TOPS

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LOSFA

• College Access and Outreach
• Louisiana Guaranteed Student Loans
• TOPS
• START Saving Program

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LOSFA

• Early Start
• Go Grant
• LA LEAP Grant
• Rockefeller State Wildlife Scholarship
• Health Care Educator Loan Forgiveness

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• It pays
• to make good grades!

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What TOPS is

• Scholarship
• Created and funded by the State Legislature
• Administered by the Louisiana Office of Student
  Financial Assistance (LOSFA)
• Portable

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What TOPS does

• In very simplified terms
• Pays
• an amount equal to
• the base
  tuition
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  at any
• Louisiana public college or university
• Or a small portion of the tuition for members of
  the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges
  (LAICU)

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Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges
(LAICU)

• 1343 per semester for Academic Year 2008-2009
• Centenary College
• Dillard University
• Louisiana College
• Loyola University New Orleans
• New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
• Our Lady of Holy Cross College
• Our Lady of the Lake College
• St. Joseph Seminary College
• Tulane University
• Xavier University

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How to earn TOPS

• High school students
• Take the TOPS Core Curriculum
• classes in school,
• Make at least a 2.50 GPA
• on those classes,
• AND
• Score at least a 20 on the ACT test

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TOPS Award Process

• When LOSFA has all three requirements (ACT,
  grades, application) our computer merges them
  and determines eligibility
• Eligibility immediately appears on TOPS Master
  Roster
• LOSFA immediately sends letter to student
• ONLY official notification

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General Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship
• Residency
• No criminal convictions
• Complete the TOPS Core curriculum
• (Tech Scholarship has a choice of 3 curricula)
• Apply for the Scholarship

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TOPS Core Curriculum

• TOPS Core Courses must be completed as of the
  date of graduation
• Distance learning courses and college courses
  taken in the classroom, online, or by
  correspondence, may be used to qualify for TOPS
  provided that they are determined to be
  equivalent courses and appear on the students
  official high school transcript

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TOPS Core Curriculum

• Four English classes I, II, III, and IV
• Three math classes
• Algebra I
• Algebra II
• And one math elective
• Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, Advanced Math
  I, Advanced Math II, Probability and Statistics,
  Discrete Mathematics, Algebra III, Applied
  Mathematics III, or Integrated Mathematics III

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TOPS Core Curriculum

• Three science classes
• Biology
• Chemistry
• And one science elective
• Earth Science, Physical Science, General
  Science, Environmental Science, Biology II,
  Chemistry II, Physics, Physics II, or Physics for
  Technology

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TOPS Core Curriculum

• One additional Math or Science elective
• Geometry, Calculus, Advanced Math I, Advanced
  Math II, Pre-Calculus, Probability and
  Statistics, Discrete Mathematics, Algebra III,
  Applied Mathematics III, Integrated Mathematics
  III,
• or
• Biology II, Chemistry II, Physics, or Physics II

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TOPS Core Curriculum

• Three social sciences
• American History
• Civics and Free Enterprise (1 unit combined),
  Civics (1 unit), or AP American Government
• And one social science elective
• World History, Western Civilization, World
  Geography, or European History

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TOPS Core Curriculum

• Foreign Language
• Two units in the same language
• English is not considered a foreign language
• American Sign Language (2 units)
• Any additional foreign language classes may be
  treated as electives

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TOPS Core Curriculum

• Fine Arts Survey
• or substitute two units of performance courses
  in music, dance or theater
• or substitute two units of studio art
• or substitute two units of visual art
• or substitute Speech III and Speech IV (two
  units)
• or substitute 1 unit of an elective from among
  the other subjects listed in this core curriculum
• The two units of
  performance or studio art
• or visual
  art may be any combination of
• whole and
  half units

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TOPS Core Curriculum

• ½ unit of Computer Science, Computer Literacy, or
  Business Computer Applications
• or substitute at least ½ unit of an elective
  course related to computers that is approved by
  the State Board of Elementary and Secondary
  Education (BESE)
• or substitute at least 1/2 unit of an elective
  from among the other subjects listed in the core
  curriculum

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Award-Specific Requirements

• Each award level has its own requirements for GPA
  ACT
• Opportunity 2.50 GPA and 20 ACT
• Performance 3.00 GPA and 23 ACT
• Honors 3.00 GPA and 27 ACT
• Tech 2.50 GPA and 17 ACT

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High School GPA

• The TOPS core grade point average (GPA) will be
  calculated using only those grades achieved in
  the core curriculum courses
• Highest grade
• For high schools using any grading scale other
  than a 4.00 scale, all grade values must be
  converted to a 4.00 scale
• GPA cannot be rounded up

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ACT

• Highest composite score will be considered
• TOPS does not consider the Essay portion of the
  ACT in calculating the composite score needed to
  qualify
• ACT Registration
• TOPS Code 1595
• Social Security Number

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ACT

• ACT Deadlines
• Without penalty April of senior year
• Loss of one semester eligibility June of senior
  year
• A June ACT score cannot be used to upgrade an
  Opportunity award to an Honors or Performance
  award
• Students who fail to achieve a qualifying ACT
  score by July 1 of the graduating year shall not
  be considered for an award

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SAT

• An equivalent SAT score may be substituted for
  the ACT score
• TOPS does not consider the Essay portion of the
  SAT
• SAT Registration
• Scholarship Code 9019
• Social Security Number
• SAT Test Deadlines
• Without Penalty March of senior year

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Award-Specific Benefits

• Opportunity, Performance and Honors awards pay
  base tuition for eight semesters at any Louisiana
  public college or university, for students
  pursuing academic degrees, non-academic degrees,
  or technical certificates or diplomas (Or a small
  portion of the tuition at colleges that are
  members of the Louisiana Association of
  Independent Colleges)
• Performance award adds 400 per year
• Honors award adds 800 per year

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Award-Specific Benefits

• Tech award pays base tuition for four semesters
  at any of the forty campuses of the Louisiana
  Technical Colleges, or for the technical
  programs at seven community colleges, LSU-Eunice,
  or Our Lady of the Lake College.

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Free Application ForFederal Student Aid

• for ALL forms of Federal financial aid
• for ALL forms of Louisiana financial aid
• including TOPS
• for most institutional financial aid

• FAFSA

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Award Acceptance

• Must enter an eligible institution as a full-time
  student by the fall semester following the first
  anniversary of high school graduation
• Fall 2011

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Deadlines

• TOPS application must be submitted between
  January 1 and July 1 of the students senior year
• Students should verify the aid deadline for the
  institution they plan to attend. The school
  deadline will probably be much earlier than the
  deadline for TOPS

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Contact TOPS

• Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance
• www.osfa.state.la.us
• custserv_at_osfa.state.la.us
• [phone] Ext. 1012
• [phone]