By Linda Campbell
The West
Virginia PROMISE
(Providing Real Opportunities for Maximizing In-state Student Excellence)
Scholarship Program offers each WV high school graduate who meets
eligibility requirements a full tuition scholarship to a state college or
university, or an equivalent dollar amount to an in-state private college. The PROMISE scholarship is based on merit
(academic achievement), not financial need.
To receive
the PROMISE scholarship, a homeschool student must receive qualifying scores on
both the GED exam and a college admission test (the ACT or the SAT). But
getting permission to take the GED has been a problem for those homeschoolers
who are enrolled part-time in a traditional school. Students 17 years old or
younger must be officially withdrawn from the school system (via a form) in
order to take the GED test. Homeschool students taking classes at a public or
private school have had to choose between continuing with their part-time
traditional school classes and meeting the requirements to qualify for the
PROMISE scholarship.
Both the
PROMISE Scholarship Program’s executive director and the State GED
administrator have addressed this situation at the state level, and each of
them has developed a resolution for this problem.
State GED
administrator Debra Kimbler has created a form to grant homeschool students
permission to take the GED while they continue their part-time traditional
school classes; it is available through all county GED examiners. The form is
only necessary for those homeschool students taking classes part-time at a
traditional school.
Dr. Lisa
DeFrank-Cole, Executive Director of the PROMISE Scholarship Program, has
arranged for those affected homeschool students to submit all other eligibility
information and meet all other deadlines with the exception of the GED test
score. The student can take the GED test after (s)he has completed the
traditional school coursework, and then submit the score for PROMISE
scholarship consideration. If all other eligibility requirements and deadlines
have been met, the homeschool student can still be awarded the scholarship in
time for the fall semester.
To find
out when the GED test is given in your county, please contact your local Board
of Education and ask for the GED administration office. Most but not all
counties offer the GED monthly, and you can take the GED in any WV county even
if you don’t reside there. This may allow for more flexibility and preparation
time.
Contact
Information:
Lisa
DeFrank-Cole, Ed.D, Executive Director
PROMISE
Scholarship Program, Suite 700, 1018 Kanawha Blvd.
E.
Charleston, WV 25301
304/558-4417
or 1-877-WVPROMISE
http://www.promisescholarships.org/
Debra
Kimbler, State GED Administrator / GED Office / WV Dept. of Education
Capitol
Complex, Building 6, Room 250 / 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East
Info on
the web: http://wvabe.org/gedwhatis.htm
3/13/2006
March 2006 -- The college board recently discovered a
"technical processing matter" that affects a small percentage of
October 2005 SAT test takers. Approximately 4,000 students did not receive
credit for some correct answers; therefore their scores are higher than
originally reported.
Students
who were affected were to have been notified by email. Revised scores are
also being mailed. The high schools and colleges that were affected have
been notified. (Homeschoolers were not mentioned.)
If your
student took the SAT in October 2005, you may want to review his/her scores at www.collegeboard.com/satscores.
An increase in the October scores could affect eligibility for scholarships
such as the WV PROMISE.
For
more information, visit www.collegeboard.com
LINDA
CAMPBELL, DIRECTOR
INSTITUTE FOR ALTERNATIVE LEARNING
PO BOX 4152
STAR CITY, WV 26504
(304) 983-1200