Calhoun Scholarship Program Quick Facts One Application (available Nov 1 through March 1) allows students to be considered for ALL Calhoun Scholarship awards. FAFSA must be completed to be considered for any Calhoun award. Calhoun uses this information to assure students receive all the funds for which they are eligible and to create a needs‐based scholarship report for the Alabama Community College System. College Application also must be completed by March 1 as well. http://www.calhoun.edu/Apply Automatic Awards ‐ Calhoun offers several categories of automatic awards based on a student’s high school graduating rank and/or ACT score. 
Valedictorians and Salutatorians: The top 2 students graduating from high schools in Calhoun’s service area are eligible for 2‐years of paid tuition beginning the Fall after they graduate (Note: fees are not covered).If you are interested in this award and expect to graduate as the Valedictorian or Salutatorian of your high school, contact your HS counselor, they have a form to send Calhoun to document your graduating rank. Eligibility is contingent upon a 3.0 GPA and ACT score of 20 or higher. If you graduate from a high school that does not name valedictorians and salutatorians, your school may be eligible to name a Top 5% recipient. Please contact your counselor to discuss this scholarship. 
ACT ‐ 27 or higher: Students graduating from high schools in Calhoun’s service area with a composite ACT score of 27 or higher, upon applying by the March 1 deadline, and demonstrating a graduating GPA of 3.0 are eligible for an automatic one‐year tuition award beginning the Fall Semester following their high school graduation (fees are not included). If you have an ACT of 27 or higher but this is not the year of your high school graduation, you are not eligible for an automatic award. But still apply. It is very likely that you will still be selected if funds are available. 
Principal’s Choice Awards: Each high school in our service area receives one 1‐year $1,500 Principal’s Choice Award that may be gifted to a student of their choice. Eligibility is contingent upon a 3.0 GPA and ACT score of 20 or higher. The process for pursuing the Principal's Choice Award may be different from high school‐to‐high school depending on how your administrators choose to carry out the local selection process. But you should start by making an appointment to meet with your high school counselor and/or principal to ask them how a student becomes eligible to be recommended for this award. Calhoun's eligibility requirements obligate to the student to be a US citizen, have a minimum high school GPA of 3.0, score a minimum of 20 on the ACT, have been accepted to Calhoun as a student, enroll as a full‐time student (minimum of 12 hours), and be recommended by his/her high school principal. Your principal may have additional criteria that must be met. Get it right ‐ Only complete applications (including FASFA, college acceptance, essay, transcripts) are considered in Calhoun’s selection process. GPAs ‐ Awardees are selected by a multi‐disciplinary scholarship committee. Preference is given to in‐
coming freshmen with GPAs of 3.0 or greater. Attend Full‐time/Attend Annual Donor Reception: Scholarship students must attend Calhoun full‐time (minimum of 12‐hours or the contact equivalent), demonstrate class attendance and maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA. Those receiving Foundation‐funded awards must also attend the Annual September Scholarship Student‐Donor Reception. If you are a student in a health field and you are not taking 12 semester hours, you may still meet the requirements for full‐time enrollment status if your clinical classes have "contact hours" that can be counted. Ask your clinical instructor to email the scholarship office at scholarships@calhoun.edu and include the following: Your C# (Calhoun ID), your class schedule and the contact hours eligible for each health course, as well as your email address. Someone from the scholarship office will contact you to let you know if your contact hours can qualify as credit hours to meet the full‐time student requirement. Agreements ‐Awardees sign a Scholarship Agreement that outlines the terms of their award Summer Awards are often available for students wanting to attend in the summer. To be considered, you will still need to complete the Scholarship application by the March 1st deadline. Note: For Fine Arts Scholarships (Art/Graphics, Chorale, Guitar Ensemble, Jazz Band, and Theatre), please contact the department at (256) 306‐2699 regarding its audition process. You will also need to complete the scholarship application and indicate your interest in Fine Arts Scholarships in the proper question.