For hundreds of low-income students on the North Olympic Peninsula, money will be less of a barrier for them to attend college in 2019 or 2020.
Every low-income eighth-grade student in the class of 2019 in Brinnon, Chimacum, Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Quilcene public schools districts registered for the chance to go to college tuition-free.
The College Bound Scholarship program provides tuition and a textbook allowance, and covers some fees to low-income students and those who are in foster care who want to attend a vocational program or pursue a college degree.
To qualify, students must be on the free and reduced-lunch program at their school and complete registration before June 30 of their eighth-grade year.
Only 77 districts in the state reached the goal of 100 percent registration.
In Brinnon, where the district had only three eighth-grade students in the 2014-15 school year, it’s not as easy as it sounds, said Superintendent Patricia Beathard.
“You have to stick with them on it,” Beathard said.
Last year, 95 percent of Brinnon School District students qualified for free and reduced lunches, she said.
The district has only kindergarten through the eighth grade and sends its high school students to Quilcene High School.
Founded in 2007, the program is gradually increasing its reach to students who could use the help with tuition.
In 2011, 57 percent of the students who were qualified statewide registered for the scholarship, and in 2015, 91 percent of all state eighth-graders who qualified completed their application process, according to the state.
For the 2015-16 school year, the scholarship allowed about $10,350 in annual tuition aid for students who attend the state’s two major public research universities; $6,800 to $7,500 for other state universities; and $3,541 for community colleges or technical/vocational schools.
Students can also be granted a scholarship of up to $8,517 for a private university or $2,823 for a private college.
The state has said an early promise of financial aid allows low-income students to consider higher education as a possibility, giving them more options to consider their goals while still in high school.
Students who register for the scholarship are more likely to finish high school, according to state statistics.
Three-quarters of the class of 2014 who signed up for the College Bound Scholarship graduated from high school on time.
The four-year graduation rate for low-income students who were eligible but did not register for the scholarship was 62 percent.
________
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
