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College might be one of the most enjoyable periods of your life. However, paying for college is not an easy task. It is possible that the high cost of college will deter some students from even attempting it. To address this issue, CollegeCounts established the CollegeCounts Scholarship.
Students from Alabama high schools who demonstrate a financial need as well as a genuine desire to have an impact on the future will be eligible to apply for this scholarship, which will provide direct boost of financial support.
In this guide, we will help you apply for the CollegeCounts Scholarship the right way. Without further ado, let’s dive into it.
About the CollegeCounts Scholarship
The CollegeCounts Scholarship is sponsored by CollegeCounts, the marketing brand for the Alabama College Education Savings Program, which was established by state legislation in the state of Alabama.
CollegeCounts aims to assist deserving students and their families in setting up a realistic and successful college savings plan that will enable them to achieve all of their professional objectives.
The CollegeCounts Scholarship is available annually for Alabama high school students. In fact, it has awarded more than $1 million to Alabama high school students each of the last four years.
CollegeCounts is pleased to announce that it has given a record-breaking $1,274,000 in scholarships to 195 students from 65 counties in the United States in 2019.
Thousands of students received scholarships worth more than $6 million throughout the course of the past seven years.
If you are now a high school senior, or if you will be a first-time college student beginning in the fall semester next year, you may be eligible for a scholarship to a two- or four-year institution in Alabama, depending on your academic standing.
Each scholarship is a one-time award that is non-renewable. The sponsor will pay it directly to your college on a semester-by-semester basis during your freshman year.
Program Benefits
The CollegeCounts Scholarship awards of $4,000 for four-year college enrollees. Also, it awards $2,000 for two-year college enrollees. The funding is available through the CollegeCounts 529 Fund and AHELC Surplus Funds.
These awards cover tuition, fees, books, materials, and equipment for the course load, including computers.
When students enroll at least half-time and are billed through the school, funds can also be used to on-campus room and board expenses or to off-campus housing costs.
The CollegeCounts Scholarship Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for this award, applicants must meet all of the following requirements:
- Be a senior in high school or a first-year college student starting in the fall semester
- Considering enrolling in a qualifying educational institution in Alabama for the upcoming academic year
- Be a citizen of the United States
- Make a case for financial assistance
- Have a minimum grade point average of 2.75
- Be a resident of the state of Alabama
- Have an ACT composite score of 26 or lower (applicants attending a two-year school will not be required to submit ACT scores)
Once you are chosen as a recipient, you will have to:
- Be enrolled as an undergraduate in the fall of the year in which the CollegeCounts Scholarship is awarded
- Continue in school the entire academic year without interruption to receive the full award
- Utilize your scholarship during the first and second semester in the same academic year from the date you earn the scholarship
In addition, the CollegeCounts Scholarship is available to home-schooled students. Also, you do not have to have a CollegeCounts 529 account to apply for this scholarship.
The CollegeCounts Scholarship Application
To apply for the CollegeCounts Scholarship, you will need to create an account to submit the following documents:
- Essay
- Letter of recommendation
- Transcript
The application procedure will need you to create a personal account. It will allow you to track the progress of your application all the way to completion.
If you are applying for a need-based scholarship, your essay is likely to be the most crucial aspect of your application.
It will provide the scholarship committee a better understanding of who you are and how eager you are to achieving your goals.
If you want to stand out from the crowd, here is your moment to let your personality and life experiences show through.
Hence, you will want to be certain that your scholarship essay is the finest it possibly can be before applying.
The easiest approach to gain an understanding of what scholarship committees are looking for is to go over scholarship essay examples from previous winners or learn from a helpful guide on how to write a good scholarship essay.
Closing Date
Applications for the CollegeCounts Scholarship open December 1 and close on February 28 of the following year.
By the end of April, every applicant will get an email notifying them of their selection. This include all award recipients as well as the unsuccessful applicants.
An acceptance link will be shown on the home page for award recipients after they have been notified of their honor. The selection committee will deliver the notification to you via email.
Then, they will forward your prizes to the institution that you previously chose for crediting to your bank account.
In the fall and spring semesters of your freshman year, CollegeCounts 529 Fund will make the payments only to your school in the form of a check.
Contact Details
For assistance with an application please call 1-800-309-1198 or email CollegeCounts at collegecounts@applyists.com. However, if you have questions about the CollegeCounts Scholarship before submitting, please visit the Alabama Office of the State Treasurer website to learn more.
CollegeCounts Scholarship Official Website
Finally, apply to or learn more about the program at treasury.alabama.gov.
