{
  "_meta": {
    "reviewed": "2026-09-07",
    "purpose": "State student-aid PROGRAMS and the mechanisms that govern them, collected per state from each state's own higher-education agency. Companion to data/fafsa-deadlines.json, which carries only the coarse federal deadline table.",
    "why": "The federal FAFSA deadline table says 'check with your financial aid office' for a large group of states. That is accurate but useless to a reader, and it made ten state records byte-identical. This file records what each state ACTUALLY runs and, more importantly, HOW the money is handed out, which is the part that decides whether a student gets paid.",
    "collected": "2026-09-07",
    "awardYearContext": "Collected in September 2026. The 2026-2027 cycle was already largely over at collection time and the 2027-2028 FAFSA was in beta, open to all by Oct 1 2026. Every date below carries its own awardYear. Dates are the perishable part of this file; the mechanism prose is durable.",
    "contract": "docs/datasets/state-aid-programs-contract.md",
    "status": "COMPLETE for the 10 states whose federal-table records were boilerplate."
  },
  "states": {
    "alabama": {
      "state": "Alabama",
      "abbr": "AL",
      "agency": "Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE), Office of Student Assistance",
      "agencyUrl": "https://www.ache.edu/",
      "deadlineType": "varies",
      "mechanism": "Alabama's main need-based grant has no student application at all. Your college receives a fixed share of state money, awards it starting with the neediest Pell-eligible students, and stops when its share is gone. So the deadline that costs you money is your own college's FAFSA priority date, not anything the state publishes.",
      "programs": [
        {
          "name": "Alabama Student Assistance Program (ASAP)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "standing",
          "note": "$300 to $5,000 a year. The FAFSA is the application. Codified rule requires colleges to award neediest-first until their allocation is spent.",
          "source": "https://www.ache.edu/index.php/alabama-student-assistance-program-asap/",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Alabama Student Grant Program (ASGP)",
          "deadline": "September 15, 2026 (fall term)",
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "Independent nonprofit colleges only, not need-based, capped at $3,000 a year. Not first come first served: the state splits the appropriation among everyone who applied on time, so being early buys nothing but being late costs the whole grant.",
          "source": "https://www.ache.edu/wp-content/Grants/ALA-STUDENT-GRANT-PROG-FORM-2026-2027.pdf",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "(Re)Engage Alabama Grant",
          "deadline": "September 15 (fall), February 15 (spring), June 15 (summer)",
          "awardYear": "standing, fixed in state rule",
          "note": "Adults 25+ returning to finish a degree in a high-demand field. Up to $3,000 a term at a university, $1,500 at a community college. Reapply every term. If the state runs short, every award is cut proportionally rather than some students being refused.",
          "source": "https://www.ache.edu/index.php/reengage/",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Alabama National Guard Educational Assistance Program",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2025-2026 form is the only one posted",
          "note": "No fixed deadline, but the form itself warns funding is limited and that applying does not guarantee money remains. Applications arriving at the end of a term are not processed.",
          "source": "https://www.ache.edu/index.php/military-educational-benefits/",
          "confidence": "P"
        }
      ]
    },
    "colorado": {
      "state": "Colorado",
      "abbr": "CO",
      "agency": "Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE)",
      "agencyUrl": "https://cdhe.colorado.gov/",
      "deadlineType": "varies",
      "mechanism": "Colorado deliberately delegates deadline-setting to campuses. State policy quotes the statute requiring each institution to run financial assistance under its own governing board's rules, and explicitly recognises campus application deadlines as appropriate. The state sends each college a lump allocation; once a campus has committed it, a later applicant can still qualify on paper and receive nothing.",
      "programs": [
        {
          "name": "Colorado Need-based Awards (Student Grant and Graduate Grant)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "No state deadline exists because the state does not award the money. Colleges award it under their own policies. Ask your campus for its date.",
          "source": "https://cdhe.colorado.gov/state-aid-available",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Dependent Tuition Assistance Program (DTAP)",
          "deadline": "March 1 to June 30",
          "awardYear": "recurring window, no year named on the page",
          "note": "The one Colorado program with a firm statewide window. For dependents of law enforcement, firefighters and National Guard members killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty, and of POW/MIA service members.",
          "source": "https://cdhe.colorado.gov/dependent-tuition-assistance-program",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Colorado Application for State Financial Aid (CASFA)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "The state aid application for students who cannot file a FAFSA, including undocumented students. Opens October 1; no closing date published.",
          "source": "https://cdhe.colorado.gov/colorado-application-for-state-financial-aid",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "COSI Second Chance Scholarship",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "STALE: table still shows Fall 2025",
          "note": "Up to $5,000 a year for Coloradans released from a Division of Youth Services facility in the past five years. Serves a vulnerable group and the state's deadline table has not been updated past Fall 2025. Link to the portal rather than quoting dates.",
          "source": "https://cdhe.colorado.gov/colorado-second-chance-scholarship-program",
          "confidence": "P"
        }
      ],
      "warning": "If you are looking at the Second Chance Scholarship, note that the deadline table on the state's page has not been updated past autumn 2025. Apply through the COSI portal and check the dates there rather than relying on the table."
    },
    "hawaii": {
      "state": "Hawaii",
      "abbr": "HI",
      "agency": "University of Hawaii System campus financial aid offices (Hawaii has no separate state higher-education aid agency)",
      "agencyUrl": "https://www.hawaii.edu/costs/financial-aid",
      "deadlineType": "varies",
      "mechanism": "Hawaii has no state student aid agency. Every dollar runs through University of Hawaii campus aid offices, so the operative dates are campus FAFSA priority dates and they differ across the system: February 1 at Manoa, March 1 at the community colleges and West Oahu.",
      "programs": [
        {
          "name": "Hawaii Promise Scholarship (UH Community Colleges)",
          "deadline": "March 1 (recurring priority date)",
          "awardYear": "unlabelled on the page",
          "note": "Last-dollar scholarship covering remaining tuition, fees, books and supplies for residents taking six or more credits at a UH Community College. FAFSA is the only application. Amounts are contingent on funding.",
          "source": "https://uhcc.hawaii.edu/admissions/hawaii-promise.php",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "UH System Common Scholarship Application",
          "deadline": "March 2, 2026, 4:00pm HST",
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "One application feeding hundreds of UH scholarships including state-funded ones. A firm cutoff, unlike the FAFSA priority dates. Reopens each October 1.",
          "source": "https://hawaii.edu/costs/how-to-apply",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "State of Hawaii B Plus Scholarship",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "For residents who graduated a Hawaii public high school after 2005 with a 3.0 GPA and show need. No deadline published on any UH page; most students reach it through the Common Scholarship Application.",
          "source": "https://hilo.hawaii.edu/catalog/state-of-hawaii-financial-aid",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Need-Based Opportunity Grant (campus versions)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "FAFSA is the only application. West Oahu states outright that it is awarded first come, first served; Manoa says funding is limited and preference goes to those meeting its February 1 date.",
          "source": "https://manoa.hawaii.edu/fas/types-of-aid/grants/",
          "confidence": "P"
        }
      ]
    },
    "nebraska": {
      "state": "Nebraska",
      "abbr": "NE",
      "agency": "Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education (CCPE)",
      "agencyUrl": "https://ccpe.nebraska.gov/",
      "deadlineType": "varies",
      "mechanism": "The Nebraska Opportunity Grant has no application of its own. The Commission divides the money among colleges and each college picks recipients from FAFSA filers, acting as agents of the Commission. Scarcity is documented, not inferred: in 2024-25 about 13,400 students received a grant while roughly 18,000 more qualified and got nothing for lack of funds.",
      "programs": [
        {
          "name": "Nebraska Opportunity Grant (NOG)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "Nebraska's only state need-based grant for college students. No separate application: you qualify via your FAFSA Student Aid Index. The only date you can miss is your school's FAFSA priority date, commonly May 1.",
          "source": "https://ccpe.nebraska.gov/nebraska-opportunity-grant-nog",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Access College Early (ACE) Scholarship",
          "deadline": "December 15 (fall), February 15 (winter), May 15 (spring), July 15 (summer)",
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "Pays tuition and fees for low-income high school students taking college courses. The one Nebraska program with real published deadlines. First come, first served and capped by funding.",
          "source": "https://ccpe.nebraska.gov/access-college-early-ace-scholarship-program",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Nebraska Career Scholarships (community and private colleges)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "Up to $15,000 a year at community colleges, $10,000 at private colleges, for high-wage high-demand programs. Each college takes applications and pays out, so the college's date is the one that counts.",
          "source": "https://ccpe.nebraska.gov/ne-career-scholarship-community-colleges",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Community College Gap Assistance Program",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "For low-income students in short training programs too brief to qualify for a Pell Grant. Income at or below 250% of federal poverty guidelines. Apply through your community college.",
          "source": "https://ccpe.nebraska.gov/gap",
          "confidence": "P"
        }
      ]
    },
    "oklahoma": {
      "state": "Oklahoma",
      "abbr": "OK",
      "agency": "Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE)",
      "agencyUrl": "https://okhighered.org/",
      "deadlineType": "asap",
      "mechanism": "Oklahoma's grants are handed out by each college from a fixed state allocation, so once a school's pot is spent the money is gone even if you qualify. The state's own 2026-27 handbook says a school may use your FAFSA filing date as part of how it selects recipients, which is why filing early is what actually protects your award.",
      "programs": [
        {
          "name": "Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant (OTAG)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "Need-based, FAFSA is the only application, and the state confirms OTAG no longer has a statewide deadline. Allocations reach schools in late May. Maximums are $1,500 at community colleges and career techs, $2,000 at regional universities, $3,000 at research universities.",
          "source": "https://okhighered.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/otag-handbook.pdf",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Oklahoma Tuition Equalization Grant (OTEG)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "$2,000 a year at participating private nonprofit colleges, requiring AGI of $50,000 or less. No student deadline, but statute caps how late a college can claim funds: October 15 for fall, March 15 for spring. Prior recipients get absolute statutory priority, so first-time applicants compete for what is left.",
          "source": "https://okhighered.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/oteg-award-procedures.pdf",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Oklahoma's Promise (early enrollment)",
          "deadline": "December 31 of senior year (hard cutoff); June 30 recommended in grades 8-11",
          "awardYear": "the Dec 31 2026 window funds students starting college in 2027-28",
          "note": "NOT a FAFSA program and the single most misunderstood item here. Students enrol in 8th through 11th grade or by December 31 of senior year, with a family income test at that point. A student already starting college cannot join. Supporting documents are due February 1 of senior year.",
          "source": "https://okpromise.org/scholarship-deadlines.shtml",
          "confidence": "P"
        }
      ]
    },
    "rhode-island": {
      "state": "Rhode Island",
      "abbr": "RI",
      "agency": "Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner (RI OPC)",
      "agencyUrl": "https://riopc.edu/",
      "deadlineType": "varies",
      "mechanism": "Rhode Island's scholarship statutes explicitly hand the filing deadline to the college. The Promise statute requires the FAFSA by the deadline prescribed by CCRI; the Hope statute says the same for Rhode Island College; the need-based grant statute sets no date at all. So the college's priority date is the deadline, by design.",
      "programs": [
        {
          "name": "Rhode Island Promise Scholarship",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "Two years of tuition and mandatory fees, but ONLY at CCRI, and only for recent graduates who finished before turning 19 and enrol full time the very next semester. No separate application. CCRI recommends completing your file by April 1. Students 19 to 21 in their graduation year can appeal.",
          "source": "https://riopc.edu/policies/rhode-island-promise-scholarship-program-policies-and-procedures/",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Rhode Island Hope Scholarship (pilot)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "Junior and senior year tuition at Rhode Island College for in-state students who started there, stayed full time and kept a 2.5 GPA. No application; RIC reviews automatically. Funded only through June 30, 2030 without further legislation. Not available to prior Promise recipients.",
          "source": "http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE16/16-113/16-113-6.htm",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Rhode Island need-based state grant",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "The Commissioner splits the appropriation between public and private nonprofit colleges. You do not apply directly; your college identifies you from your FAFSA. RIC's published priority date for 2026-2027 was March 15.",
          "source": "http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE16/16-56/16-56-6.htm",
          "confidence": "P"
        }
      ]
    },
    "south-dakota": {
      "state": "South Dakota",
      "abbr": "SD",
      "agency": "South Dakota Board of Regents (SDBOR)",
      "agencyUrl": "https://sdbor.edu/cost-aid/scholarships/",
      "deadlineType": "varies",
      "mechanism": "South Dakota's two need-based programs have no student application: each college reads your FAFSA and picks recipients, so your school's priority date is the deadline. Where the state DOES set firm dates is on its merit and workforce scholarships, all run through one Board of Regents portal with a published application timeline.",
      "programs": [
        {
          "name": "South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship (SDOS)",
          "deadline": "September 1 for a fall start, January 15 for spring",
          "awardYear": "standing dates tied to your first term",
          "note": "Up to $7,500 over four years. The deadline is tied to when you first enrol, not the FAFSA. Requires residency at high school graduation plus either ACT 24 with the Advanced Honors curriculum and a 3.0, or ACT 28. Statute gives five years after graduation to enter.",
          "source": "https://tdx.sdbor.edu/TDClient/33/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=438",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "SD Needs Based Scholarship Grant",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "$500 to $2,000. No application form exists; each college evaluates your FAFSA and picks students with the highest unmet need. File by your college's priority date.",
          "source": "https://tdx.sdbor.edu/TDClient/33/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=311",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Dakota Corps Scholarship",
          "deadline": "November 1 to December 15",
          "awardYear": "the Dec 2026 window funds the year AFTER 2026-2027",
          "note": "Full tuition for graduates who commit in writing to work in a critical-need occupation in the state. Needs a 2.8 GPA and ACT 27, applied for within a year of high school graduation.",
          "source": "https://tdx.sdbor.edu/TDClient/33/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=438",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Critical Teaching Needs Scholarship",
          "deadline": "November 1 to December 15",
          "awardYear": "critical-need list labelled AY 2026-2027",
          "note": "For students in the last two years of an education program who agree to teach in a South Dakota critical-need position for five years. Converts to an interest-bearing loan if you do not. For 2026-2027 every K-12 teaching position counts as critical need.",
          "source": "https://tdx.sdbor.edu/TDClient/33/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=393",
          "confidence": "P"
        }
      ],
      "warning": "If you search for the Dakota Corps Scholarship you may land on an old page on a state web address that tells you to post a paper form by February 1. That page is abandoned and its application form dates from 2009. The real deadline runs through the Board of Regents portal and closes December 15, so use the portal."
    },
    "wisconsin": {
      "state": "Wisconsin",
      "abbr": "WI",
      "agency": "Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB)",
      "agencyUrl": "https://heab.state.wi.us/",
      "deadlineType": "asap",
      "mechanism": "Wisconsin's rule HEA 5.02 is literally titled 'Priority/rolling application deadline' and states that no specific deadline shall be established, only a priority date with a rolling deadline. What decides whether you get paid is your college's priority date and how much of its capped state allocation remains. HEAB's own August 2026 memo shows 2026-27 Wisconsin Grant money already committed past 100% in every sector: technical colleges 191.74%, UW 144.81%.",
      "programs": [
        {
          "name": "Wisconsin Grant (UW System)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "FAFSA is the application. Rolling deadline by rule, but a capped pot per campus. Most UW campuses list a March 15 priority date.",
          "source": "https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/hea/5/02",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Wisconsin Grant (Technical Colleges)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "Latest priority dates in the state, mostly April 15 and a few to June 1, but the highest over-commitment of any sector. Filing near a late priority date is riskier here than the date suggests.",
          "source": "https://heab.state.wi.us/files/memo/2026August.pdf",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Wisconsin Grant (private nonprofit colleges)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "Runs under a separate statute and rule chapter from the public version. The award formula is set sector-wide by the independent colleges' association. These campuses post the earliest priority dates, several at February 1 or 15.",
          "source": "https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/hea/4/01",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Talent Incentive Program (TIP) Grant",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "You cannot apply yourself. A financial aid office or WEOP counsellor must nominate you, and the state says funds go first come, first served. Ask your aid office early in the year.",
          "source": "https://heab.state.wi.us/files/forms/2627tip-instructions.docx",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Academic and Technical Excellence Scholarships (AES/TES)",
          "deadline": "February 18 to March 13, 2026 (nomination window, now closed)",
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "Nominated by your high school, not applied for. Worth up to $2,250 a year. A 2025 law change guarantees one AES to every Wisconsin high school with under 500 students and allows home-schooled nominees with ACT 33 or SAT 1500.",
          "source": "https://heab.state.wi.us/features/aes.html",
          "confidence": "P"
        }
      ],
      "warning": "The state's list of per-college FAFSA priority dates is useful as a rough guide but is out of date in places, and it still lists at least one university that closed in 2023. Treat it as a starting point and confirm the date with your own school's financial aid office."
    },
    "wyoming": {
      "state": "Wyoming",
      "abbr": "WY",
      "agency": "Wyoming Department of Education (Hathaway); Wyoming Community College Commission",
      "agencyUrl": "https://edu.wyoming.gov/college-career-ready/hathaway/",
      "deadlineType": "varies",
      "mechanism": "Wyoming's main program, the Hathaway Scholarship, is earned in high school through a required course list, a GPA floor and an ACT floor. The work that decides your award happens years before you file a FAFSA, so there is no application deadline to hit. The one real deadline is personal rather than calendar: you must START using Hathaway within four years of your high school graduation, or by your 21st birthday if home-schooled.",
      "programs": [
        {
          "name": "Hathaway Scholarship (four merit tiers)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "No application date. Honors needs a 3.5 GPA and ACT 25, Performance 3.0 and ACT 21, Opportunity 2.5 and ACT 19, Provisional 2.5 and ACT 17 or WorkKeys 12. For coursework from July 1 2026 the awards are $2,360, $1,770, $1,180 and $1,180 per semester, raised by a law signed February 27 2026.",
          "source": "https://edu.wyoming.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/High-School-Requirements-2026.pdf",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Hathaway initiation window",
          "deadline": "four years after your high school graduation date",
          "awardYear": "standing",
          "note": "The closest thing Wyoming has to a hard state aid deadline, and it is personal to you. Once you start you have six years to use eight full-time semesters. Deferrals only for full-time military or religious service.",
          "source": "https://www.uwyo.edu/sfa/scholarships/hathaway/index.html",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Hathaway Need-Based Scholarship",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "A supplement on top of a merit tier, requiring the FAFSA. Honors students get 100% of unmet need after a $2,000 student contribution; other tiers get 25%. No state deadline, so your college's FAFSA priority date governs.",
          "source": "https://www.uwyo.edu/sfa/scholarships/hathaway/index.html",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Wyoming's Tomorrow Scholarship",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": null,
          "note": "For Wyoming adults 24 and older returning to school, up to $7,200 total. Apply through your college, not the state. Current Hathaway recipients are not eligible.",
          "source": "https://communitycolleges.wy.edu/wyomings-tomorrow-scholarship",
          "confidence": "P"
        }
      ],
      "warning": "Wyoming's own Hathaway pages have not all caught up with the award increase signed into law in February 2026, and some still show the older, smaller amounts. The University of Wyoming page even contradicts itself on the need-based figure. Take the amounts from the Department of Education's current requirements sheet, and ask your college if two sources disagree."
    },
    "new-hampshire": {
      "state": "New Hampshire",
      "abbr": "NH",
      "agency": "New Hampshire State Treasury, College Tuition Savings Plan Advisory Commission (grants); NH Department of Education (veterans' children scholarship)",
      "agencyUrl": "https://www.treasury.nh.gov/residents/scholarship-programs",
      "deadlineType": "varies",
      "mechanism": "New Hampshire's state student aid does not live at its education department at all. The Department of Education states outright that it does not provide financial aid. The actual money is run by the State Treasury, funded by assessments on the UNIQUE 529 plan, and paid out by each college from an allocation the state sends the school. So your college's aid deadline is the operative one.",
      "programs": [
        {
          "name": "UNIQUE Annual Allocation Program (UAAP)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "New Hampshire's main need-based state grant. A full-time award is $3,500 for 2026-27, prorated for part-time study. No separate state application: the state sends money to each approved college and the aid office decides who gets it.",
          "source": "https://www.treasury.nh.gov/residents/scholarship-programs",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "UNIQUE Endowment Allocation Program (UEAP)",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "2026-2027",
          "note": "Rather than annual cash, colleges get an endowment and its earnings fund scholarships for residents. Awards run from $1,000 up to full cost of education. The 2025 budget diverts $6 million a year away from the endowment to the general fund through June 30, 2027, which shrinks the pot.",
          "source": "https://www.treasury.nh.gov/residents/scholarship-programs",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "New Hampshire Governor's Scholarship Program",
          "deadline": null,
          "awardYear": "status for 2026-2027 unclear",
          "note": "DO NOT present this as available without a caveat. It paid $1,000 a year, or $2,000 for New Hampshire Scholars, to first-year Pell-eligible students. The statute is still on the books and the Treasury still lists it, but the budget enacted in 2025 swept the fund's uncommitted money to the general fund on July 1 2025 and left it with NO appropriation for state budget years 2026 or 2027. Legislative worksheets put the cut at $2.7 million a year. Because the statute was not repealed and still accepts donations, the program appears live while being unfunded.",
          "source": "https://www.treasury.nh.gov/residents/scholarship-programs",
          "confidence": "P"
        },
        {
          "name": "Higher Education Scholarships for Orphans of Veterans",
          "deadline": "September 1 (recurring)",
          "awardYear": "standing rule, no award year named",
          "note": "The one New Hampshire program with a fixed date. Children aged 16 to 25 of service members who died on active duty or from a service-connected disability get up to $2,500 a year plus free tuition at a state university or community college. Apply directly to the Department of Education, not your college. Funded at about $10,000 a year, so roughly four awards.",
          "source": "https://www.gc.nh.gov/rules/state_agencies/hedc500.html",
          "confidence": "P"
        }
      ],
      "warning": "Be careful with the Governor's Scholarship Program. It is still written into state law and still listed on the Treasury's website, so it looks available, but the budget passed in 2025 moved its remaining money to the general fund and gave it no funding for 2026 or 2027. Before you count on it, ask your college's financial aid office whether any award is actually being made this year."
    }
  }
}