State
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts - Match the Promise Foundation
12/31/17 Postmarked
Scholarships to Texas students who are planning to attend undergraduate programs and public colleges and universities within the state. This program encourages families to save for their children’s college education by offering tuition grants and competitive matching scholarships to students who are beneficiaries of a Texas Tuition Promise Fund account, the state's prepaid college tuition plan.
Match the Promise scholarships help young Texans realize their dreams of a college education while also encouraging families to take steps now to prepare for their children's futures.
To apply for a scholarship, the Promise Fund beneficiary must be in grade five through nine and have a family income of $100,000 or less. Students must write a career essay and meet residency and other requirements.
Scholarship Types:
Match the Promise scholarships and grants are awarded in the form of Texas Tuition Promise Fund tuition units. These tuition units represent a fixed amount of undergraduate tuition and school-wide required fees at Texas public colleges and universities.
Two levels of scholarships:
-Matching Scholarship
-Promise Scholarship
Types of Tuition Units:
The Promise Fund offers three different types of tuition units to cover all or a portion of tuition and required fees at Texas public colleges and universities — from community colleges to the most expensive schools.
-Type III units - Priced for the weighted average cost of Texas public two-year colleges.
-Type II units - Priced for the weighted average cost of Texas public four-year colleges and universities.
-Type I units - Priced for the most expensive Texas public four-year college or university.
You can purchase the number and type of tuition units that fit your need. Generally, 100 tuition units represent 30 semester hours, or one academic year, at the school nearest to the pricing point for a unit type. The number of tuition units needed for an academic year varies depending on school and unit type.
Scholarship Award Examples:
Following are examples of the number and type of tuition units that Match the Promise scholarships and grants could provide.
-Matching Scholarship. According to 2017-18 tuition unit pricing, tuition units worth $500 at today's prices would equal approximately: 20 Type III units, five Type II units, or four Type I units.
-Promise Scholarship. According to 2017-18 tuition unit pricing, tuition units worth $2,000 at today's prices would equal approximately: 80 Type III units, 20 Type II units, or 15 Type I units.
Selection Criteria:
The Foundation scores applications by assigning points to career essays, grade averages, income levels and numbers of dependents.
Points for essays will be based on the student's understanding of the career he or she is interested in and why, the education or training needed for the career, opportunities for this type of work in the future and the steps the student took to learn about the career. Points will also be assigned for the quality of the essay, including spelling and grammar.
GrantWatch ID#: 166721
Up to 150 top-scoring applicants will receive a Matching Scholarship.
Matching Scholarship: Scholarship recipients with a family income of $75,000 or less will receive a two-to-one match worth up to $1,000 in tuition units. All other scholarship recipients will receive a one-to-one match worth up to $500.
Promise Scholarship: Applicants who score the highest number of points will receive a one-time grant of tuition units worth up to $2,000 at today's prices. This scholarship doesn't have a matching component.
Eligible applicants can apply multiple times for the Match the Promise program but must reapply each year. Applicants can receive the Matching Scholarship in multiple years but can only receive the Promise Scholarship once.
Applicants must meet the following criteria to apply for the Match the Promise program:
-Student must be a beneficiary of a Texas Tuition Promise Fund account.
-Student must be a Texas resident and a dependent [ 1 ] for tax purposes of a Texas resident.
-Student must be in grade five through nine at the time of application.
-Student must have a family income [ 2 ] of $100,000 or less.
Family members of the following individuals are ineligible to apply for the Match the Promise program: a Texas Match the Promise Foundation Board director, Texas Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board member, Comptroller employee and any substantial contributor to the Foundation. Family members include parents, stepparents, brothers, sisters, stepbrothers, stepsisters, grandparents (including great), step-grandparents, grandchildren, children (includes children's spouses), stepchildren, foster children, foster parents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, first cousins, step-aunts, step-uncles or step-cousins.
Approved scholarship recipients must receive at least $100 in contributions to their Promise Fund account during the current Promise Fund sales period (Sept. 1 through Aug. 31) to receive a scholarship or grant.
Although Match the Promise applications must be submitted by Dec. 31, approved recipients will have until the end of the current Promise Fund sales period on Aug. 31 to meet the contribution requirement for the scholarship program.
Contributions from anyone – from the account owner, family or friends – will be included in the amount considered for scholarship deposits.
The Texas Match the Promise Foundation accepts scholarship applications postmarked Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.
Families also can enroll in the Promise Fund during the scholarship application period if they have not already done so.
The Foundation will consider completed applications and notify approved recipients in March of the following year.
The Foundation awards scholarships in the form of tuition units, not cash. The units will be deposited in a scholarship account for each recipient by the end of September of the year approved, provided the minimum contribution requirement has been met. The Foundation will notify recipients of this deposit when it is made.
Dates to Remember:
-Sept. 1 - Dec. 31: Eligible applicants may submit a Match the Promise application during this time. Families applying for the Match the Promise program can also enroll in the Promise Fund if they haven't already done so, paying a one-time $25 administrative fee.
-Jan. 1 - Feb. 28: The Foundation will consider completed applications.
-March 31: The Foundation will notify approved recipients by this date.
-May 1: Income verification is due from approved recipients. The first payment for new Promise Fund enrollees is also due no later than this date.
-Aug. 31: Approved recipients will have until this time to meet the contribution requirements for the scholarship program.
-Sept. 30: The Foundation will deposit tuition units in a scholarship account for approved recipients by the end of September if the minimum contribution requirement is met. The Foundation will notify recipients of this deposit when it is made.
Scholarship Types:
https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/education/match/scholarship-types.php
Eligibility:
https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/education/match/scholarship-eligibility.php
Application Forms:
https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/education/match/how-to-apply.php
More information about the Promise Fund may be found here:
https://texastuitionpromisefund.com
Before starting your grant application, please review the funding source's website listed below for updates/changes/addendums/conferences/LOIs.
Match the Promise Foundation
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
111 E. 17th Street / P.O. Box 13232
Austin, TX 78711-3232
USA: Texas
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