The Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, abbreviated TOPS, is a scholarship program available to prospective college students in the state of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Specifically, the program is available to students who attend a public college or university in Louisiana, an institution that is part of the

Louisiana Community and Technical College System The Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) manages thirteen public 2-year institutions in the state of Louisiana. It is headquartered in Baton Rouge, and is located on the campus of Baton Rouge Community College. The chair of the ...

, or one that is a part of the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. Four tiers of TOPS scholarships are awarded: the TOPS Opportunity Award, the TOPS Performance Award, the TOPS Honor Award and the TOPS Tech Award.

History

Sources differ about when the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students began: according to '' The Daily Advertiser'', "Some say TOPS began in 1989 as the Louisiana College Tuition Plan when Gov.

Buddy Roemer Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III (October 4, 1943 – May 17, 2021) was an American politician, investor, and banker who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana from 1988 to 1992, and as a member of the United States House of Representatives f ...

signed ACT 789 into law." This plan was inspired by businessman

Patrick F. Taylor Patrick F. Taylor (June 12, 1937 – November 6, 2004) was an American businessman, the founder and CEO of the independent oil company Taylor Energy Company. Taylor Opportunity Program for Students Taylor had a strong interest in education ...

and his commitment to investing in educational opportunities. In 1997, House Bill 2154 was signed into law by Governor Mike Foster; this bill created TOPS, which was then known as the Tuition Opportunity Program for Students. The bill also eliminated all previous scholarship programs. The first students to receive grants from TOPS started their freshman year of college in the fall of 1998. In 2008, the program was renamed the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students in honor of Taylor, after Governor

Bobby Jindal Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. The only living former Louisiana governor, Jindal also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives ...

signed Act 352.

Eligibility

Initially, to be eligible for TOPS, students had to have a

grade point average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

of 2.5 or higher in their

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

curriculum, as well as a score on the ACT that was at least as high as the national average. As of 2017, these criteria had not changed significantly in the two decades since then. The eligibility criteria are now a 2.5 GPA or higher on the TOPS core high school curriculum, a score of 20 or higher on the composite ACT, and completion of the

Free Application for Federal Student Aid The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form completed by current and prospective college students (undergraduate and graduate) in the United States to determine their eligibility for student financial aid. The FAFSA is differ ...

application. In addition, students must have graduated from a high school in Louisiana, and their parents must live in the state. When Governor Roemer signed the Louisiana College Tuition Plan into law in 1989, it included an income cap; this provision was eliminated when the TOPS bill was signed into law in 1997, making the program available to all students in the state with sufficient academic performance.

References

External links

* Scholarships in the United States 1997 establishments in Louisiana Education in Louisiana Awards established in 1997 {{Louisiana-stub