hours of college credit or a 2.5 cumulative grade-point average in college if they have more than 12 hours of college credit.

The Arkansas Challenge Scholarship gives students across the state options for their education after high school, said Suzanne McCray, vice provost for enrollment management and dean of admissions for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

The scholarship is small for those in their first year of college, but rises the second, third and fourth years, McCray said. The university provides some one-time scholarships to help with that first year.

“It helps those students who have need,” McCray said. “It helps keep in the state students who might have the option to go elsewhere.”

For full-time students attending a university, the scholarship totals $14,000 over four years, with $1,000 the first year, $4,000 the second year, $4,000 the third year and $5,000 the fourth year, according to the

state department.

Students attending college full time have to meet state requirements to retain their scholarships, including finishing a minimum of 15 hours of courses with a 2.5 grade-point average or higher, while part-time students must complete at least six hours of courses with a 2.5 grade-point average or higher.

Scholarships also are awarded for students attending a two-year institution of higher learning, a branch campus of a four-year university or a nursing school provide $1,000 the first year and $3,000 the second year, according to regulations from the Department of Higher Education.

When students leave home and go to college, they no longer have a parent waking them up to go to school or welcoming them home in the afternoons, McCray said. This can lead students to develop patterns of not attending classes.

Poor class attendance is common for students who have academic problems when they start college, McCray said. The first step in retaining the lottery scholarship is for students to go to class. Students also need to do the work assigned for their classes. Students also tend to perform better when they contribute to the campus through service projects or through working on campus.

The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery has generated about $80 million to $90 million annually for scholarships, said Bishop Woosley, director of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. About 30,000 scholarships are awarded annually.

About 80 percent of the revenue comes from instant scratch-off tickets that cost $1 to $5 each, Woosley said. Lottery sales also pick up as jackpots rise.

At the end of June, the state lottery will begin selling $10 Willy Wonka tickets for a nationwide scratch-off game, Woosley said. Another $10 ticket, Gigantix, will be sold starting in October. The price of Mega Millions tickets will go from $1 to $2 in October.

After paying expenses related to running the lottery, revenue generated by the games goes into a scholarship trust account, Woosley said. Once the money is in that account it becomes money for Arkansas Challenge Scholarships. The Department of Higher Education receives payments from that account about twice a year.

The state department handles all applications and ensures recipients meet the criteria, Woosley said.