Idaho Opportunity Scholarship

  • Applications are closed for the 2024-2025 year. The 2025-26 application will reopen October 2024.
  • FAFSA deadline for applicants has been extended to March 31, 2024.
  • Need-based award
  • Requires at least a 2.7 unweighted cumulative GPA

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Recognizing the need for a well-educated workforce, Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and the Idaho Legislature established the Opportunity Scholarship to remove barriers to higher education and prepare college/university graduates to enter the workforce.  The Opportunity Scholarship awards eligible applicants up to $3,500 per academic year and is renewable for up to four years.

The scholarship funds are available per academic year. Recipients must renew each year and are eligible to receive the scholarship for a maximum of four years.

Eligibility:

To qualify for the scholarship, a student must meet all of the following criteria:

  • Have an unweighted, cumulative GPA of 2.7 or above
  • Be an Idaho resident
  • Graduated or will graduate from an Idaho high school or its equivalent or Idaho home school (GED/HSE from Idaho)
  • Complete the State Board of Education scholarship application by March 1
  • FAFSA Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid by March 31
  • Maintain satisfactory academic progress for financial aid purposes. (See program rules for more details.)
  • Must attend one of these eligible Idaho colleges or universities
    • Boise State University
    • Brigham Young University – Idaho
    • College of Idaho
    • Idaho State University
    • Lewis-Clark State College
    • Northwest Nazarene University
    • University of Idaho
    • Western Governors University

Community colleges in Idaho (including the College of Western Idaho, the College of Southern Idaho, the College of Eastern Idaho, and North Idaho College), will no longer be eligible institutions for new recipients of the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship after the 2023-24 academic year.

*If awardees—PRIOR TO JULY 1, 2023—renewed at or indicated (during their initial application) that they will be attending an Idaho community college, the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship award will still be accepted at those institutions.

Idaho Statute Title 33 – Education, Chapter 43 – Scholarships
Idaho Administrative Procedures Act (IDAPA) Rule 08.01.13 

Act now to contribute to Idaho’s Opportunity Scholarship Fund. It’s easy!
Are you a taxpayer who would like to help send a student without sufficient financial means to college?

Just check the box on your Idaho tax return designating a portion of your refund to the Opportunity Scholarship. Your donation will help hundreds of Idahoans in their quest for postsecondary education. Higher education leads to better jobs, a stronger economy and a more viable citizenry. Everyone benefits from education. Donations are needed more than ever. Give a fellow Idahoan the opportunity to better themselves and their community through education.


In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this application will be provided in alternate form upon request.