State of Iowa Scholars chosen

Nearly 15-hundred Iowa high school seniors will soon get notice that they’re among the top students in the state. Iowa College Student Aid Commission spokeswoman Julie Leeper says the letters are going out notifying those who’ve been selected “State of Iowa Scholars.”She says students will be notified through the mail, and then the names will be posted on a website. Leeper says the scholars first had to finish in the top 15-percent of their class during their junior year to apply for the high status. She says they take all the applications and combine their class rank with their A-C-T or S-A-T college entrance scores into an academic index. The scholars are then named based on that index. Leeper says not everyone who applies makes the final cut. She says the goal is to get the top scholars. She says the scholars generally have 29’s or higher on their A-C-T’s and rank in the top three percent of their graduating classes. This year’s 14-hundred-99 scholars are down from last year’s 16-hundred. Being named an Iowa Scholar is more than an impressive line to put on your resume. She says they get an award of 400 dollars for their first year of college, and they’re invited to a ceremony in Des Moines to meet with the governor. Leeper says all of the scholars get their pictures taken with the governor — something she says has become a highlight for them. The letters should be arriving at the scholars homes in the next couple of days and Leeper says the entire list will be on the website at: www.IowaCollegeAid.org in a week or so.