Every year, the General Education Reagan Foundation offers a scholarship to up to 20 students in the United States who have shown exemplary leadership and academic skills. Named after President Ronald Reagan, the foundation works to give scholarships to students who have excelled in academics with low-income families. The Reagan Foundation offers scholarships that are worth a minimum of $10,000. The scholarships can be renewed four times for a grand total of up to $40,000. Students must meet certain eligibility requirements to qualify for the scholarship.

In order to qualify for the GE-Reagan Foundation scholarship, all candidates must receive a recommendation from a community leader, such as a principal or elected official. This recommendation must include formal documentation of the student’s academic standing and family income in order to ensure the legitimacy of the candidate. However, the foundation does not discriminate between home schooled and traditionally schooled students, so any senior graduating in the winter of 2014 or spring of 2015 is eligible for the scholarship. Students may use the scholarship for both undergraduate studies or graduate studies in the future. The scholarship can also pay for the expenses of anything from books to tuition. The scholarship totals up to a potential worth of around $40,000, enough to contribute $10,000 to the costs of each year in college. Only the first 25,000 applications will be considered, so the Foundation recommends that students apply early. Applicants must go to the Regan Foundation website, reaganfoundation.org, in order to access the application.

“[Scholarships] can be ways to help people who work hard but don’t have the financial stability to attend prestigious universities succeed,” said sophomore Laila Drew. “In a way, they can encourage students to strive for success knowing that the possibility is always there.”

The goal of the Reagan scholarship is to help those in need and provide greater access to higher levels of education. The deadline for application to the GE-Reagan Foundation for all high school seniors is on Jan. 8, 2015.