Citing the pressing need to assist Connecticut students in their efforts to move on to college, State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier announced the launch of CHET Advance Scholarship, an annual program designed to help cover the mounting costs of higher education.
In the fall, CHET Advance Scholarship will hold random drawings totaling $500,000 to provide up to 200 Connecticut high school seniors with a $2,500 scholarship for college expenses. Applications to participate in the drawings will be accepted online at chetadvance.com, beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 16, and ending at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4.
A recent 2013 study by Sallie Mae, How America Pays for College, found that more families are eliminating colleges their kids were considering as too expensive. Nearly 70% of families dropped schools from consideration because of costs at some point during the application process, according to the report, as compared with 58% who did so in 2008, when the study was first issued. “My goal in promoting CHET Advance is to bring college within reach and reduce the financial burden on graduates and their families,” said Nappier.
Plans are underway to roll out the second phase of CHET Advance during the next calendar year for younger students as well, with a portion of the scholarship winners chosen based on need and scholastic achievement. Altogether, CHET Advance has funding commitments to distribute a total of more than $2 million during the next four years.
Additionally, highlights of the Official Rules include, but are not limited to, the following:
Students must begin college no later than September 2015, and use the full $2,500 scholarship by June 30, 2016. Status as a senior at a Connecticut high school must be verified with an official school transcript. Scholarship awards will be paid directly to students’ colleges starting in the fall of 2014.
To participate in the CHET Advance drawing, all eligible students must complete an entry form on the CHET Advance Scholarship website, chetadvance.com, during the three-week entry period of Sept. 16 through Oct. 4, by 5 p.m.
More information is available in the Official Rules on the CHET Advance Scholarship website.