Graduating College Early
If a student graduates in 3 years, how would the SD Opportunity Scholarship funding be paid out to the student?
The South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship is paid out based on the academic year that the student is enrolled, and a student must be enrolled in that academic year to receive the year's funding. Therefore, students that graduate after 3 years and are not enrolled in the 4th year, are unfortunately not eligible for the fourth year of funding. A student that graduates in 3.5 years and is enrolled in a portion of the fourth academic year, would then be eligible for the year's funding.
If the student enrolls in a graduate program at a participating university with no gaps in enrollment, they could be eligible for the fourth-year funding to be paid out during their graduate program. If the graduate program is at a different school than their undergraduate program, the student needs to complete an institutional transfer form for the SD Opportunity Scholarship.