The Battle Creek Public Schools has announced a new scholarship for qualified graduates, starting with the Class of 2023.
BCPS says the Bearcat Advantage will cover tuition and mandatory fees at any four-year university or college in Michigan. (A different scholarship, Legacy Scholars, applies for BCPS students moving on to community college.)
It’ll also cover tuition and fees at most of the country's Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
As with the Kalamazoo Promise, the longer the student has attended school in the district, the larger the percentage of tuition and fees covered. Students who started in BCPS in kindergarten are fully covered. The coverage drops to 65 percent for students who begin in ninth grade. Students who came to the district after ninth grade are not eligible.
Also like the Promise, the Advantage allows students to apply other funds, such as federal Pell Grants, to the cost of their college education.
BCPS says it established the Advantage "with the support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation."