Simplified Scholarship Applications Possible

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

— Arkansas citizens seeking education beyond high school will now find the scholarship application process more user-friendly than ever before, thanks to the Universal Scholarship Application, developed by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.Theonlineversion of the Universal Scholarship Application, launched on January 1, matches students to potential scholarships in a matter of minutes.

“This application will make it easier for Arkansans to find the financial aid they need to obtain a degree,” Governor Mike Beebe said. “Inadequate financial resources prevent many Arkansans from finishing college. This application will help remove some of those obstacles and give our people a better shot at completing higher education programs.”

By answering a few simple questions about age, grade point average, ACT or SAT scores and income level, applicants will be matched with the financial aid programs they may qualify for, along with an estimated amount of financial aid they might expect in an academic year.

“Once that is done, the student goes through a few more steps to create an account, and this one application can be submitted to the ADHE Financial Aid Division to start the process,” said Dr. Jim Purcell, director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. “The student can then log into his or her account to check the status of the application. A lot of work has gone into the development of this software application and we’re proud to say that we have greatly simplified what was a pretty complicated process.”

Students can access the Web application by logging onto www.adhe.edu and clicking on the YOUniversal Arkansas Financial Aid System link on the left side of the page.

For more information about the Arkansas Department of Higher Education visit www.adhe.edu or call (800) 54STUDY.

News, Pages 1 on 01/13/2010