Robert C. Byrd Scholarship Program
The Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program is a federally-supported program that recognizes exceptionally able high school seniors who show promise of continued excellence in postsecondary education.
Eligibility
An applicant must be a South Dakota resident and a senior at an accredited public or private secondary school, must be qualified to graduate or receive a GED certificate, and must have applied or been accepted for enrollment as a full-time student at an eligible in-state or out-of-state institution of higher education.
Applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Have a grade point average of at least 3.5 on an unweighted 4.0 scale through the end of the term most recently completed; and
- Have an ACT score of 30 or above.
Scholarships are awarded to approximately 17 eligible applicants with the highest ACT score and grade point average. Scholars will be selected from the four divisions of the South Dakota federal district court: western, northern, central and southern. Scholars must attend an eligible institution of higher education on a full-time basis in the academic year following high school graduation, or they may postpone their education up to one year if approved by the South Dakota Department of Education.
Size of Awards
Scholarships of $1,500, or a prorated amount thereof depending on funds available, shall be awarded. If funds are available, scholarships are renewable for the first four years of study at any institution eligible to participate in this program if the recipient continues to meet the eligibility criteria and maintains satisfactory progress, as determined by the institution of higher education.
Payment of Awards
Payment of the award shall be made to each scholar during the academic year in which he or she graduates from secondary school. Payment will be made by a warrant, payable to the scholar and the institution the scholar plans to attend. The warrant must be signed by the scholar and an official at the institution.
If the scholar’s eligible institution of higher education changes before enrollment, the scholar must return the warrant to the South Dakota Department of Education with verification of admittance from the eligible institution of higher education the scholar now plans to attend. The warrant shall be reissued and sent to the eligible institution.
Within 30 days after the beginning of each semester or quarter, the scholar’s financial aid officer must verify that the scholar is enrolled on a full-time basis at the institution.
Scholarship Repayment
Scholars who do not pursue a course of study at an eligible institution of higher education in the two years following graduation must repay the scholarship to the South Dakota Department of Education by October 1 of that academic year.
South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship
The South Dakota Legislature authorized the Regents Scholarship Program in 2003 to allow South Dakota’s most academically accomplished high school graduates to receive an affordable education at any university, college, or technical school in South Dakota that is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In 2004, the Legislature renamed the scholarship the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship and authorized funding from the state of South Dakota’s Education Enhancement Trust Fund, beginning with high school graduating classes in 2004.
The South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship provides $5,000 over four years to a qualifying student who attends an eligible higher education institution in South Dakota. Recipients may participate in the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship Program for the equivalent of four academic years (eight consecutive fall and spring terms), or until attaining a baccalaureate degree. During each academic year, one-half of the annual scholarship award will be distributed at the beginning of the fall semester and the other half distributed at the beginning of the spring semester:
$1,000 – 1st year of attendance
$1,000 – 2nd year of attendance
$1,000 – 3rd year of attendance
$2,000 – 4th year of attendance
