<p>So I just read the Texas House Bill 588 on Wiki </p>
<p>Texas</a> House Bill 588 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia </p>
<p>It says "(Another existing law, which preceded 588, provides a full tuition scholarship for the class valedictorian of a Texas high school for their freshman year at a state public school.)"</p>
<p>Seriously? Is this true? If so it means (if i'm val) I can go to UT, right? And just save money for my sophomore year...</p>
<p>Yes. It apparently covers tuition only: [ia.utep.edu/scholarships</a> > Types of Scholarships > Special Scholarships](<a href=“The University of Texas at El Paso - UTEP”>The University of Texas at El Paso - UTEP)</p>
<p>so i’d have to pay for like room and board and food?</p>
<p>It also ONLY pays for the **freshman **year’s tuition. You’d still have to get money for the tuition for the other 3 years…and room, board, books, fees, for all 4 years.</p>
<p>board=food ;)</p>
<p>You won’t have to pay for the total cost of room and board out of pocket, you’re still eligible for need-based federal aid which should cover a huge chunk of the cost of room and board, which is about 10k a year, even worst case scenario and UT gaps you you’d still only need to come up with a couple thousand.</p>
<p>LOL…I meant to write…room, board, and BOOKS…</p>
<p>Thanks for noticing my boo boo.</p>
<p>The problem I see is that the first year might be do-able, but the following years won’t - since the tuition scholarship is ONLY for the first year.</p>
<p>The OP would likely do better to find a school where she can be assured of affordability for all 4 years - otherwise she can find herself “school-less” after the first year and no longer in a position to seek merit scholarships from other schools.</p>
<p>Although if the cost of attendance at UT is reasonably affordable, this can be a great benefit. You could, theoretically, not have to take out any unsubsidized Stafford loans for the first year, cutting out a chunk (not exactly 1/4, but a chunk) of your loan debt for the four years.</p>
<p>I think this is great for all vals wanting to go to a state school in TX. Makes things a bit more affordable. That much less in loans to be taken, or that much more to be saved for future years. </p>
<p>My son got a scholarship that nearly covered the tuition at our state school. Unfortunately, he lost it after freshman year due to his poor performance, but it did help out even though it was not that big of an amount, was just for one year, and even though his total costs were not that high anyways. It made a difference because we did not just spend the money away as “extra”.</p>
<p>My other son got NM money for just freshman year along with an outside scholarship. So this year was a rough, since both awards disappeared after the first year. However, he put aside the amount he was going to pay that year and we were able to go loan free. And this year, he was able to pay more towards the costs because of that first year boost, and again we were able to go loan free. We are thrilled that he won a departmental award that includes some scholarship money, and has landed a job for next year related to the award and his studies. We will be able to go loan free again even though he is not earning as much this summer as originally planned. Gives him some flexibility. Who knows what will happen senior year? At least, we have a little bit stockpiled from the windfalls the first three years, and that will help.</p>