Iowa Impact Award offers free tuition to specific group of students at Luther College

DECORAH, Iowa (KCRG) - Luther College is offering free tuition to a specific group of students in Iowa.

The Iowa Impact Award is offered to students who live in Iowa and have a GPA of at least 3.5. They also have to have a family-adjusted gross income of $70,000 or less. The free tuition is for all four years as long as that student maintains all of the guidelines.

School leaders say this is in an effort to make personalized education more accessible to a wider variety of students. According to school officials, the current cost of tuition at Luther is $46,130. The Iowa Impact Award would include any price increases.

To pay for this, state money, federal money, such as a Pell grant, and institutional resources make up more than $185,000 over a four-year undergraduate period. Recipients would still have to pay for room and board, and other smaller-scale fees like textbooks.

“The reason why we’re calling it the ‘Iowa Impact Award’ and not scholarship is because it’s not just based on merit or GPA. It’s also not just a grant, because it’s not just based on family need. It’s a combination,” Jeremy Reed, director of enrollment at Luther, said.

School officials said that no specific application is needed. Instead, students only have to apply to Luther and complete the FAFSA by March 1, 2022.

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