Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarships

The Arkansas Academic Challenge Program provides scholarships to Arkansas residents pursuing higher education. Funded in large part by the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship is available to students regardless of their academic status, whether they are just graduating from high school, currently enrolled in college, enrolling in college for the first time, or re-enrolling after a period of time out of college.

Scholarship Deadline to Apply

Annual Deadline

July 1

Requirements

See below for basic eligibility information.  For more detailed information on eligibility requirements for Traditional and Non-traditional students, please see the Rules and Regulations listed at the bottom of this webpage.

Award Amount

Varies depending on the college and the college level of the individual

Who May Apply:

Traditional: Students applying for the upcoming academic year who expect to attend an approved college or university in the academic year following their graduation from a public high school, a private or out-of-state high school, or homeschool must have one of the following to qualify.

• ACT composite score or superscore of 19+
• Accuplacer score of all three sections averaging 246
• Classic Learning Test score of 58+
• High School GPA of 3.00
• Diploma of Merit

Traditional students must begin attendance in at least 12 credit hours in the first Fall semester following high school graduation and at least 15 credit hours each semester thereafter to receive their funds that semester.  This means they must earn at least 27 credit hours in their first academic year and at least 30 credit hours each academic year thereafter, with a cumulative GPA of 2.5.

Freshmen finishing their first academic year who did not apply for or qualify for the Academic Challenge Scholarship may be considered Traditional students if they were enrolled as a full-time, first-time student and earned 27 hours with a 2.5 GPA in their first academic year. If they do not have 27 hours at the end of Spring, they can still apply as a Non-Traditional student. Non-Traditional Students are defined as students currently in college who did not receive the Academic Challenge Scholarship, as well as adults who have completed some college, but do not have a degree.

Non-Traditional: Students with some or no college credit can qualify.  If a student has some college credit, they may be considered eligible with a cumulative college GPA of at least 2.5.  A student with no college credit can qualify as a Non-Traditional student if they have an ACT composite score or superscore of at least 19 (or an equivalent of a 19 composite on an equivalent test).

Non-traditional students may begin attendance with fewer semester credit hours than the required number for Traditional students and still receive a prorated scholarship award for that semester. They must also maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 and earn the appropriate number of hours, based on whether they attended full-time (15+ credit hours) or part-time (less than 15 credit hours) each semester.

NOTE: ADHE will take the official composite or superscore from ACT only.  We are not able to manually add or remove the Science from any ACT test that is taken, Legacy or Enhanced. You will need to coordinate with ACT and/or your high school counselor to determine the best option to reach the ACT composite or superscore you are aiming for BEFORE you take the test.  You cannot then decide AFTER the test to add or remove the Science score.