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SFA > Awards/Scholarships - By Program > The Mitch Daniels Early Graduation Scholarship The Mitch Daniels Early Graduation Scholarship

The Mitch Daniels Early Graduation Scholarship (IC 21-12-10):

The Mitch Daniels Early Graduation Scholarship is an educational benefit for students who graduate from a publicly supported high school at least one year early, after December 31, 2010. The scholarship pays $4,000 to be applied first to any remaining unpaid tuition and fees and can be used at any SFA eligible Indiana college. The balance of the scholarship shall be remitted to the student. This is a one-time benefit and may not be renewed. The scholarship may not be used for remedial course work.

Scholarship funds will be disbursed beginning in late 2013. Students and colleges will be notified via email of the award.

Who is eligible?

A student who:

  1. is a resident of Indiana by SFA’s definition;
  2. attended a publicly supported high school on a full time equivalency basis for at least the last two semesters before the student graduated;
  3. had legal settlement in Indiana for at least the last two semesters before the student graduated;
  4. met at least the minimum requirements for granting a high school diploma by the end of grade 11, including any summer courses completed by July 1 of the year of graduation;
  5. was awarded a high school diploma after December 31, 2010;
  6. was not enrolled in a publicly supported high school for any part of grade 12; of the fourth year (12);
  7. within five months of graduating from high school becomes a student in good standing taking classes at a SFA approved college in a program leading to an approved postsecondary degree or credential.

Students with a General Diploma who graduate early are not considered eligible for this scholarship. These students have chosen to "opt out" of the minimum graduation requirements of Core 40. By graduating early, the students are choosing not to exhaust all other options to meet Core 40 diploma scholarship criteria. Student applications for this scholarship must pass the Algebra I and English 10 End of Course assessments.

How to apply:

The application deadline has passed for students who graduated from high school early in 2013 and will be starting college during the 2013-2014 academic year (within 5 months of high school graduation). Although passed, the application deadlines were as follows:

  1. Complete the online Mitch Daniels Early Graduation Scholarship Application by September 4, 2013.
  2. File a 2013-14 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. The FAFSA must be received by the Federal Central Processing System (CPS) no later than September 4, 2013. Any FAFSA edits must be corrected by November 15, 2013 in order to receive consideration for the scholarship. (Please note that these FAFSA deadlines are for those students who only wish to receive the Mitch Daniels Early Graduation Scholarship. If students wish to be considered for other state financial aid programs, the March 10 and May 15 FAFSA deadlines must be met.)

If a student will be graduating from high school early in 2014 and will be starting college during the 2014-2015 academic year (within 5 months of high school graduation), he or she must wait to apply until the 2014-2015 applications are available. 

Additional Resources

If you have any questions about the Mitch Daniels Early Graduation Scholarship, please email awards@che.in.gov or call (888) 528-4719.