Hinds offers financial help to adult students with GED

12/19/07 - Lauren Majors has already signed up for spring classes at Hinds Community College's Rankin Campus.

Paying for them just got a little easier for Majors, 20, of Brandon, thanks to the free class she'll get.

Majors has a GED (General Education Development) certificate, which is equivalent to a high school diploma.
 

Beginning with spring classes that start Jan. 14, Hinds is offering the first class free to students with a GED. The college also has a half-tuition scholarship to students who achieve a 577 on the GED tests.

Majors didn't finish her high school diploma because "I got distracted by other things. I realized I needed to get to college and get an education before life passed me by. I wanted to get to college and make something of myself."

She learned about the scholarship opportunity from Shane Brown, an adult recruiter for Hinds Community College, who has been busy trying to spread the word.

"There are untapped hundreds of people who have gotten GEDs and have thought that we would not even want them as a student," he said.

Majors said that any financial help is appreciated. "I am definitely going to apply for it," she said.

The GED Tuition Award and Scholarship Programs are for first-time college students who are Mississippi residents and are at least 18 years old.

The Tuition Award allows a new Hinds student with a GED certificate to take one three-hour class at any of the six Hinds locations free of charge.

The GED Scholarship will cover the cost of six credit hours (two classes) for a part-time student or a half-tuition scholarship for a full-time student if the student has made 577 or higher on the GED test. The scholarship covers tuition only and is renewable for a total of four semesters if the student maintains a 2.5 grade point average.

Applications for the GED scholarship can be found at www.hindscc.edu, under prospective students, paying for college.