January 29, 2015 - Ten Oklahoma High Schools Named Scholarship Champs

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Ten Oklahoma high schools were recently named “Oklahoma’s Promise 2014 State Champions” by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for leading the state in the number of graduates who met the requirements to receive a scholarship through Oklahoma’s Promise, a state program that allows students from families whose annual income is $50,000 or less to earn a scholarship for college tuition.

“For more than 20 years, Oklahoma’s Promise has been a transformational program, helping more than 50,000 students achieve the dream of a college education. Oklahoma’s Promise encourages more students to aspire to attend college, prepares them for academic success, and provides them with financial assistance,” said Chancellor Glen D. Johnson. “These 10 high schools have done an exceptional job encouraging and supporting their students’ participation in Oklahoma’s Promise. The State Regents commend them for their hard work and dedication to our students and to Oklahoma’s future.”

High schools named Oklahoma’s Promise 2014 State Champions are:

Class B

Champion: Copan with eight Oklahoma’s Promise graduates.
Runners-up: Medford, Okeene, Red Oak and Waynoka with seven Oklahoma’s Promise graduates.

Class A

Champions: Laverne and Sterling with 11 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates.
Runners-up: Mason and Vanoss with 10 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates.

Class 2A

Champion: Dove Science Academy (Oklahoma City) with 28 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates. This is Dove Science Academy’s second consecutive year as a Class 2A champion.
Runner-up: Northeast Academy (Oklahoma City) with 24 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates.

Class 3A

Champions: ASTEC Charter (Oklahoma City), Kansas and Westville with 25 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates.
Runner-up: Sequoyah (Tahlequah) with 24 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates.

Class 4A

Champion: Santa Fe South (Oklahoma City) with 77 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates. Santa Fe South has been the Class 4A champion for six consecutive years.
Runner-up: Stilwell with 41 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates.

Class 5A

Champion: Southeast (Oklahoma City) with 70 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates. This is Southeast’s second consecutive year as the Class 5A champion.
Runner-up: Northwest Classen (Oklahoma City) with 54 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates.

Class 6A

Champion: Union (Tulsa) with 174 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates. Union has been the Class 6A champion for three consecutive years.
Runner-up: Broken Arrow with 106 Oklahoma’s Promise graduates.

Oklahoma’s Promise was created in 1992 by the Legislature to help more Oklahoma families send their children to college. The scholarship pays tuition at any Oklahoma public college or university until the student receives a bachelor’s degree or for five years, whichever comes first. It will also cover a portion of tuition at an accredited Oklahoma private institution. The scholarship does not cover the cost of fees, books, or room and board.

To be eligible for Oklahoma’s Promise, students must apply during the eighth, ninth or 10th grade, and their family’s annual income must not exceed $50,000 when they apply. A student’s family income also must not exceed $100,000 at the time the student goes to college.

To receive the scholarship at graduation, students must achieve a minimum 2.50 (C+) GPA in 17 core courses that prepare them for college and an overall GPA of 2.50 or better for all courses in grades nine through 12. Oklahoma’s Promise graduates also must attend class regularly and refrain from drug and alcohol abuse and delinquent acts.

Students completing the Oklahoma’s Promise program continue to be successful academically, with high school GPAs that exceed the state average, ACT scores that exceed those of their comparable middle- and lower-income peers, and higher-than-average freshman college GPAs. The college-going rate of Oklahoma’s Promise students exceeds the state average for high school graduates. They also have above-average full-time college enrollment, persistence rates and degree-completion rates. In addition, Oklahoma’s Promise college graduates get jobs and stay in Oklahoma after college at a higher rate than non-Oklahoma’s Promise graduates.

In order to receive the scholarship in college, students must be U.S. citizens or lawfully present in the United States by the time they begin college.

For the high school graduating class of 2014, approximately 6,400 students met the program requirements to be eligible for the scholarship.

During the current 2014-15 year, about 18,300 students are expected to receive the scholarship in college at a cost of $61.9 million. This is a decrease of about 600 students from the previous year.

For FY 2016, the State Regents have approved a funding estimate for Oklahoma’s Promise of $61.7 million. About 17,550 students are projected to receive the scholarship in 2015-16, an estimated further decline of about 750 recipients compared to 2014-15.

Since 1996, when the first students in the program entered college, more than 65,000 students have received the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship. By law, the program has a dedicated funding source that helps ensure that the program is fully funded each year.

For more information about Oklahoma’s Promise or to apply online, visit www.okpromise.org. Information is also available by e-mailing okpromise@osrhe.edu or by calling 800-858-1840.