USA Funds® will award up to $3.2 million nationwide in new, renewable scholarships to students with economic need through USA Funds Access to Education Scholarships®.

USA Funds is the nation’s leading education-loan guarantor. A nonprofit organization, USA Funds works to enhance postsecondary-education preparedness, access and success by providing and supporting financial and other valued services. Application deadline: Feb. 15, 2007.

Eligibility
USA Funds Access to Education Scholarships are open to high-school seniors, currently enrolled college students or incoming college students who:

• Plan to enroll or are enrolled in full- or half-time undergraduate or full-time graduate- or professional-degree coursework at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational/technical school. GED recipients also are eligible. Students must plan to enroll or be enrolled beginning with the fall-2007 term through Feb. 1, 2008.
• If studying abroad, are attending or planning to attend a postsecondary institution that is eligible to participate in student-aid programs under Title IV of the federal Higher Education Act.
• Have an annual adjusted gross family income of $35,000 or less, as documented on a 2006 federal 1040 income-tax return on which the applicant is claimed as a federal tax exemption.
• Are U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizens. Students studying in the U.S. on an F1 visa are not eligible. Eligible noncitizens must be permanent U.S. resident aliens with a Green Card, or refugees with a Departure Record (Form I-94) from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services showing one of the following designations:
  • Refugee.
  • Asylum granted.
  • Alien paroled into the U.S. for at least one year.
  • Alien granted a stay of deportation due to fear of persecution on account of race, religion or political opinion.
  • Conditional entrant (if I-94 was issued before April 1980).
• Are not currently in default on a federal education loan.

Students attending postsecondary institutions, such as United States service academies, that do not charge tuition and room and board to the general student body are not eligible to receive awards under this scholarship program.

Applicants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and all U.S. territories and commonwealths are eligible for USA Funds Access to Education Scholarships. Priority consideration for the awards will be given to applicants from Arizona, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada and Wyoming, states that USA Funds serves as the federally designated guarantor of federal student loans, and from Washington and Idaho, states that USA Funds’ affiliate Northwest Education Loan Association^® serves as the federally designated guarantor of student loans.

Scholarships awarded under this program to residents of Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington states are made possible with the support of Education Assistance Foundation.

Additionally, up to 50 percent of the scholarship awards will be targeted to applicants who are members of an ethnic-minority group or have a documented physical disability. Ethnic-minority groups are defined as follows:

• Alaskan Native.
• American Indian.
• Asian.
• Black/African-American.
• Hispanic or Latino.
• Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals are considered to have a disability if they have a physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, have a record of such an impairment or are regarded as having such an impairment. Applicants who are physically disabled must submit a doctor’s statement describing the disability, including the degree and limitation on their ability.

Awards
The program will award scholarships of $1,500. The scholarships may be renewed annually, if the student maintains a 2.5 grade-point average on a four-point scale, until the continuously enrolled student receives a final degree or certificate, or until the total award to the student reaches $6,000.

Application
To be considered for a scholarship, an application must be submitted online by Feb. 15, 2007. We strongly encourage students to submit their application well before the application deadline.

By March 10, 2007, all applicants will be notified whether they have been selected as finalists. Only finalists will be required to mail the following additional documentation to Scholarship America:

• IRS 1040 tax forms for 2006 showing a combined household adjusted gross income of $35,000 or less.
• Current complete transcript(s) of grades (including grading scale and undergraduate transcript if attending graduate school) or GED test scores.  Online transcripts are acceptable. Our scholarship-program administrator, Scholarship America, reserves the right to verify all information on transcripts.
• Doctor’s statement (if physically disabled).
• Copy of Green Card or I-94 with the appropriate designation (if you are not a U.S. citizen).

To receive consideration for a scholarship, finalists must mail the required documents postmarked by April 5, 2007, to:

USA Funds Access to Education Scholarships
Scholarship Management Services, Scholarship America
One Scholarship Way, P.O. Box 297
Saint Peter, MN 56082

Applicant Responsibilities
Applicants are responsible for submitting all necessary information. Because Scholarship America evaluates applications on the information supplied, it is important to answer all questions as completely as possible. Scholarship America and USA Funds keep all submitted information confidential.

Selection of Recipients
Scholarship awards will be based on the applicant’s:

• Past academic performance and future potential.
• Leadership and participation in school and community activities.
• Work experience.
• Career and educational aspirations and goals.
• Unusual personal or family circumstances.

By June 30, 2007, Scholarship America will notify all finalists whether they have been selected to receive an award.

Payment of Scholarships
Each recipient will receive one check mailed on Aug. 30, 2007. The check will be payable to the school for the student, but mailed to the permanent home address specified by the student at the time of scholarship acceptance.

Obligations
USA Funds Access to Education Scholarships must be used for tuition, room and board and/or other education-related expenses.

Students who accept a scholarship grant USA Funds permission to use their names, photos and testimonials for publicity purposes. Finalists must supply Scholarship America with additional documentation requested on the application and notify Scholarship America of any change of address, school enrollment or other relevant information.

Revisions
USA Funds reserves the right to review the conditions and procedures of these scholarship programs and to make changes, including termination of the programs, at any time.

Additional Information
USA Funds Access to Education Scholarships are managed by Scholarship Management Services, a program of Scholarship America, the nation’s largest nonprofit, private-sector scholarship and educational-support organization.

For additional information about USA Funds Access to Education Scholarships, first read our frequently asked questions. If you still have questions, send us an e-mail (scholarship@usafunds.org) or call Scholarship America, toll-free, (800) 537-4180. For answers to questions about the scholarship application, please call prior to Feb. 15, 2007. We cannot guarantee a response by the application deadline to inquiries received after 12:00 p.m. Central Time on Feb. 15, 2007.

Scholarship Application
Apply for a USA Funds Access to Education Scholarship.

Website
http://www.usafunds.org