Bright Scholars of Iowa Award

The amount of the schol­ar­ship is equal to the cost of atten­dance, less oth­er gift aid (such as Pell Grants; insti­tu­tion­al grants, schol­ar­ships, and gift cards; and pri­vate schol­ar­ships). The award is renew­able for up to three addi­tion­al years, pro­vid­ing the stu­dent main­tains a 2.50 cumu­la­tive GPA and full-time enroll­ment. Amount of the award each sub­se­quent year is based on the same for­mu­la as the ini­tial reward. Renewals are not guaranteed.

Recip­i­ents are expect­ed to update the Bright Foun­da­tion each semes­ter regard­ing their progress and col­lege expe­ri­ence and meet with Bright Foun­da­tion staff dur­ing their first year. The Bright Foun­da­tion also pro­vides addi­tion­al oppor­tu­ni­ties for recip­i­ents, such as peer con­nec­tions and net­work­ing, and ded­i­cat­ed staff sup­port to enhance the col­lege expe­ri­ence and help schol­ars to grad­u­ate on-time, debt-free, pre­pared to launch their careers, and give back in some way. While all enhance­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties are option­al, recip­i­ents are expect­ed to attend the Bright Schol­ar Recep­tion on cam­pus each fall and the state-wide Bright Sym­po­sium each spring.

Eligibility Criteria
To be eli­gi­ble for a Bright Schol­ars of Iowa Award, a stu­dent must be accept­ed by one of the three state uni­ver­si­ties (Iowa State, Iowa, UNI) as well as meet the fol­low­ing criteria:

• Cur­rent senior attend­ing an Iowa high school.
• Out­stand­ing aca­d­e­m­ic achieve­ment (Regent Admis­sion Index/​RAI score of 299+, or ACT score of 28+, or GPA of 3.7+).
• Demon­strate a com­mit­ment to learn­ing and com­mu­ni­ty ser­vice, as well as suc­cess in the face of adversity.
• SAI (Stu­dent Aid Index) under 10,000 as deter­mined by fil­ing the Free Appli­ca­tion for Fed­er­al Stu­dent Aid (FAF­SA).
• Main­tain full-time enrollment.
• Pref­er­ence is giv­en to stu­dents whose par­ents have not grad­u­at­ed from an accred­it­ed four-year col­lege or university.

As a part of the appli­ca­tion process, the stu­dent must sub­mit an essay describ­ing his or her suc­cess in the face of adver­si­ty. A sum­ma­ry of high school and com­mu­ni­ty ser­vice activ­i­ties, includ­ing lead­er­ship roles, is also required.

Stu­dents who have a famil­ial or oth­er­wise close per­son­al rela­tion­ship with any mem­ber of the Bright Foun­da­tion Board of Direc­tors or its employ­ees are not eli­gi­ble for the award.

Funds for the scholarship are provided by the Bright Foundation. The Bright Foundation also provides additional communication and experiences for recipients, such as peer connections and networking, to enhance the college experience and help scholars reach their goals. Recipients are expected to provide the Bright Foundation regular updates on their college experience through their Bright Scholar portal.