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Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) is a comprehensive program of state scholarships for Louisiana high school graduates. The TOPS awards available to Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½ students include the Opportunity Award, the Performance Award, the Honors Award, and the Excellence Award.Ìý TOPS Tech may also be available in limited circumstances. To Apply Students must complete the unless they can demonstrate that they do not qualify for federal grant aid (Pell Grant). We recommend that all students submit the FAFSA. Students who can demonstrate that they do not qualify for federal grant aid may submit the on the LOSFA website. The On-Line Application will require students to certify that they do not qualify for federal grant aid, and to certify their citizenship, residency and criminal conviction status. For more information on TOPS visit the LOSFA page .Ìý Ìý Any additional questions, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at 985-448-4048 or the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance at 1-800-259-5626 or visit Award Amounts

Award	ACT	GPA	Semester Award Amount
TOPS Opportunity	20	2.5	$2461.14
TOPS Performance	23	3.25	$2461.14 + $200 stipend
TOPS Honors	27	3.5	$2461.14 + $400 stipend
TOPS Excellence	31	3.5	$4370.57
TOPS Excellence *	31	3.5	$4451.69

Ìý Renewal Requirements If your cumulative external GPA falls below a 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale) at the end of fall, summer, or any intersession, your award will be suspended for failure to maintain. Please refer to the TOPS website for information on TOPS suspension. The following requirements must be met at the conclusion of every Spring semester if you have eligibility remaining:

• If you receive the TOPS Opportunity Award, you must earn at least a 2.3 cumulative external GPA if you have less than 48 credit hours or a 2.5 cumulative external GPA if you have 48 or more credit hours. You must successfully complete no less than 24 credit hours during an academic year. The academic year for TOPS is defined as the Fall semester, Winter intersession, Spring semester,ÌýSpring intersession, and the Summer sessions. Students failing to meet the 24 hour requirement at the end of the spring semester will now be allowed to attend summer school to bring their hours up.
• If you receive the TOPS Performance, TOPS Honors Award, or TOPS Excellence Award, you must earn at least a 3.0 cumulative external GPA. You must successfully complete no less than 24 credit hours during an academic year.ÌýThe academic year for TOPS is defined as the Fall semester, Winter intersession, Spring semester, Spring intersession, and the Summer sessions. Students failing to meet the 24 hour requirement at the end of the spring semester will now be allowed to attend summer school to bring their hours up.

If you do not pass 24 hours for the year, you will lose your TOPS award. If you lose your TOPS award due to not maintaining the GPA requirement, you have up to two years to bring up your grade point average from the date you lost your award. You must remain in school as a full-time student while trying to bring up your grades (Summer school grades will be counted). TOPS Appeal – Exception for Continuous or Full-time Enrollment The recipient of a TOPS award must maintain continuous full-time enrollment, unless granted an exception. To be granted an exception, the student/recipient must meet all TOPS requirements, except the initial, continuous or full-time enrollment requirement. The student should complete and submit an exception request form, with supporting documentation, to the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance as soon as possible after the occurrence of the event or circumstance that supports the reinstatement request and must submit the request no later than six months after the date of the notice of cancellation. Click to download the form. For additional information regarding the TOPS program, visit Click here to view frequently asked scholarship questions.