Ned McWherter Scholarship Program is introduced to encourage academically brilliant Tennessee state high school graduates to apply to college in Tennessee USA. Tennessee high school seniors starting their last semester in high school are qualified applicants.
About Ned McWherter Scholarships Program
Ned McWherter scholarship was introduced by Ned Ray McWherter 2003, an American businessman, and the 46th Governor of Tennessee, the USA from 1987 to 1995. Ned Ray McWherter also served as speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Since the scholarship was established in 2002, there have been over 1,000 Ned McWherter Scholarships benefactors. The Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) awarded funding to 80 new benefactors and 310 renewal benefactors for a total of 390 Ned McWherter Scholarship benefactors from 2018 to 2019.
Eligibility Requirements For The Ned McWherter Scholarship Program
To be eligible for the Ned McWherter’s scholarship Program, all applicants must:
- All applicants must have earned a minimum cumulative grade point average in high school, at the end of the
11th semester, of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. (Usually, the 11th semester is before the semester in which one would graduate). - All applicants must have gained a composite score on the ACT or the SAT tests which puts the student in the top 5% of applicants in the US, such minimum score is to be calculated based upon your previous year’s data and announced yearly.
- All applicants must have graduated with a diploma no more than a year prior to the time of your first application for the scholarship program, from a high school in Tennessee that is approved by Tennessee. The State Department of Education is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools or belongs to an agency whose accreditation process is approved by the State Board of Education. Contrary to this requirement for graduates of a home school as defined in T.C.A. 49-6-3050 may be given by the Executive Director of the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation.
- All applicants must be a resident of Tennessee state and a citizen or permanent resident of the US. The applicant’s parent(s) or legal guardian must also be a resident and have citizenship requirements for the applicant to qualify for the scholarship program.
- Make an application to The Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) for the scholarship by appointing deadlines on TSAC-approved application forms.
- A certified copy of the high school transcript must be sent to TSAC by the high school where you graduated (or will be graduating from). If the high school transcript does not have ACT or SAT scores, send at least one of these scores to TSAC by the testing agency by the appointed deadline.
SEE ALSO: National Collegiate Athletic Association Postgraduate Scholarship
Scholarship Program Amount
- The amount for the Ned Mcwherter Scholarship program is $6,000/yr, $3,000 from the State of Tennessee, and another $3,000 from the college or university you graduated from. Awards are made in equal portions each term all over the academic year.
- If the scholarship benefactors also receive federal educational aid for the same award time, the total scholarship and federal aid may not be more than federally specified aid maxes.
- Benefactors in an alumna degree program are eligible for the scholarship for up to 8 semesters or 12 quarters.
- Benefactors in an associate degree program are qualified for up to 4 semesters or 6 quarters
To remain eligible and qualified to receive awards from the Ned McWherter scholarships program, you must stick to these guidelines:
- After two semesters of participation, all benefactors must have completed at least a 3.2 cumulative grade point average for each academic year to remain eligible and qualified, and newbies must not score less than 2.75 for either semester.
- Second-year, juniors, and seniors must have earned 3.0 each semester after the freshman year to remain eligible and qualified. But, the Executive Director may award a waiver for any semester the cumulative grade point average passes 3.2 by at least as much as the semester’s grade point average failed to meet the required 3.0 score.
- After two semesters, the benefactor’s cumulative GPA is permitted to be less than 3.2 one time. At such time, the benefactor will be told of their one-semester trial status. The award will continue during the trial status. At the conclusion of the trial semester, the cumulative GPA must be up to 3.2 to remain qualified.
