AUSTIN, Texas—President Larry R. Faulkner of The University of Texas at Austin recently visited several hundred students in three Houston high schools, where he hand-delivered scholarship offers to 20 seniors and urged juniors to strive for a college education. The 20 scholarships total more than $250,000 over a period of four years.
Faulkner and members of his staff on April 8 provided the students and their parents at Jefferson Davis High School, the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, and Worthing High School with information about UT Austin and answered questions about financial aid, the admissions process and student life on a university campus.
The scholarships are offered through the Longhorn Opportunity Scholarship and the President’s Achievement Scholarship programs. The scholarship certificates Faulkner delivered to students are just a portion of the approximately $6.2 million in scholarship commitments over the next four years being offered statewide by UT Austin through the two programs.
This is the first year for the Longhorn Opportunity Scholarship program, which offers participants $4,000 per year for up to four years if they maintain required grade levels. This is the third year for the President’s Achievement Scholarships program, which provides scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $1,000 per year, depending on academic achievement and an analysis of each recipient that includes class rank, parental income and other factors.
The 95 scholarships being offered statewide through the Longhorn Opportunity Scholarship program involve a $1.8 million commitment, and the 672 students selected for the President’s Achievement Scholarship (PAS) program comprise a $5.7 million commitment over four years.
President’s Achievement Scholarships are offered on three levels. This year, there were 132 scholarship offers for Tier 1 students receiving four-year awards of $5,000 per year. There were 367 scholarship offers for Tier 2 students receiving four-year awards of $2,000 per year. There were 173 scholarship offers for one-year awards of $1,000.
“We believe that the partnership of the Longhorn Opportunity Program and the President’s Achievement Scholarship program confirms the University’s sincere commitment to attract a diverse student population and provides support for needy scholars,” said Larry Burt, director of the Office of Student Financial Services.
