Top 10 Percent Scholarship
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the funding source for this scholarship and is it a carve-out from an existing line-item or a
stand-alone? Is this from the Academic Competitiveness Grant federal funding?
The funding for this program is part of the Incentive funding that comes from this appropriations rider:
Higher Education Performance Incentive Initiative. In addition to amounts
appropriated elsewhere in this Act, $100,000,000 in General Revenue funds are hereby
appropriated for fiscal year 2009 for the Higher Education Performance Incentive
Initiative at the Higher Education Coordinating Board.
The Higher Education Coordinating Board, in conjunction with the Governor's Office, shall develop an
incentive program for the improvement in teaching and educational excellence at Texas public general
academic teaching institutions. These funds may also be used to provide scholarships for
undergraduate students who have graduated with a grade point average in the top 10 percent of the
student's high school graduating class from an accredited Texas High School.
2. Does each school receive a certain allocation of funds to award to students for this program or is it
open? Within this allocation, is a certain amount designated for new freshmen and a certain
amount designated for current college students?
Institutions will not receive an allocation. Priority funding is for students who submit their FAFSA or
TASFA, if applicable, by March 1, 2010. After that date, eligible students will be awarded on a firstcome, first-serve basis.
Renewal awards are available to those students who meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress
requirements:
Complete at least 75% of hours attempted.
Maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA.
Complete 30 semester credit hours in the academic year. (Allowing for summer school hours to
count towards the renewal requirement)
3. Will this scholarship process be offered next year for the following graduating class?
Funding for renewals and/or existing college juniors and seniors may or may not be available and is
contingent upon additional funding by the Legislature.
4. Are non-citizen students (e.g., SB 1528 students) excluded from participating in this program?
No. To qualify for this program, students must be TX residents and meet all of the other program
eligibility requirements; Texas residents who are US citizens must complete the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); Texas residents who are not US citizens must complete the Texas
Application for Student Financial Aid (TASFA).
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5. Do mid-term graduates qualify for this scholarship? If their transcript shows a graduation date
during the spring ’10 term, will they be able to participate?
As long as students graduate by the end of the spring ‘10 term, are accepted for enrollment in the
institution for the fall 2010 semester, and meet all other requirements, they will be allowed to
participate in the program.
6. If a high school does not rank its students, will their students be able to participate in this program?
If a school does not rank its students, the students’ rankings will not appear on the students’
transcripts. As such, those students will not be eligible for this scholarship.
7. If a student does not make the top 10% listing after the sixth semester, but does qualify at the end
of the seventh semester, is the student able to participate in the program?
Eligibility for the scholarship is based on the student’s high school transcript used to admit him/her
into the institution of higher education, unless a later ranking benefits the student (i.e., is ‘higher’ than
the original ranking, which was not in the top 10%). New information can make a student eligible but
will not penalize a student whose ranking drops. However, awarding these additional students is
contingent upon adequate funding!
8. Are all high schools (including the alternative education placement campuses) participating?
Yes. For a student attending an alternative education placement school: Since the school is accredited,
as long as the student is part of the high school graduating class and has a class rank and his/her
number in the graduating class on his/her transcript, the student is eligible.
9. What constitutes “financial need” as it applies to the Top 10% scholarship? Is there a set of
standards or will there be a simple comparison of applicants?
The institutions will use the following calculation to determine a student’s “financial need”:
Cost of attendance (COA) - Expected family contribution (EFC) - Pell > $0
Students who meet all of the eligibility requirements and who have at least $1.00 of financial need are
eligible for this scholarship.
10. The information that was provided states that the student must be enrolled full-time in a Texas
public institution. Can the student be enrolled in a mixture of classroom and online courses or is this
solely for classroom instruction only?
As long as your institution considers the student to be enrolled full-time based on the combination of
classroom and online course hours, the student meets the full-time enrollment requirement for the
Top 10% program.
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11. Should institutions include developmental coursework in determining full-time enrollment status?
Yes. You can include developmental coursework in determining students’ enrollment status for the
Top 10%.
12. Is the bonus award for students that will be graduating from high school in spring ’10 and are
already classified as college juniors or seniors, or is it for students already in the program whom are
renewing the scholarship, majoring in a specific field, and meeting the 3.25 GPA?
It is intended for renewal students who qualify for an award in a subsequent year. The bonus award
will be available in the fall for eligible students who graduate in spring ‘09 from high school
13. Does THECB have a list of critical workforce shortage majors concerning current college students
who may be eligible to participate?
Yes. Current shortage fields are: teaching fields with shortages, nursing, allied health, Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Math
14. Can institutions select students that meet award requirements at the time they are admitted by the
institution, or will they be required to wait until official high school transcripts (which start coming
in around mid-June) are received?
Suppose a student is admitted today and is ranked in the top 10%. In June, his/her official transcript
comes in and the student is no longer in the top 10%. Since the student was in the top 10% at the end
of the semester that is used for admissions, the student is eligible for the scholarship even though the
final transcript shows that he/she subsequently fell-out of the top 10%. Institutions must include
these awards on their students’ financial aid award letters, and clearly identify them as State awards.
15. How many students will be awarded?
Initially, institutions should award all students who meet the eligibility requirements AND for whom
they show as having their FAFSA/TASFA with a process date on or before March 1, 2010– these are
‘Priority 1’ students; students who meet the eligibility requirements, but have a process date after
March 1, 2010 will be Priority 2 and may/may not receive funds depending on the amount remaining
after ALL Priority 1 students have been awarded (in July).
16. What happens if the students identified by the college does not match those submitted by the HS?
The list of students the CB received from the high school counselors is not to be used to make
scholarship awards. Institutions must have a method for identifying a student as graduating in the top
10% at the time the student is admitted into the institution.
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Other
1. Is there a Top 10% label on the K12 electronic AAR (Academic Achievement Record)?
No. There is not a top 10% flag on the AAR. We will be using either the 6th or 7th semester ranking,
depending on which ranking is used by the college or university in making admissions decisions.
Here is a link to the scholarship FACT Sheet:
http://www.collegefortexans.com/cfbin/tofa2.cfm?PrinterFriendly=1&ID=243
Here is a link to the FAFSA:
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
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