Rhode Island College Schlolarships

The state of Rhode Island might be small, but they have set up a nice system for those students who are interested in higher education. With the costs of obtaining this type of education going up each year, the state is counted to help students manage the costs with things like scholarships and grants.

In Rhode Island, grants and scholarship opportunities are available both publicly and privately, with the state handling some things and private backers providing students with other options, too.

It is especially important to note that students can qualify for different monetary awards based upon need and merit alike, leaving the doors of higher education open to just about anyone with the drive and initiative to make it happen.

Rhode Island State Grant Program

Education grants are an important part of the equation for students who are looking to make college a feasible option. The problem for many students is that they do not want to have to take out loans for the entire amount of their loan, so it makes a lot more sense to go to college if they can get at least some help from the state government.

On the state side, enhancing higher educational opportunities can pay off down the road, as a more capable and able base of residents will improve quality of life for everyone in Rhode Island.

Need-based grants

The first part of the Rhode Island education funding program provides small grant amounts to students on a need basis. Unlike scholarships, you do not have to have special academic qualifications to earn these awards.

Unlike loans, these need based grants have no repayment requirements and they come pretty much without strings, granted that you are actually working towards a degree at an accredited university. Need based grants from the state can range from an amount as low as $250 to an amount as high as $900 annually depending upon your actual level of need.

This is completely supplemental to any amount of money that a student might get from things like the Federal Pell Grant, which is also need based. The following things are required for those who seek a Rhode Island education grant:

• Active standing as an American citizen.
• Maintain Rhode Island residency, defined as having lived there prior to January 1st in the year before applying for the grant.
• Gain admission or enrollment in a program that leads to either a two-year degree, a four-year degree, or some sort of professional certificate.
• Maintain at least a half-time standing in school, which requires at last six active credit hours.
• Be free of requires in paying back the Federal Pell Grant
• Have good standing on any type of federal student loan, including Perkins Loans, Stafford Loans, and Title IV loans, if applicable.
• Maintain good academic standing at the school and be progressing toward a degree at an acceptable rate, as defined by the school itself that the person is attending.
• Having not obtained a bachelor’s degree prior to taking the grant.
• Remaining free of drug and alcohol related convictions

Those students who would like to apply for this type of need based aid must do so by filling out the Federal Application for Student Financial Aid (FASFA). This FASFA application will open up possibilities for students to qualify not only for Rhode Island-specific grants, but also federal grants like the Pell Grant, which can provide substantially more money for college than this relatively small state commitment.

These grants are seen to be supplemental in nature, so they are not typically a full solution for people with overwhelming financial needs as they approach college.

CollegeBound Fund Academic Promise Scholarship

The state of Rhode Island is one of many that tries hard to make a commitment to those students who perform well in school and show an exceeding amount of academic promise from the beginning.

Those students who can provide this type of aptitude during their high school academic career can be eligible to receive a substantial scholarship award from the state. As you might expect, these awards are typically very competitive, and students have to score well on both the SAT and on their transcripts in order to qualify. The amount of the award is typically $2,500 annually, and it can be renewed each year for a total contribution of $10,000. Some students are eligible to apply for a fifth year extension of the scholarship if they are engaged in an approved five-year degree program.

Qualifying for this scholarship requires one to have a combination of GPA and SAT score that is high enough based upon the state’s formula index for combining these things.

Since both factors are combined, it is possible for a student with a lower GPA to make up for that with a high SAT score. The flip side is also true, as a high GPA candidate will be able to have a slightly lower SAT, granted they still pass the sliding scale formula. This program also takes into account financial need, so it is not a program that is purely designed for just those people with high performance.

The formula for figuring out eligibility is as follows:

Selection Index = ((5350 – EFC)/10) + SAT Score or Adjusted ACT Score)

Additionally, a student must be planning to attend a full time college program, which means taking more than 12 hours per semester at a university or college. Likewise, a person must take the SAT or ACT no later than January in their senior year to maintain eligibility for this program.

Those who wish to apply can do so by filling out the FASFA application, which immediately puts students in consideration for all grants and scholarships of this type.

Any scholarship, like this one, that takes into account financial need will require that application and the tax certification process that goes along with it for both the student and for the parents of that student.

Maintaining this scholarship requires students to not only stay in good academic standing and to work hard towards a degree, but it also has GPA requirements that go along. Those are as follows:

• 2.5 GPA after the student’s freshman year in college.
• 2.62 cumulative GPA after the student’s sophomore year in college.
• 2.75 cumulative GPA after the student’s junior year in college.

The scholarship award is applicable not only for university fees like tuition, but also for supplies, hardware, books, and all of the other costs that go along with attending a university on a full time basis. Room and board can be considered among these costs, as well.

Breaking down the private scholarship options

In addition to just those publicly funded grants and scholarships that the state of Rhode Island provides to gifted and needy students, there are many privately funded options that students can apply for on an individual basis. The thing to know about these scholarships and grants is that they are provided by businesses, clubs, and groups that have their own agendas.

As such, these things can often be highly specialized and highly selective, as they are seeking to promote education for a certain part of the population. Some of these will apply to only a few students, so those seeking out a legitimate funding source will need to make sure that they meet the qualifications prior to putting in an application with any of the following scholarship providers.

Patty & Melvin Alperin First Generation Scholarship

This is a scholarship that considers a host of factors for students who would like to qualify. It is one of those scholarships where students will have to show aptitude with an application, essays, recommendations, and a host of other materials.

As such, it seeks to provide opportunities to students who might not have normally had a chance to go off to college and experience higher education. In order to qualify for the Patty & Melvin Alperin First Generation Scholarship, a student must show the following things through the application process:

• Residency in Rhode Island and standing as a high school senior.
• Neither parents having graduated from college previously.
• Having been already accepted into an accredited two year school or four year university program.
• Show significant financial need that an be helped by a large scholarship.

This scholarship award can be used to pay for any of the expenses associated with college and it comes out to $1,000 per year. Students can renew the award every single year, as long as they are continuing along the path to a degree that they were on when they originally accepted the award. This is a scholarship that can and is meant to be used in conjunction with other types of financial aid, like the Rhode Island grants and Pell Grant programs.

Frederick J. Benson Scholarship

The Frederick J. Benson Scholarship is a slightly larger scholarship than the previously mentioned Alperin scholarship and it can total up to $2,000 each year for students who are accepted.

This is a scholarship that has strict requirements and eligibility conditions, so it excludes many students right from the get-go. It is only open to those students who are from Block Island. In order to qualify for this part of the scholarship, one will have had to attend Block Island schools for at least eight years prior to going off to college. This means that you would effectively have to had to live your entire life there in order to be eligible.

In addition to that, the scholarship is only available to individuals after they have completed one year of college already, as it seeks to spot those people who have shown the aptitude on their own before earning the award.

Applications for this scholarship must be sent in individually, as it is considered by a private group each and every year. The award is renewable for those students who qualify and accept the scholarship.

Cataract Fire Company #2 Scholarship

While many financial aid awards out there consider all sorts of different factors, one only takes into account a student’s academic performance. In order to get the Cataract Fire Company #2 Scholarship, you do not have to show financial need and you do not need to apply through the FASFA program.

Students just have to apply and show that they have achieved a great deal of success in the classroom and in their leadership opportunities. Additionally, any student who is given the Cataract Fire Company #2 Scholarship will have shown the following things:

• Currently enrolled as a high school senior and looking to pursue a four year degree.
• A resident of Warwick, Rhode Island.
• Have not attended any sort of post-high school education program previously.
• High GPA and other related academic awards during the student’s high school career.

This award is somewhat different from some of the scholarships out there in that it is not a renewable scholarship and it exists only as a one-time award to students who have done very well in school.

The amount of the award will be anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000 in a given year, depending upon factors like school cost. The organization allows the scholarship award to be applied to any cost of attending college, including a person’s living expenses, his or her books, or any type of hardware that might be required for attendance. Students have, in the past, used this award to fund laptops for college or to pay for the costs of living while attending college.

J. D. Edsal Advertising Scholarship

Many organizations out there are looking to push students to study one field or another. They want these students to know all about the value of going into a particular field, so they use scholarships to promote that. This is what the J. D. Edsal Advertising Scholarship is all about. The J. D. Edsal Advertising Scholarship is one that goes to a student who is already studying advertising in college.

It is one of the few scholarships out there that is more geared towards existing college students who have shown solid aptitude and a desire to study one particular area. As such, the J. D. Edsal Advertising Scholarship is for students who fit the following parameters:

• A current sophomore or higher at an undergraduate university.
• Enrolled in an advertising program of some sort or studying with an emphasis in advertising.
• Students have to be residents of the state of Rhode Island.
• Student must actively be looking for a job in advertising upon completion of the degree program.

The J. D. Edsal Advertising Scholarship is one for those people who are sure of what they want to do right now and the reward is substantial for those folks. In order to qualify, students will have to go head to head with other students who also study advertising and one of the primary factors taken into consideration is a student’s GPA. Other things that are considered for students applying for the J. D. Edsal Advertising Scholarship include:

• A student’s track record in advertising and marketing related classes, including any grades in those classes.
• Recommendations from professors that have taught marketing or advertising classes at the student’s university.
• A student’s drive and initiative, including going out and pursuing advertising internships and similar opportunities during college summers and other down times during the year.
• A student’s essay on why he or she wants to pursue a career in advertising.

All of these things are weighed and the student who comes out with the strongest application wins the award for the year. In some years, many of these awards are given out because of how many strong candidates apply for the J. D. Edsal Advertising Scholarship. This is an award that can be as valuable as $1,000 per year for students and if they show similar aptitude each year, it can be renewed until they finish their degree program.

These Rhode Island funding programs are some of the best ways for people to make college happen, in addition to taking out student loans. The federal grant programs are in the mix, as well, and students are encouraged to try a host of different funding methods in order to cover the full cost of attending college.

With a combination of grants, scholarships, loans, and everything in between, students are typically able to make college happen without too much trouble. Depending upon one’s situation in particular, choosing different specialized scholarship and grant programs is probably a good idea.

It is important to keep in mind the dates on these financial aid sources, since many of them require special applications that must be submitted early in the year if a candidate is going to have a competitive chance at winning the scholarship award. Otherwise, simply applying through FASFA is a good way to get the ball rolling with possible Rhode Island grant awards and federal awards, as well.

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