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[quote]
The U.S. Department of Education has announced that scholarships will be available under the Robert C. Byrd
Honors Scholarship Program for 2008-2009. The purpose of this program is to promote student excellence and achievement and to recognize exceptionally able students who show promise of continued excellence. Byrd Scholarships will be awarded to selected high school seniors for full-time study at colleges located in the United States.
[/quote]
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<p>I just found this out today, from Connecticut's dept of education. New York State has approximately the same thing. I wish they would just not make us feel even more stress than we already feel about this stuff....</p>
<p>State's all do it differently. In Texas 2 years ago my Val D with top 1% scores on both the SAT and ACT and a perfect GPA with every bonus point possible did not get it. Still ticks me off.</p>
<p>Hey. I read a couple of times that GPA tops SAT big time in CA? So a 4.0 GPA 600 SAT is higher on the list than a 3.9 2400 SAT? Anyone familiar with the California system. I mean... if what I'm thinking is true... then anything less than a 4.0 mean you are disqualified.</p>
<p>From the California Student aid website:
"Eligible applicants will receive a score based on their combined calculated GPA/converted GED scores and SAT/ACT test scores. Applicants will then be ranked in descending score order (highest first) for selection of new scholarships (e.g., if an applicant's reported GPA is 3.50 and her or his SAT score is 1150, the applicant's score is 350.1150. If another applicant also has a reported GPA of 3.50, but does not have an SAT/ACT score, his or her score is 350.0000)."</p>
<p>Yes - but that is just in California - each state can calculate it their own way. Try finding your own state's student aid website for details. (Each California high school can only nominate two students, so that limits the competition.)</p>
<p>As I recall, in CA, it is UW GPA first, then SAT...so each HS nominates 2 people, all are rnaked in the state and my Ds year it went down the ranking to 400.1260 before they ran out of funding, so if your GPA was not 4.0UW you did not get it, even with a 1600 SAT!</p>
<p>Does anyone here know how the scholarships are determined in Ohio? I can only find that they are equally distributed across the congressional districts and that they are based on class rank, gpa, test scores and activities. I do know that depending on the size of the school, only a certain number of nominees will be considered. It is only one from my son's school. Then, there are only like 13 or 15 or something chosen each congressional district. But, I don't know if they are weighted more to gpa or test scores, or what.</p>
<p>For New Jersey: The winners are selected based on their college entrance examination scores, class rankings, grade point averages, and other factors, including academic honors and responses to an essay question.</p>
<p>For anyone on here from "almost heaven" West Virginia, D just got her award letter yesterday (4/25). Process is one student nominated per h.s. Selection is GPA (UW) and SAT/ACT and Class Rank. But I don't know the actual formula. No essay, recommendation, EC's etc. as a funny aside, because virtually everything here is named after the venerable senator, most people think it's a small "everybody here gets one" kind of scholarship.</p>
<p>Thanks to West Virginia for their pro-education senator! It is odd, though, how different the process is for each state, since it is available to students in all 50 (I think...) and therefore seems to be a national award. </p>
<p>Here in New York, last year, my D just filled out a very short application, basically just name-address-phone number kind of thing, and the GC filled out the scores. She got the scholarship, renewable for all four years of college (depending on federal funding... yipes...). I know (reading on this forum) of states that require a whole lot more, e.g. post #33 just above!</p>
<p>It is strange how the different states have different criteria. I can really understand the states that wait until later in the year, since the funding (and the amount of funding) isn't finalized yet. My D's letter says "contingent on federal funding". As for Senator Byrd himself, we In WV know that many others think he's too old, too pro-WV, too into pork-barrel spending, etc. Some of us love him just for the things he gets us- let's face it, what would a poor state like west Virginia get without someone so powerful? Others know that, despite his age, he courageously stands up for what he believes in- his speeches pre-Iraq War are classic. His knowledge of the Constitution is unrivaled (some say, because he helped write it :-) . He is pro-education. I know I wandered off point here, but at this moment, RCB is still very powerful, respected, and even feared, and I truly believe he will get the funding for this scholarship as long as he is still breathing. And even after that, I think no one will have the <em>nerve</em> to cut it.</p>
<p>I feel like we heard pretty late in the spring or even early summer last year, in NY. I don't recall the exact date, but it could even have been in June. You can call (518) 486-1319 and follow the prompts to get to a live person whom you can ask!</p>