College For All Texans

Program Purpose

The 81st Texas Legislature created the Texas Armed Services Scholarship Program through the approval of HB 3452 to encourage students to participate in Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs at Texas higher education institutions. A student must meet specific eligibility criteria in order to receive an initial scholarship award. In addition to the eligibility criteria, a student must enter into an agreement requiring a four-year commitment as a member of the Texas Army National Guard or the Texas Air Force National Guard, or a commissioned officer in any branch of the armed services of the United States. If the conditions of the scholarship agreement are not met, the scholarship must be repaid.

Annually, the governor and the lieutenant governor may each appoint two students, and each state senator and each state representative may appoint one student to receive a conditional Texas Armed Services Scholarship. A maximum of 185 students may be appointed statewide. For the 2010-2011 academic year, a student may receive up to $10,000 and dependent on available future funding, students may receive up to four years of scholarship awards.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility for Nomination

In order to be considered for a conditional Texas Armed Services Scholarship, a student must meet two of the following four academic criteria at the time of application:

ü Is on track to graduate high school with the Distinguished Achievement Program (DAP)

          or the International Baccalaureate Program (IB);

ü Has a current high school GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale;

ü Achieve a college readiness score on the SAT (1590) or ACT (23);

ü Is currently ranked in the top one-third of the prospective high school graduating class.

Eligibility for Receipt of Initial Scholarship

To receive an initial conditional scholarship award through the Texas Armed Services Scholarship, a selected student must:

ü Be a freshman at a private or public institution of higher education;

ü Be a member in good standing of the ROTC;

ü Meet all prescreening requirements of the Texas Army or Air Force National Guard

          or other branches of the armed services;

ü Enter into a written agreement with the Coordinating Board agreeing to:

         -   Complete four years of ROTC training;

         -   Graduate no later than five years after the date the student first registers at

          an institution of higher education;

         -   No later than six months after graduation, provide the Coordinating Board with verification of:

          (i)   A four-year commitment to be a member of the Texas Army or Air Force National Guard; or

          (ii)  A contract to serve as a commissioned officer in any branch of the armed services

               of the United States;

         -   Repay the scholarship if the student fails to meet the agreement requirements

          for obtaining the scholarship.

Eligibility for Continued Scholarship Awards (as funds are available)

Dependent upon future funding available, a student may continue to receive an annual conditional Texas Armed Services Scholarship if the student:

ü Maintains satisfactory academic progress as determined by the institution of higher education

          in which the student is enrolled;

ü Continues to be a member of a ROTC program; and

ü Has not earned a baccalaureate degree or a cumulative total of 150 credit hours,

          including transferred hours.

Application Process

To apply for the Texas Armed Services Scholarship Program:

• You will need to be selected by a Texas Senator or Representative or the Lieutenant Governor or Governor.  If you are interested in this program and you feel you meet the program requirements, you should contact your legislator for more information. 
• Once selected, you will receive a Notice of Selection.
• Once you decide upon the higher education institution and corresponding ROTC program in which you will enroll, you will take your Notice of Selection to the institution's financial aid office.  
• The financial aid office will certify your program eligibility to the Higher Education Coordinating Board.  Because program eligibility requirements include that you be enrolled in the institution and in the ROTC program at that institution, the financial aid office cannot provide their eligibility certification before those two criteria are met.
• Once the Higher Education Coordinating Board receives the institution's eligibility certification, you will receive an email requesting you  to complete your Texas Armed Services Scholarship application online at www.hhloans.com.

Additional Information

• Frequently Asked Questions

  How much will each selected student receive through the Armed Services Scholarship?
   
  Scholarship awards are dependent on the funds available each year. For the 2010-2011 academic year, students may receive a scholarship award up to $10,000. Any amount paid to a student by the branch of the armed services of the United States during an academic year for which the student receives a Texas Armed Services Scholarship will be deducted from the total scholarship award distributed. A student could receive less money each year, contingent on the funding available for up to five years. Texas law does not allow a student to receive more than $15,000 per year.
   
  What is the deadline for legislators to submit to the Coordinating Board their student selection?
   
  Legislators must notify the Coordinating Board of their selected recipient(s) of the Texas Armed Services Scholarship by August 31, 2010, for disbursements in the fall 2010 semester. More details on submitting the appointee information to the Coordinating Board will be provided in early 2010.
   
  How may interested students get more information to be considered for a Texas Armed Services Scholarship?
   
  Interested students may contact their legislator for more information. Each legislator may set-up additional requirements for their selection process and may use any application process the legislator wishes to use to seek student nominations. To be considered for a scholarship students may contact the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, a Texas State Senator, or a Texas State Representative. Students may locate their legislator by visiting this link: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/ . To contact the Governor’s office, a student may call the Appointments Office at (512) 463-1828 or visit the office web page here: http://governor.state.tx.us/appointments/. The Lt. Governor’s office may be reached at (512) 463-0001.
   
  If a selected student receives a scholarship while attending a Texas institution of higher education and then transfers to an out-of-state military academy, must the scholarship be paid back? 

   

  Section 61.9771 of the Education Code provides that to be eligible for an initial scholarship, one must be a freshman in a public or private institute of higher education “in this state.”  To maintain the scholarship, one must maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined by the institution in which the student is enrolled pursuant to section 61.9772(c).  And the contract one must enter into specifies that one must graduate “no later than five years after the date the student first enrolls in a public or private institution of higher education in this state.” Sec. 61.9773(a)(2).  Reading these provisions together indicates that the scholarship is intended for students at Texas institutions.  Transferring to an out-of-state institution would require one to leave the scholarship program, and accordingly under section 61.9773(a)(5)(B) one would become liable to pay the funds expended back as a loan.

   
  For more information:
  Loan Program Operations - Loan Originations
  Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  512-427-6340 (Inside Austin) or 800-242-3062 (Outside Austin)
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