Translate This Content

Our website can be translated into more than 100 languages using Google Translate. Follow step-by-step instructions to translate our website on your computer or mobile device.

Update for the Class of 2024

The College Bound Scholarship application deadline has been extended from June 30 to November 20, 2020, for the class of 2024.

Some students may have received an application in the mail from the Washington Student Achievement Council during the month of June. If you received an application, please complete, sign, and mail it back using the provided self-addressed stamped envelope before November 20, 2020.

If you do not receive an application by mail and meet the program’s eligibility requirements, please apply for the College Bound Scholarship online as soon as possible.

Commit to College in Middle School

The College Bound Scholarship is a state-funded program administered by the Washington Student Achievement Council. It is an early commitment of state financial aid to eligible students who sign up in middle school and fulfill the College Bound pledge.

The College Bound Pledge

College Bound applicants promise to:

• Graduate from a Washington State high school or home school with a cumulative 2.0 GPA or higher.
• Apply to college.
• Have no felony convictions.
• Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WAFSA) as soon after October 1 as possible during senior year of high school.

Student Eligibility

Students can apply to the College Bound Scholarship when they are in grades 7 or 8. An exception has been made for the class of 2024 who can apply by November of their ninth-grade year.

Seventh or eighth-grade students are eligible for the College Bound Scholarship if they meet one of the following requirements:

1. The student’s family meets the income requirements; or
2. The student is in foster care or a dependent of the state; or
3. The student’s family receives basic food or TANF benefits.

Apply for the Scholarship

It is possible that middle school counselors and/or staff have started the student’s College Bound Scholarship application. Check with the school to confirm whether an application has been started for the student.

Eligible seventh and eighth-grade students may also apply for the College Bound Scholarship online by June 30 at the end of their eighth-grade year. When you submit an online application, a Missing Information Letter (MIL) will be sent to the home for student and family signatures. This MIL needs to be returned to the middle school or mailed back to the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC).

Extended Deadline for the Class of 2024

The College Bound Scholarship application deadline has been extended from June 30 to November 20, 2020, for students completing their eighth-grade year in 2019-2020.

Financial Aid for Eligible Washington Schools

College Bound combines with other state financial aid to cover average tuition (at public college rates), some fees, and a small book allowance at more than 60 eligible schools in Washington including:

• Public two-year colleges
• Public four-year colleges
• Private two-year colleges
• Private four-year colleges
• Technical colleges
• Private career schools

Ongoing Support

Students who complete the College Bound application and receive a certificate will continue to receive reminders of important information and updates from program staff.

High school students and their families may sign-up for the College Bound listserv to receive short and informative messages. Reading these emails is the best way to stay on-track to receive the scholarship.

Receive the College Scholarship

To receive their scholarship, College Bound students must fulfill the pledge and:

• Apply for the FAFSA or WASFA every year while in college, and be income eligible. Colleges use information from the FAFSA and WASFA to determine income eligibility.
• Be accepted to an eligible college and begin attending within one year of high school graduation.
• Meet program state residency requirements.
• Stay in good standing at college.

College Bound covers up to four years within five years of high school graduation. 

Learn More

For more information about the College Bound program and about other financial aid options in Washington:

• Visit the Ready Set Grad website.
• Email collegebound@wsac.wa.gov.
• Call (888) 535-0747, option 1.