First-year students attending Ohio State next autumn will have an opportunity to receive a full ride under the new Land Grant Opportunity Scholarship.

OSU will be supplying an additional 88 scholarships to one student from each county across the state. Those chosen will receive full tuition and housing for four years or the equivalent of 12 quarters. In addition, the scholarship will also provide money for books, supplies and transportation to campus.

To be qualified for the scholarship, the student’s family income must be less than $40,000 a year. The student must also apply to OSU by Feb. 1 and complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by March 1.

“It brings lower income students to OSU because that is a commitment this university has made,” said Mabel Freeman, assistant vice president of undergraduate admissions.

The cost to OSU will be approximately $1.2 million, depending on the amount of federal and state aid the students receive, Freeman said.

The maximum cost for OSU per student would be approximately $17,000 but students with financial need can receive nearly $6,000 in state and federal grants, said Freeman. The scholarship will be combined with that grant money to cover the cost of tuition and expenses.

“As the flagship university in the state, it’s important to make sure we are supporting these students,” Freeman said.

Approximately $400,000 in funding designated to the Land Grant Opportunity Scholarship will be provided by the License Plate Fund, Freeman said. The License Plate Fund is supported by people who pay an additional fee to display specialty OSU tags on their vehicles.

“Additional money comes from tuition,” said Martha Garland, vice provost and dean of undergraduate studies. “It’s part of a general fund set aside by policies to be used as financial aid.”

The OSU Office of Financial Aid currently processes $300 million in aid in a year, Garland said.

Those students who receive the scholarship must be enrolled full time and maintain a 3.2 grade point average to continue receiving their benefits.

All students who meet the requirements for the scholarship will be reviewed and one from each county will be selected.

“We will be looking for the strongest student amongst those who qualify,” Freeman said.

In the event that no students in a county qualify, that scholarship will given to a student from another county who meets the qualifications.

“It’s a statement about our relationship with the state,” Garland said. “That we take one student from each county and create an additional 88 scholarships.”

OSU only awarded 15 full ride academic scholarships this year, Freeman said. Ten of which were awarded on behalf of the Presidential Scholarship and five awarded for the Morrill Scholarship.

Additional funding from corporate and individual donations in the future will be used to increase the amount of Land Grant Opportunity Scholarships offered, Freeman said.

“The scholarship is a good thing to do,” Freeman said. “It’s the right thing to do.”