COLLEGE SAVINGS MATCH
January 1 – February 26, 2021
RESOURCES
9th Graders
- Application Prep List – this list will help you prepare now for the application opening on January 1. This includes the 2021 personal statement prompts. Start writing your personal statements now.
- College Board EFC Calculator Guide – use this guide to complete the EFC calculator to determine income eligibility for KC Scholars
High Schools & Community Organizations Working with 9th Graders
- Application Prep List – this list will help students know what they can do now to prepare for the application. This includes the 2021 personal statement prompts.
- College Board EFC Calculator Guide – use this guide to assist students and families to complete the EFC calculator to determine income eligibility for KC Scholars
- Slide Deck
- Application Virtual Workshop Flyer – The KC Scholars team is hosting virtual Zoom Q&A sessions on Mondays & Wednesdays in January & February. We are also available via email & phone.
- Scholarship Program Digital Flyers – PDF Format
- Scholarship Program Digital Flyers – JPEG Format
FAQs
- Be a current 9thgrader during the application cycle;
- Be home-schooled or attend a public, charter, or private high school in the following 6 counties: Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte (MO) or Johnson and Wyandotte (KS);
- Be a U.S. citizen or resident alien with a verified permanent U.S. address and valid Social Security number or other taxpayer identification;
- Have at least a 2.5 cumulative unweighted GPA fall semester of 9th grade;
- Be considered low- or modest-income. Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) calculation on the College Board EFC Calculator must be 12,000 or less. The calculation is based on household income, number of members in the family and number of family members that will be in college at the same time. It is the amount of annual financial support a family can be expected to pay toward the student’s college education.
*If you had a significant loss of income during 2020 due to COVID-19, you still must complete the EFC Calculator with your 2019 income information and enter the EFC in the application.
If you are prompted to then retake the Eligibility Requirement Check, please contact us at info@kcscholars.org ASAP so we can determine if you are eligible for an appeal. Use “COVID Appeal” in the subject line of your email.
KC Scholars is hosting several virtual Application Workshops in January.
KC Scholars staff will be available to answer questions as applicants work on their applications and to assist with College Board EFC Calculator completion to determine income eligibility. Please note that KC Scholars staff are not able to review your essays. We suggest you work with a teacher to review your essays.
Beginning in 2021, 250 9th graders will be selected for the College Savings Match program.
Awardees are eligible to earn 1:1 match on college savings, not to exceed $1,000 and up to $400 for achieving college-ready milestones during high school.
Research demonstrates that having a college savings account produces positive results no matter what the value of the initial contribution to the account. Positive results include: 1) creating a college-intending mindset in the student and the parent(s) – the student builds assurance that college is possible; 2) parents of children with a college savings account acts in ways that support the child planning for and going to college; and 3) students with college savings accounts are 4X more likely to go to college and 6x more likely to complete. Further, knowledge learned about savings and financial literacy are transferrable to all areas of life, even beyond attending and completing college. And, students in the KC Scholars program have a college adviser throughout high school to help them prepare for college.
All 250 9th graders selected will be eligible for a 1:1 match of up to $1,000 and an additional $400 of incentives. This is one time award.
- If the awardee is enrolled at a 4-year institution, the combined total of the match and incentive will be paid to the institution at which the awardee is enrolled:
- Over the first semester if $3,999 or less was earned
- Over two semesters, in equally distributed payments, if $4,000 or more was earned
- If the awardee is enrolled at a 2-year institution, the combined total of the match and incentive will be paid to the institution at which the awardee is enrolled, in equally distributed payments, over four semesters (two semesters each academic year of the first and second years of college) and in equal sums over the four terms/semesters.
Please review the Program Guidelines carefully for any additional questions.
9TH GRADERS – THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO START SAVING FOR COLLEGE NOW
Students with 529 College Savings Accounts are 4 times more likely to complete college.
Beginning in 2021, up to 250 9th graders will be selected for the Match and Incentive program. Awarded students will be eligible for a 1:1 match and earn incentives for a total of up to $1,400 to use toward college. It is a one-time award.
Match and incentive participants must enroll in college full-time following high school graduation and remain enrolled full-time at a KC Scholars Postsecondary Network campus while receiving KC Scholars’ funding.
WHAT COLLEGE SAVINGS ACCOUNT AND MATCH AND INCENTIVE RECIPIENTS ARE SAYING.
There are more than 1000 9th, 10th and 11th graders in the KC Scholars’ College Savings Account or Match and Incentive Program.
Awardees have shared that:
- They are having fun learning about saving money for college
- They are preparing to apply for the Traditional Scholarship when they get into 11th grade
- They are already working with a college adviser and visiting college campuses as 10th and 11th graders
- Some are in this program at the same time as their brothers and sisters are in the Traditional Scholarship program and their parents are back in college as KC Scholars’ Adult Learners