Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which will provide $8,250 for education to students pursuing post-secondary degrees. | Gretchen Whitmer/Flickr
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which will provide $8,250 for education to students pursuing post-secondary degrees. | Gretchen Whitmer/Flickr
Michigan has launched a website to help students apply for the state’s Achievement Scholarship.
The scholarship was spearheaded by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and is expected to reduce the cost of college for the graduating class of 2023, according to a Nov. 2 press release from the governor’s office.
"We salute Governor Whitmer and the bi-partisan leadership in the Senate and House for their historic investment in the Michigan Achievement Scholarship," said Don MacMaster, president of Alpena Community College. "These scholarships will help Michigan students succeed and drive our state toward the worthy 60 by 30 goal. We thank the leaders for their vision and collaborative focus on student success. When we work together, great things happen."
Students are encouraged to apply for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to save $8,250 over the course of three years if they are seeking an associate degree at a community college, or up to $27,500 over five years at a public university and up to $20,000 over five years at a private college, the release stated.
“For too long, high costs have been a barrier to higher education,” Whitmer said. “I am so excited that we worked across the aisle to establish the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, lowering the cost of college by thousands of dollars a year for the vast majority of graduating seniors, starting with the class of 2023. All students need to do to get their Michigan Achievement Scholarship is fill out their FAFSA. I encourage every student going to community college, private college, or a public university in Michigan to speak with their parents or guardian, get their documents together, and fill out their FAFSA to save thousands of dollars.”
The scholarship is the byproduct of bipartisan legislation that hopes to build on Michigan’s “Sixty by 30” objective of 60% of adults with a skill certificate or college degree by 2030, according to the release.
“The Michigan Achievement Scholarship will make additional education possible for the majority of Michigan’s new college students after they earn their high school diploma or equivalency,” said Sarah Szurpicki, director of the Office of Sixty by 30. “This scholarship is game-changing for Michigan families. Creating more pathways to education beyond high school means creating more pathways for Michigan students, families, and businesses to succeed.”
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