Thursday, 4:30 PM
College tuition help for 16,000 Bay State students
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent
The state today announced more than 16,000 partial college scholarships for high school students who scored well on standardized tests.
The John and Abigail Adams Scholarships are worth up to $6,856 over four years, covering the equivalent of roughly 10 percent of total costs and on-campus housing expenses at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
"Talented and hardworking students, particularly those faced with economic challenges, deserve whatever financial help we can give them," said Governor Mitt Romney in a written statement. "They have earned it with their good grades, and we want to make it easier for them to pursue their college education right here in Massachusetts."
The governor announced the merit-based awards at the O’Bryant School for Math and Science in Roxbury, where 131 students received scholarships.
To qualify for an Adams scholarship, students must score in the top 25 percent in their school district on the state MCAS test. Students must also score in the advanced category in either the English or math sections of the test and earn an advanced or proficient marking in the other subject by the end of their junior year.
The scholarships cover tuition at any of the state’s nearly 30 public colleges and university campuses. That translates to an average of $734 at community colleges, $954 at state colleges and $1,714 at the University of Massachusetts.
The scholarships do not include fees and housing costs, which are significantly more than the cost of tuition. While annual tuition at UMass Amherst is $1,714, the school charges an additional $7,881 in fees and $6,989 each year for on-campus room-and-board. The total cost for an in-state student living on campus is $16,584, or $66,336 over four years.
To keep the scholarship, students must complete their studies in four years or less and maintain a 3.0 grade point average.
"We look forward to seeing Adams Scholars at our colleges next fall," said Pat Plummer, Chancellor of the Public Higher Education system in Massachusetts.
Nearly 25 percent of the more than 13,000 students in the class of 2005 who received the first Adams scholarships took advantage of the program, according to the state Department of Education. Placement data is not yet available for the more than 14,000 Adams scholarships offered to the class of 2006.
When Romney launched the scholarship program in 2004, critics said it would largely benefit white students living in wealthy school districts. Eric Fehrnstrom, the governor’s spokesman, said that acceptance data has shown that the students that accept the scholarships are overwhelmingly from poor, urban districts.
This year, 13,752 or 85 percent of the scholarship winners are white; 503 or 3 percent are black; 1,075 or 7 percent are Asian; and 620 or 4 percent are Hispanic.
The Department of Education today mailed letters to each of the 16,169 students in the class of 2007 who qualified for the awards.
