Education & Scholarships

Opportunity Scholarships

A total of 106 scholarships will be presented. Of these scholarships, 44 will be designated for students from the Houston Independent School District. 63 awards will be presented to students attending any of the participating public school districts designated below, including HISD, and students attending a charter school in the below counties that has received an exemplary or recognized rating from The Texas Education Agency. The criteria for these awards are based on 100 total possible points, of which the following possible maximum can be earned: 50 financial need, 35 academics and 15 leadership.

Who is Eligible?

To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, an applicant must meet criteria of citizenship, residence, economic need, academic standing, college/university enrollment plans, leadership and character.

Which School Districts are Participating?

Public school districts eligible to participate within the eight-county area are:

Harris County - Aldine, Alief, Channelview, Crosby, Cypress-Fairbanks, Deer Park, Galena Park, Goose Creek, Houston, Huffman, Humble, Katy, Klein, La Porte, North Forest, Pasadena, Sheldon, Spring, Spring Branch, and Tomball.

Brazoria County - Alvin , Angleton, Brazosport, Columbia-Brazoria, Danbury , Pearland and Sweeny.

Chambers County - Anahuac, Barbers Hill and East Chambers.

Fort Bend County - Fort Bend, Lamar Consolidated, Needville and High Island.

Galveston County - Clear Creek, Dickinson, Friendswood, Galveston, High Island, Hitchcock, La Marque, Santa Fe and Texas City.

Liberty County - Cleveland, Dayton, Hardin, Hull-Daisetta, Liberty and Tarkington.

Montgomery County - Conroe, Magnolia, New Caney, Montgomery, Splendora and Willis.

Waller County - Hempstead, Royal and Waller.

When is the Application Deadline?

Applications are to be received by the Show's scholarship office no later than the date specified on the current year's applications.

Requirements/Criteria

Here is a brief overview of the requirements and criteria to be eligible to apply for an Opportunity Scholarship. Please refer to the official application for complete details.

Citizenship: The applicant must be a citizen of the United States or be born in the United States and be a resident of the state of Texas. Students with permanent residence status are not eligible.

Residency: The applicant must be a graduating senior or have been a qualified mid-term graduate of one of the accredited participating public senior high schools in the school districts listed.

Academic Standing: The applicant must be a graduating senior ranked in the upper one-half of his/her graduating class at the completion of his/her first semester of the senior year or at the time of the applicant's mid-term graduation. Applicant also must have successfully passed the TAKS MASTERY / EXIT LEVEL exam at the time of completion.

College Entrance Examination: No application will be accepted without SAT or ACT scores. Applicants must score a minimum of 1210 on the SAT or 17 on the ACT.

Collegiate Acceptance/Enrollment: Applicant must enroll in or plan to enroll in either a college or university in the state of Texas and participate in a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree.

Activities: Leadership potential and character of the applicant should be demonstrated through an applicant's responses to the categories of the application detailing school, extracurricular, and community activities and achievements.

Limit on Other Scholarships/Financial Aid: A recipient of any Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo scholarship may not receive $40,000 or more from financial aid or any other scholarships and remain eligible to receive the Show scholarship. Applicants must list all financial aid and scholarships for which they have applied and the status of those awards as part of the application. If selected as a finalist for a Show scholarship, the applicant will be notified and must verify all other financial aid and scholarships received. Other financial aid or scholarships received will be verified by submission of award letters from individual donors and financial aid offices of the college/university the recipient will attend. Funds will not be disbursed without such verification. The scholarship award is not confirmed without such verification. Failure to disclose completely all financial aid and/or other scholarships will be considered grounds for forfeiture of the award.

Narrative: Each applicant must include a typed or handwritten narrative of no more than two, 8½-inch by 11-inch sheets, double-spaced. The narrative is extremely important, as it takes the place of a personal interview. It should address why a college education is important to the applicant and what he/she plans to do for a career. In the narrative, the applicant also should present any information to which he/she feels the evaluators should pay particular attention. Applicant's name, address and high school must appear as a heading to the narrative in the upper right hand corner of page one. Applications submitted without a narrative will not be considered.

References: Each applicant may submit up to three letters of personal reference from people other than the school official who certifies application material.

Selection

A scholarship evaluation group comprised of Houston Rotary Club members select applicants based on the criteria.

Awards Presented

In May at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Scholarship Banquet.

Where Can I Get an Application?

Opportunity Scholarship will be available for download or by calling the Office of Educational Programs, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, at 832.667.1000.