Cheshire-Southington-Wolcott Delegation Honors CHET Advance Scholarship Winners!

State Senator Joe Markley (R-Southington) and Representatives Lezlye Zupkus (R-Wolcott), Al Adinolfi (R-Cheshire) and Rob Sampson (R-Wolcott) join in congratulating nearly a dozen high school students from surrounding towns as they receive CHET Advance Scholarships from the Connecticut Treasurer’s Office.

The Treasurer held random drawings totaling $500,000 to provide up to 200 Connecticut high school seniors with a $2,500 scholarship for college expenses.

"I'm glad to see young people from our community receive this much-needed help in paying for higher education," said Markley.  "I've seen the cost of college soar in my lifetime--that's why I'm working with the Program Review committee to make sure qualified and motivated young people have affordable college options."

“The costs tied to pursuing a college degree can be a heavy burden and in some cases a barrier, for students who have worked hard to put themselves on a path to success,” Zupkus said. “It’s my hope that this money will help relieve a little bit of that financial pressure as they work toward achieving their educational and career goals.”

“Higher education costs are continually on the rise,” said Rep. Sampson.  “Every bit helps along the way, and I am hopeful that these great students will benefit from these CHET Scholarships.”

“Finances are one of the most difficult hurdles students face in continuing their education past high school,” Rep. Adinolfi said. “With today’s economy and the financial burden some students face, achieving higher education can sometimes be a daunting task. Awarding hard-working students like ours with a scholarship to help achieve educational goals is a great investment, and I want to applaud the Treasurer’s Office for recognizing that. And I want to congratulate all of these kids on their hard work.”

The delegation presented General Assembly citations to the scholarship award winners.  The citations read in part, In recognition of your receipt of the CHET Advance Scholarship.  Your commitment to furthering your education is a shining example for others to follow. May your hard work and dedication lead you to every success in all of your future endeavors.

Students from the district towns of Southington, Cheshire, Wolcott and Waterbury who received awards are:

• Southington High School: Samantha D’Angelo, Tia Jones, Paula Calandra
• Sacred Heart: Patrick Dempsey
• Wolcott High School: James Filippone
• Cheshire High School: Taylor Bond

Scholarships of $2,500 were awarded in each of the two categories:

• those attending Review and Turnaround schools
• those attending other public, private, and parochial high schools

A recent 2013 study by Sallie Mae, How America Pays for College, found that more families are eliminating colleges their kids were considering as too expensive. Nearly 70 percent of families dropped schools from consideration because of costs at some point during the application process, according to the report, as compared with 58 percent who did so in 2008, when the study was first issued.

Altogether, CHET Advance has funding commitments to distribute a total of more than $2 million during the next four years.  CHET Advance is administered under the banner of the Connecticut Higher Education Trust, Connecticut’s 529 college savings plan.

No CHET account participant fees or state funds will be used for awards issued under CHET Advance Scholarship.

Additionally, highlights of the Official Rules include, but are not limited to, the following:

·         Students must begin college no later than September 2015, and use the full $2,500 scholarship by June 30, 2016. Status as a senior at a Connecticut high school must be verified with an official school transcript. Scholarship awards will be paid directly to students’ colleges starting in the fall of 2014.

·         To avoid any conflict of interest, any high school senior whose parent is, or who resides in the household of, an employee of the Office of the Connecticut Treasurer, TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing Inc., The Hartford or International Scholarship and Tuition Services, Inc., is ineligible to participate in the CHET Advance Scholarship, if such employee provides direct support to the CHET Advance Scholarship or, in the case of employees of The Hartford, its 529 plans.

·         To ensure the impartiality of the random drawings, International Scholarship and Tuition Services, which has more than 25 years of scholarship administration experience, will set up and run the selection process, with oversight from TIAA-CREF.

Plans are underway to roll out the second phase of CHET Advance during the next calendar year for younger students as well, with a portion of the scholarship winners chosen based on need and scholastic achievement. To find out more call (800) 618-3404.