The 21st Century Scholarship is an opportunity for students to afford college in Indiana. The 21st Century Scholarship pays up to 100% of tuition at public colleges in Indiana and part of the tuition at private or independent colleges. Photo courtesy of Google.

News Release

INDIANA — Annabella McGinley-King thought Indiana’s 21st Century Scholarship would allow her to be able to pay her college tuition. Since she comes from a low-income family, she thought this scholarship program would be her best bet.

She enrolled in the program during her middle school years. The 21st Century Scholarship covers the balance of public school tuition at Indiana universities for eligible low-income students. However, like so many other students who have enrolled since the 1990s, McGinley-King was floundered by the requirements sanctioned upon recipients.

Although over 45,000 Indiana residents have received credentials or degrees from this scholarship, according to a 2021 study conducted by the Indiana Commission of Higher Education, recent studies show a majority of students struggle to meet the requirements for the 21st Century Scholars program through high school.

Research shows statewide, for the class of 2023, 39% of scholars completed their ninth grade requirements, and only 7% completed all of the necessary high school requirements by October 2022.

In attempt to reverse the decline in college attendance among Indiana residents, Indiana officials are reassessing the scholarship program.

The new law allows educators to focus on helping their students complete the program requirements. While the law makes the enrollment process easier, the law does not address the challenges students face trying to meet the scholarship’s high school and college exigencies.

As of now, in order to access the scholarship, students must participate in an extracurricular activity in their freshmen year. During their sophomore year, students are responsible for gaining workplace experience. Their junior year, students are to visit college campuses. As seniors, students are to file the federal student aid application. These are just a few of many requirements for students.

In order to keep the scholarship status throughout college, students encounter another set of requirements. To maintain their scholarship status, students must maintain a GPA of at least 2.5, earn 30 or more credit hours per academic year, and file their federal state aid application annually. Students can lose their scholarship if their GPA does not meet the requirement, they have not passed the necessary credit hours or have not submitted their federal state aid application.