Washington state high school seniors and college students may apply for the Opportunity Scholarships program until April 16.
The Opportunity Scholarships Act was sponsored by Rep. Tim Probst (D-Vancouver) and passed in the Legislature with bipartisan support in 2011.The program will award 3,000 scholarships for $1,000 per year, renewable for up to five years.
The state allocated $5 million in seed money for the program and Boeing and Microsoft have already committed $50 million, combined.
“This is what can happen when Americans focus on serving our neighbors instead of dividing our country,” Probst said in a press release. “Companies and government, Democrats and Republicans, we all put our heads together and found a completely new answer. This is how American democracy was supposed to work in the first place.”
The scholarships, according to Probst, are designed to address the fact that tuition increases are making college harder to afford for middle income families. Students from families with earnings up to 125 percent of the state’s average income can apply.
Here are income eligibility limits for the current round of applications (based on 2011 family income)
• Family of 1 – $53,200
• Family of 2 – $69,500
• Family of 3 – $85,900
• Family of 4 – $102,200
• Family of 5 – $118,600
• Family of 6 – $134,900
• Family of 7 – $138,000
• Family of 8 – $141,000
• Family of more than 8 – Add $3,000 more per person
To apply online, students must be a Washington state resident, have a 2.75 GPA or higher and have completed a 2012-2013 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).