State Representative Yvonne Davis (D-Dallas) announced that over $500,000 in scholarships are available for high school graduates from Dallas and twenty eight other urban areas throughout Texas. Administered by the Texas Association of Developing Colleges (TADC), the Urban Scholarship Program was created during the 74th Legislative session as part of House Bill 2128 with the cooperation of the three largest local telephone companies in the state of Texas at the time. This year’s Scholarship Fund contributors are AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
Since the establishment of the Urban Scholarship Fund, nearly 11,000 students throughout the state of Texas have been able to begin or continue their college education due to over $6,000,000 awarded to them through the Urban Scholarship Fund.
“This fund was created to provide access to higher education opportunities for Texans who, without this assistance, might not be able to strive for a college education,” said Rep. Davis. “Basically, all the problems facing our communities, including economic parity, high crime, building cohesive families, and other quality of life issues are related to the lack of education. By providing increased avenues of educational opportunity, we multiply our chances of improving the conditions of our State. The goal of this fund is to boost chances of reaching this target” Rep. Davis continued.
The 2013-2014 Urban Scholarship Fund is for Texas residents who are also U. S. citizens and full-time undergraduates in good academic standing at any accredited public or private non-profit college, university or technical college. Additionally, applicants must demonstrate financial need and have graduated from a high school in the following metropolitan cities: Abilene, Amarillo, Arlington, Austin, Beaumont, Brownsville, Carrollton, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Fort Worth, Frisco, Garland, Grand Prairie, Houston, Irving, Killeen, Laredo, Lubbock, McAllen, McKinney, Mesquite, Midland, Pasadena, Plano, San Antonio, Waco, and Wichita Falls.
Students interested in applying for scholarships should contact their high school guidance counselor; college financial aid officer, or call the Texas Association of Developing Colleges at (214) 630-2511. Applicants may also complete the scholarship application online at www.txadc.org then print, sign and mail it with the required documents. The deadline for applying for the 2013-2014 Urban Scholarship Fund is Monday, July 8, 2013 (postmarked).
Students attending technical, junior or community colleges will receive $700, public four-year college and university students will receive $1000, and private four-year college and university students will receive $2000. The number of awards is uncertain because of the varying funding levels to different types of institutions.
The Urban Scholarship fund was created in 1995 when Rep. Davis attached an amendment to the omnibus telecom bill creating a pool of funds derived from unclaimed telephone service deposits. Previously unclaimed funds went into the unclaimed funds pool in the State Treasury. Although these funds will be shifted into the scholarship account, local telephone companies will still reimburse consumers for any funds properly claimed in the future.
“We ask our students to study hard, make the grade and prepare themselves for the next level necessary to reach their goal. However, the continued rising cost of a college education presents an obstacle to some students. The Urban Scholarship Fund provides these students additional funding to help pay for their college education and ultimately realizing their goal,” stated Rep. Davis.
Students from non-metropolitan areas of the State may be covered by the Rural Scholarship fund, which was also created by House Bill 2128.
Rep. Davis is currently serving her eleventh term, representing District 111 in the Texas House of Representatives.
