Louisiana Scholarship sand Grants
The state of Louisiana offers a wide variety of scholarship and grant programs to choose from. High school students are hence required to start their search for financial aid programs as early as 9th grade. To prevent overloading of information and subsequent confusion regarding scholarship program it is always best to start applying early.
Go Grant
The Go Grant is open to all high school students who are residents of the state of Louisiana. The program awards up to $1,000 per student per year. Since this is a government sponsored grant the award amounts and number of chosen applicants vary every year and depend on the funds available. The Go Grant is supplementary to the Pell Grant hence eligible students must be recipients of the Pell Grant. Eligible students must also have an Education Cost Gap which is greater than $0. The applicants must be willing to enroll themselves in colleges or universities in Louisiana.
The Grant is open to first time enrollment students only. The students need not apply for the grant separately though a financial need must be displayed on their FAFSA forms.
For further information, please visit:
http://www.osfa.la.gov/go_grant.htm
Leveraging Education Assistance Partnership (LEAP)
The Leveraging Education Assistance Partnership (LEAP) is open to all high school students who are full-time residents of the state of Louisiana for at least one year before applying for the scholarship. The program awards between $200 and $2,000 per student per year. Eligible students must also be U.S. citizens or eligible non citizens. The eligible students should also have a consistent GPA of 2.0 or a minimum ACT score of 20 or a minimum score of 45 on the GED Test. Eligible students must be willing to enroll themselves in colleges or universities in Louisiana and have a minimum financial need of $199.
Students need not apply separately for this scholarship as they are automatically considered for it when they display financial need on their FAFSA forms.
TOPS (Taylor Opportunity Program for Students)
The TOPS (Taylor Opportunity Program for Students) awards four scholarships for different components which include opportunity, honors, and performance and tech awards.
The TOPS scholarship pays for tuition expenses incurred at all public colleges and universities in Louisiana. Eligible students must have a minimum GPA of 2.5 in their core courses, minimum ACT score and 17.5 core units. The eligible students must also be residents of Louisiana and be willing to enroll themselves in colleges or universities in Louisiana. The program also pays an annual stipend of $400 to the chosen applicant.
The TOPS Tech Awards provide scholarship to cover tuition for occupational training at any school under the Louisiana Community and Technical College System.
Rockefeller State Wildlife Scholarship
The Rockefeller State Wildlife Scholarship provides financial assistance to students who wish to study forestry, marine science or wildlife. The program awards up to $1,000 per student per year. The students have to maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher which grants them the scholarship in the first place. Eligible students have to show a financial need on their FAFSA forms.
Louisiana offers a large selection of scholarship programs for the students to choose from hence students must start early in order to avail the benefit of these programs.
