Students in Ohio high schools who place in the top 5% of their class upon graduation may be eligible for scholarships worth up to $5,000 to attend Ohio universities.
The goal of the scholarship is to boost Ohio’s tech industry by assisting in luring and keeping a highly educated workforce.
In a letter to high schools, Ohio Department of Higher Education chancellor Randy Gardner stated that between 35 and 40 percent of the state’s most accomplished high school graduates decide to attend universities in other states. Furthermore, seventy percent of Ohio college graduates decide to work in the state they graduated from.
“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 mentioned that a number of companies, such as Sierra Nevada, which has established a hangar at the Dayton Airport and intends to add more, and Honda, which intends to establish an EV battery plant in Fayette County, had declared plans to shift production to Ohio.
A news statement from the Ohio Department of Higher Education states that around $20 million has been set aside for this initiative in its inaugural year.
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.
The law prohibits qualifying higher education institutions from altering their scholarships in order to place a greater financial burden on the state’s new scholarship.
Pupils who attend eligible public and private schools are not required to apply; their school will notify them if they are the recipient of the prize. Homeschooled students can apply at https://meritscholarship.ohio.gov/.