One of the most prestigious scholarships is the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program. It is federally funded and is administered at the state level. You can get the scholarship through this program in various state educational agencies. This scholarship is based on merit, only high school seniors can be awarded with this money to use them on their educational expenses.

If you are a high school senior or graduate and you are already accepted into the university or to the college, you can apply for the Robert C. Byrd scholarship. You also must show high academic achievement and must continue study well during their postsecondary education. You also must provide the letter of acceptance from your college during the application process.

If you decided to apply for the Byrd scholarship you must go to your state educational agency. It is important to know that each agency has its own deadline. You have to request an application package from the agency and carefully fill it out according to the instructions

You must meet certain educational standards if you want to receive the scholarship:

- you must be in the top 5 percent of your graduating classes;

- if there are 60 or less students in your class, you must hold a ranking of 1, 2, or 3;

- usually your GPA must be 3.50 on a 4.00 scale;

- you must have a combined SAT score of 1150 or higher or an ACT score of 25 or higher.

The amount of money you can receive through the Byrd scholarship program depends on some conditions and usually varies. Usually it is $1,500 per successful applicant. But the amount varies and some students can receive more while others receive less. 6,300-6,500 awards are given out each year through this program. If you still have a high grade point average and still attend the school full time, your scholarship can be renewed for up to three additional years.

The program helps student from 1985. At first this scholarship was non-renewable. But later in 1993 successful applicants get an opportunity to renew their scholarship over a four-year program. If you want to apply for this program you should be a legal resident of the state, you also must attend school within the United States. It is not allowed for the applicants to have any kind of dept to the federal government that is currently in default, students with past drug offenses are not allowed in most states.