
A college education has become a significant expense for most families and requires careful planning. Whatever your financial situation is, we encourage you to use this information to help you understand college funding so you can navigate the financial aid process with greater ease.
States provide many financial aid opportunities to help ease the cost of a college education. Please select the state you reside in to learn about state sponsored internships, scholarships and financial aid programs for undergraduate students and assistantships, fellowships, and residency programs for graduate and professional students.
For more detailed information on state financial aid programs contact:
Arkansas Division of Higher Education (ADHE)
426 Main Street
Suite 400
Little Rock, AR 72201
Phone: (501) 371-2000
The following are financial aid programs available to students who are residents of the state of Arkansas.
The Arkansas Academic Challenge (ACS) Scholarship program is a college scholarship plan to promote academic achievement and encourage academically prepared Arkansas high school graduates to enroll in the state’s colleges and universities. The scholarship pays on a graduated schedule up to $5,000 annually and is renewable for up to 3 more years provided the student maintains a cumulative college grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.00 scale and completes 30 semester hours per academic year (12 semester hours the first semester and 15 semester hours each semester thereafter).
Eligibility
Must be a resident of Arkansas and complete the precollegiate core curriculum, have the required GPA in those courses, achieve at least a 19 on the ACT, and demonstrate financial need.
Contact your school’s financial aid office or your high school guidance counselor for an application.
The Arkansas Health Education Grant Program (ARHEG), provides financial assistance to students seeking professional training in chiropractic medicine, dentistry, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, and veterinary medicine to allow them to attend out-of-state institutions.
The ARHEG is administered by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE). Such assistance is currently available for attendance at any accredited school of dentistry, school of optometry, school of veterinary medicine, school of podiatric medicine, school of chiropractic medicine, or school of osteopathic medicine that
(a) is located outside the State; and
(b) offers a full-time course of instruction in at least one eligible profession; and
(c) grants, after completion of such course of instruction, a degree acceptable to the applicable licensing board as the sole requirement, or as one requirement, for the applicable licensing board’s granting of the applicable professional license.
Certification and Application
To receive ARHEG funding assistance to study chiropractic medicine, dentistry, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine or veterinary medicine, a prospective student must be “certified” as an Arkansas resident. Certification is a procedural process that is initiated by the student by completing the Application and Affidavit and submitting them to:
ARHEG Coordinator
Arkansas Division of Higher Education
426 Main Street.
Little Rock, AR 72201-3818
Phone: 1-800-54-STUDY or (501) 371-2000
Fax: (501) 371-2007
Email: finaid@adhe.arknet.edu
– students who meet the following minimum eligibility criteria are eligible to be named Governor’s Distinguished Scholars: either a 32 composite score on a single ACT or 1410 combined math and critical reasoning score on a single SAT AND 3.50 academic grade point average, OR selection as a National Achievement Finalist or National Merit Finalist. The Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship will pay up to $10,000 per year for tuition, mandatory fees, room and board.
The Law Enforcement Officers’ (LEO) Dependents Scholarship program provides an eight-semester scholarship to any state-supported college, university, or technical institute in Arkansas to dependents of Arkansas residents in one of the categories below who were killed or permanently disabled in the line-of-duty:
The scholarship will reimburse the institution the cost of tuition, fees and dormitory room charges when provided in campus-owned facilities. The scholarship will not pay the cost of books, food, school supplies and materials, or fees for extracurricular activities. Dependent children are eligible to receive benefits for eight semesters and must be less than twenty-three (23) years of age on or before the first day of the semester or quarter. Spouses are entitled to an eight-semester scholarship. The spouse will no longer be eligible if he or she re-marries. The benefits will cease at the end of the semester in which the spouse is currently enrolled at the time of the re-marriage.
An Applicant must:
Call (501) 371-2050 or (800) 54-STUDY for an application.
General Information
Arkansas Future (ArFuture), is the newest state grant program. The purpose of this grant is to increase the education and skills of Arkansas’s workforce in an affordable manner. The grant applies to students enrolled in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) or regional high demand areas of study. The grant will cover tuition and fees for qualifying certificate and Associate degree programs at Arkansas’ public institutions for eligible students. The grant is available on a first come, first serve basis.
General Information
The State Teacher Education Program (STEP) provides assistance for eligible teachers with repayment of outstanding federal student loans. The Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) shall administer the State Teacher Education Program (STEP) within the policies set by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
The State Teacher Education Program recipients may receive:
Total term of federal student loan repayment shall not exceed three years.
Eligibility Requirements
In addition to the above, applicants must meet one of the additional criteria:
Continued Eligibility
STEP recipient must re-apply each year and meet all eligibility requirements each year . Total term of federal student loan repayment shall not exceed three years.
Application Deadline
July 1st each application year.
SURF Applications
SURF applications must be received by November 1 at the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, 114 East Capitol, Little Rock AR 72201.
The Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program is designed to allow undergraduate students to conduct in-depth research projects in their specific fields of study with the assistance of faculty mentors. To be eligible to apply for these funds, students must have a minimum GPA of 3.25, 30 or more hours of credit toward his/her degree at the time of funding, and the support of a faculty mentor. The student must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident alien.
Eligible Projects
All types of undergraduate research are eligible for support, and all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply. In addition to the usual science, engineering and mathematics projects, this program will support, for example, a philosophy major who is preparing a paper in the area of bioethics, or an art major who wants to sculpt a major project. Funds are provided for students to travel to conferences to present their accomplishments.
Required Materials for Application Submission
Application Preparation Assistance: If you require technical assistance with preparation of your application, please call 501-371-2038.
General Information
The Teacher Opportunity Program (TOP) offers tuition reimbursement grants to Arkansas teachers and administrators. Teachers and administrators may apply for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses paid for up to six (6) college credit hours completed for each academic year, not to exceed $3000.
An applicant must:
The amount awarded will be based on the tuition, mandatory fees, books, and required supplies paid by the applicant for six (6) college credit hours completed. Reimbursable fees are those required of all students. Costs such as graduation fees, late fees, car registration fees, and mileage are not reimbursable. Grants may not exceed the cost of the Arkansas public institution assessing the highest rate of tuition and mandatory fees or $3000, whichever is less.
If necessary, licensed teachers taking courses that apply towards an additional license in a subject matter declared to be a shortage area by the Arkansas Department of Education will receive first priority.
Application Deadline
July 1 each academic year.
General Information
The Washington Center Scholarship Program is a program that awards scholarships of up to $6,000 to Arkansas students who are accepted to The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars located in Washington, D.C. The Washington Center (TWC) is an independent nonprofit organization serving hundreds of colleges and universities by providing selected students challenging opportunities to work and learn in Washington, D.C. TWC serves Arkansas students and society as a whole by encouraging participants to be informed, public-spirited and civically engaged for life. The institution’s academic experience is made up of three components: the internship, academic coursework, and the leadership forum. Students are placed, according to their interests, in supervised internships in governmental, international, for-profit or nonprofit organizations.
The Washington Center will select the students that are eligible to participate in the internship program for each applicable academic period. Of those selected students, ADHE will determine the number of students to be awarded the scholarship based on the amount of funds available. In the event there are more eligible applicants than funds available, awards will be determined on a first-come, first-serve basis. Those not awarded will be given priority for participation in a subsequent term. The amount of the reward for each recipient will be up to $6,000 for one-time participation in The Washington Center internship program.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility of Arkansas applicants to The Washington Center Scholarship program is conditioned upon admission to The Washington Center. In order for one to be enrolled at TWC, the institution requires that all applicants:
Additionally, the State of Arkansas requires, per Act 1046 of 2007, that all Arkansas applicants meet the following:
For more information, contact the ADHE financial aid division at 800-54STUDY or 501-371-2050; and, contact The Washington Center at 800-486-8921 or 202-238-7900.
General Information
The Workforce Challenge Scholarship was created in the 2017 legislative session and is funded by lottery revenue. The purpose of the scholarship is for workforce training in high demand areas of healthcare, information technology, and industry. Classes are not limited to credit-bearing programs. Non-credit, workforce-training classes