Tuition grants now available

Iowa high school students who hope to attend a private Iowa college in the fall can now apply for an Iowa Tuition Grant. Kathleen Gannon, spokeswoman of the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, says the grant program was enacted by the Iowa Legislature in 1969 when the Regents schools were all full.The grants are given to qualified Iowa high school seniors who show a financial need and plan to attend a private college in Iowa. Gannon says the annual grants are worth up to four thousand dollars.Students who want to apply have to fill out a form called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — or FAFSA — which goes to the U-S Department of Education.Thirty private colleges and universities in Iowa are part of the program. She says early applications may yield more funding, since there are limited pools of resources for the financial aid.