Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 29, 2003
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact:  Kris Betker, Higher Education Coordinating Board, 360-753-7817

Gov. Gary Locke Awards $6.3 Million in 2003-04 Washington Promise Scholarships

Gov. Gary Locke today launched his fifth annual statewide tour of college campuses to recognize more than 7,000 recipients of Washington Promise Scholarships, a program he launched to help high-achieving low- and middle-income students pay for college. About $6.3 million in state funds will be used to fund the program this year.

Today, the governor presented scholarship certificates to students at Clark College in Vancouver and Western Washington University in Bellingham. He will visit Gonzaga University in Spokane on Tuesday, Sept. 30, and the University of Washington in Seattle on Thursday, Oct. 2.

“These scholarships are a ‘promise’ to the young people of our state,” Locke said. “If you achieve and need help to go to college, we will help you. A college education is part of the American dream – and every child in our state deserves the chance to make that dream a reality.”

The governor created the Washington Promise Scholarship program in 1999. During the 2002 legislative session, lawmakers made the program permanent and Locke signed it into law. A total of 27,300 Promise Scholarships have been awarded since Locke created the program.

To be eligible for the scholarship, students must either rank in the top 15 percent of their senior classes, or earn a combined score of at least 1,200 on the SAT or at least 27 on the ACT on the first attempt. Their family income can be no more than 135 percent of the state’s median family income – about $89,500 for a family of four.

“The Promise Scholarship is an investment in our state's future,” said Ruta Fanning, interim director of the state Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB). “Not only are we helping some of our brightest and most talented students realize their dreams, we are helping ensure that those students stay in Washington. They will be a great addition to our state's colleges and universities.”

The HECB administers the scholarship program, with assistance from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. More than 7,000 college freshmen and sophomores are eligible for scholarships this year, receiving up to $930 each for two years.

Students may use the scholarships at public two- and four-year colleges and universities, or accredited independent colleges, universities and private career schools in Washington.

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Related links: www.governor.wa.gov; www.hecb.wa.gov

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