Giving Compass' Take:

• The College Board is offering a college scholarship that helps high school students through the college planning process that can be very difficult for families and their children to understand. 

• What are some of the challenges related to this type of scholarship and model?

• Read about this startup that is helping students with their financial aid applications for college.

The College Board unveiled a first-of-its-kind national scholarship program that guides high school students through the college planning process and offers them a chance to earn money for their education for each action they complete.

Called the College Board Opportunity Scholarships, the not-for-profit membership organization is dedicating $25 million over five years to the new program that lays out six simple steps all students can take to get to college. Completing each step will earn a chance for a scholarship; doing all six steps will earn a chance for $40,000 for their college education.

Unlike typical scholarship programs, the College Board Opportunity Scholarships program doesn’t require an essay or an application, and it doesn’t have a minimum GPA or SAT score requirement. Rather, it rewards students’ actions on their way to college, making it open to all students. The more actions students take, the more chances they have to earn a scholarship. All students can earn opportunities for scholarships by completing any or all of the following steps:

  • Building a college list
  • Practicing for the SAT
  • Improving SAT score
  • Strengthening their college list
  • Completing the FAFSA:
  • Applying to colleges

Drawings for the scholarships will take place monthly. Students who complete all six of the actions will be eligible for one of 25 Complete Your Journey scholarships worth $40,000 each.

In building the program, the College Board talked with and surveyed thousands of students and parents across the country, including high school seniors who could look back and reflect on the college planning process.

Rooted in research, the scholarship program focuses on steps students need to take to make it to college, clarifying the complex college planning process for all students. The six actions in the College Board Opportunity Scholarships are the critical steps many students don’t pursue, limiting their college prospects. This is especially true for low-income and first-generation students.

Read the full article about national scholarship for college planning by Api Podder at My Social Good News