College Scholarship and Grant Money for Oklahoma Students

Ever considered the free college money available to you from your own state government? Like many other states, Oklahoma maintains a fat coffer of gift aid—scholarships and grants—designed to help put as many students into college as possible. This is just good for the overall state economy, too. A more educated populace translates in the long run to a more self-sustaining and thriving economy. But your biggest immediate advantage is the chance to snag some dough for your college experience.

Typically you’ll find these types of awards:

  • General scholarships and grants
  • Career or study-specific programs
  • Aid for dependents of public service or veterans

Oklahoma’s General Scholarships and Grants

A few of the most widely disbursed programs listed below offer thousands of students a chance to qualify for money based on academic criteria, financial criteria or a combination of the two.

  • Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant program awards up to $1,300 for undergraduate college students able to demonstrate significant financial need (usually a household income under $50,000) plus sufficient academic mettle. Qualified candidates may be enrolled in one of the “eligible” public, private, or technical colleges in the state, per the OTAG Eligible Schools list.
  • Oklahoma Tuition Equalization Grant is designed for any undergraduate student with a household income of under $50,000 attending a public or private college or university within the state. Awards are $2,000 annually.
  • Oklahoma Promise Scholarship program nets the most motivated high school students early in their secondary educational careers. Here students decide whether they want to opt into the Promise scholars program by pursuing a rigorous academic course of study designed to prepare them for college. Successful high school Promise Scholarship students stand to earn full (OK public colleges or universities) or partial (private schools) tuition scholarships.
  • Academic Scholars Program is designed to reward Oklahoma’s most academically talented college-bound students. Funds are awarded by each college or university and final awards based on institutional costs and other variables.

Career-Specific Scholarships and Grants

A few fields of study often draw incentives in the form of free college aid.

  • Future Teachers Scholarship is designed to offer incentive to student teachers interested in studying to teach within a “critical need” subject area as designated by the state. Critical need, or teacher shortage areas are often Science, Math, Special Education, English, foreign language, and more. These may vary from academic year, as well. The program offers qualified teaching students up to $1,500 per academic year if they are willing to teach in Oklahoma in their field of study.
  • The Teacher Shortage Employment Incentive Program is a loan repayment program that offers repayment incentive to student teachers studying to teach Math or Science. As long as qualified applicants have some financial need and agree to teach in the state, they may receive welcome student loan repayment.
  • Chiropractic Education Assistance Scholarship is provided for students pursuing a chiropractic degree in an accredited out of state school. Award maximum is $6,000 annually and is adjusted according to current state funds.

Scholarships for OK Dependents

These awards recognize the financial duress suffered by families who’ve lost parents to war, public service, and even terror attacks.

  • Heartland Memorial Scholarship was established to help dependents of those killed in the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. Scholarships are full tuition awards.
  • Foster Care Tuition Waiver provides college money to eligible students that have been or currently are participating in the state foster care program.

This is not an exhaustive list. Visit the Oklahoma Higher Education website for additional scholarships and grants or to keep current on those listed.