3 Gwinnett County students receive full rides from Gates Scholarship

WSB Cox articles
·2 min read

Each year, 300 students receive a full ride from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to go to college, paying for tuition, fees, room and board, books, and transportation, as well as some personal costs.

This year, three of the 300 students to receive Gates Scholarships are from Gwinnett County.

The funding from The Gates Scholarship (TGS) program, a “last-dollar scholarship,” is aimed at “eliminating barriers to college for high potential, low-income minority students.”

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For 2023, the Gwinnett County students who received the awards were Ammar Razzak at McClure Health Science high School in Duluth, Colleen Blascik at Seckinger High School in Buford, and Alan Medina at Shiloh High School in Snellville.

All three students were selected due to “their hard work during their K-12 academic careers” and will receive the funding to pay costs of attendance that financial aid and family contributions not already covered, according to a statement from the Gates Foundation.

Along with the funding for costs of attendance, TGS also gives additional support to their scholars, “by engaging with them and their institutions in a variety of ways, to ensure they have access to the resources and services they need, from their first to last day of classes, through graduation and the transition to their chosen careers.”

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To be considered as a potential scholarship winner, students must be:

  • A high school senior

  • From at least one of the following ethnicities: African-American, American Indian/Alaska Native*, Asian & Pacific Islander American, and/or Hispanic American

  • Pell-eligible

  • A US citizen, national, or permanent resident

  • In good academic standing with a minimum cumulative weighted GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent)apply, students must be:

  • A high school senior

  • From at least one of the following ethnicities: African-American, American Indian/Alaska Native*, Asian & Pacific Islander American, and/or Hispanic American

  • Pell-eligible

  • A US citizen, national, or permanent resident

  • In good academic standing with a minimum cumulative weighted GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent)

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