Randy Gardner, the Ohio chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, noted in a letter to high schools that between 35% to 40% of Ohio’s highest-achieving high school graduates choose to leave Ohio to attend higher education institutions in other states. Additionally, 70% of Ohio college students choose to work in the state from which they graduate.
“With the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, we want to not only reduce any financial barriers that may impact a student’s decision to pursue higher education, but also recognize the impressive scholastic achievement of Ohio’s top graduates and incentivize them to attend a college or university here in Ohio,” Gardner said.
The letter also noted several businesses announced plans to move production to Ohio, including Honda, which plans to open an EV battery plant in Fayette County, and Sierra Nevada, which has opened one hangar at the Dayton Airport and expects to add more.
About $20 million has been allocated to this program in its first year, according to a press release from the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
Students are eligible if they:
- Are a resident of Ohio
- Are enrolled in an Ohio high school and determined to be in the top 5% of their class, or if they are homeschooled or attend a dropout recovery high school and are found to be in the top 5% of applicants
- Are a junior at the time of applying and graduate within a year (with some exceptions allowed for illness or other circumstances) and
- If the student is planning to enroll at a qualifying institution of higher education. Qualifying institutions are all Ohio state universities and some private schools in Ohio.
Qualifying higher education institutions are not allowed by law to make changes to their scholarships to shift more of the burden of paying for school onto the state’s new scholarship.
Students at qualifying public and private schools don’t need to apply and will be notified by their school if they have the award. Homeschooled students can apply at https://meritscholarship.ohio.gov/.
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