Minimum Qualifications Of Applicants

(1) Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria: (a) 1. Be a United States citizen or National, 2. Be a permanent resident of the United States, 3. Provide evidence from the Immigration and Naturalization Service that he or she is in the United States for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming a citizen or permanent resident, or 4. Be a permanent resident of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands or the Northern Mariana Islands; (b) Be a legal resident of the State of Tennessee; (c) If classified as a dependent student, have parent(s) or legal guardian(s) who are Tennessee residents; (d) 1. Have graduated from high school or be scheduled to graduate from high school within three months of the date of the award, or 2. Have received a certificate of high school equivalency for successfully completing the Tests of General Educational Development (GED), and; (e) 1. Rank in the top ten percentum of his or her graduating class, or PAUL DOUGLAS TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM CHAPTER 1640-1-11 2. Have received GED test scores recognized by the State to be equivalent to ranking in the top ten percentum of high school graduates in the State or nationally, in the academic year for which the eligibility determination is being made. (2) Applicants must meet the following selection criteria: (a) Have at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale in high school through the seventh semester of high school. (The seventh semester is usually the semester immediately before the one in which one would graduate.); (b) Not be a certified teacher; (c) State in writing the applicant’s intent to teach on a full-time basis upon graduation at the preschool, elementary, or secondary level; (d) Be enrolled and in good academic standing, or accepted for enrollment in a college or university in a teacher certification program which is accredited by a nationally-recognized accrediting agency; (e) Make application to TSAC for the award by established deadlines on TSAC approved application forms, enclosing official SAT or ACT scores and a high school transcript. If the applicant has attended college, the college transcript must also be submitted.