June 01, 2023

Lottery Scholarship Deadline set for July 1

Little Rock, Ark.

July 1 is the deadline for students to apply for the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship enrolling in a two- or four-year college or university in the fall. 

The Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship is available to traditional and non-traditional students regardless of their academic status, whether just graduating from high school, currently enrolled in college, enrolling in college for the first time, or re-enrolling after a period out of college. 

Since 2009, the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) has helped raise more than $1.2 billion to fund more than 720,000 scholarships for students attending 52 Arkansas colleges and universities – both public and private.

“The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery was started with the mission of helping Arkansas students pursue a higher education,” said Eric Hagler, ASL executive director. “We have never deviated from that objective and are proud that more than 92 cents of every dollar raised through the sale of lottery tickets goes to scholarships as well as prizes, retailer commissions and other expenses within our state.”

To be eligible for the scholarship, a student must be an Arkansas resident for at least 12 months before enrollment and receive at least a 19 on the ACT. To maintain scholarship eligibility, students must keep at least a 2.5 GPA. 

Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship award amounts are as follows:
Four-year college: Year 1 - $1,000; Year 2 - $4,000; Year 3 - $4,000; Year 4 - $5,000.
Two-year college: Year 1 - $1,000; Year 2 - $3,000.
 
The lottery also helps fund several other scholarships.

The Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship is available for students seeking certifications in high-demand occupations, such as healthcare, manufacturing and information technology. The award amount may be $800 for a single program of study. Students must apply at least 30 days before enrollment in an eligible program.

The Arkansas Concurrent Challenge Scholarship provides financial incentives to eligible junior or senior high school students who want to start college courses early. The scholarship pays $125 per credit for up to two concurrent credit courses per semester.  

During the recent legislative session, the legislature created the Arkansas Challenge Plus Scholarship, which provides additional funding for students with an Academic Challenge Scholarship based on their financial needs. Challenge Plus will start accepting students in fall 2024. 

To learn more about these scholarships, contact the Arkansas Department of Higher Education at 501-371-2000 or apply at sams.adhe.edu.

About the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery
More than 92 cents of every dollar of ASL revenue goes to prizes, scholarships, retailer commissions, and other expenses in Arkansas. Since 2009, the lottery has raised more than $1.2 billion in proceeds for scholarships. More than 720,000 college scholarships have been awarded to Arkansans. The lottery has awarded more than $4.5 billion in prizes to players, about $381 million in retailer commissions and provided more than $165 million in state and federal tax revenue.

Follow the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Visit MyArkansasLottery.com for more information on scholarships, winners, games, odds, promotions – and to join The Club for free. To hear winning numbers, call the Winning Numbers Hotline at 501-682-IWON (4966). To get help with problem gambling, contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.