State Treasurer Young Boozer's Office and the CollegeCounts Board of Directors Launch Statewide Scholarship Program for Alabama Students
By: Blake Deshazo
Updated: November 27, 2012
MONTGOMERY - State Treasurer and CollegeCounts Board Chair Young Boozer is calling on eligible Alabama students to apply for the
newly-established CollegeCounts Scholarship.
"This
scholarship program will help qualified Alabamians who may find it
difficult to get other types of scholarship assistance," said
Treasurer Boozer. "Not every student makes a 30 or higher on their ACT,
or has parents who can afford to write a check for tuition. But there
are thousands of bright young minds in our state who work hard and
deserve help achieving their dream of a college
degree."
Treasurer
Boozer and other members of the CollegeCounts Board announced the
scholarship program today at Wetumpka High School. The program
is designed to offer financial assistance to Alabama students who plan
to enroll in Alabama colleges and universities. It will provide one-time
awards of $4,000 to qualified recipients enrolling in four-year schools
and $2,000 to those enrolling in two-year
schools. Eligible students may apply online beginning January 2 at www.collegecountsalabama.com.
Applicants must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible for this scholarship:
- Be a high school senior or first-time college freshman
- Be a U.S. citizen
- Be an Alabama resident
- Be enrolled or planning to enroll in an Alabama eligible educational institution
- Demonstrate financial need
- Have a minimum GPA of 2.75
- Have an ACT score of 26 or below (applicants attending a two-year school will not be required to submit ACT scores)
Quick Facts:
- Scholarships will be applied to tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment.
- Payments will be made directly to the institution and will be issued in the fall and spring.
- The application opens on January 2, 2013, and closes March 7, 2013.
- There are two primary funding sources for the Scholarship Program: administrative fees from the CollegeCounts 529 Fund and surplus funds from the Alabama Higher Education Loan Corporation (AHELC).
- Administrative fees explained: "CollegeCounts 529 Fund" is the marketing name for what is actually known as the ACES Trust Fund under Alabama law. The ACES Trust Fund is part of the ACES Program, which was established as a college savings alternative that allows contributors to open savings accounts to pay for a beneficiary's qualified educational expenses at an eligible institution of higher education. These savings accounts can be sold directly to individuals or sold to individuals by financial advisors. The ACES Trust Fund receives a 0.10% administrative fee each year from the assets held in the advisor-sold program.
- AHELC Surplus Funds explained:
The Alabama Higher Education Loan Corporation (AHELC) was established
to provide student loans to Alabamians. After a long period of
inactivity, AHELC was revived, only to see its business model abolished
by the U.S.
Congress. As a result, the AHELC board of directors chose to cease
operations, dissolve the nonprofit corporation, and grant the existing
surplus to help fund Alabama's CollegeCounts Scholarship Program. This
decision was made in accordance with AHELC's founding
purpose of funding higher education student aid.
The
CollegeCounts Board of Directors is the sponsor of the CollegeCounts
Scholarship Program, and the Alabama State Treasurer's Office
is delegated the administrative responsibilities of the program.
CollegeCounts is the marketing name for the Alabama College Education
Savings Program created by Alabama law (Code of Alabama, as amended,
16-33C-10, et al). All promotional and marketing materials
for the CollegeCounts Scholarship Program will utilize the name
CollegeCounts in describing the savings program, the scholarship program
and the Board.
