High school students from the eastern end of the county, as well as those in the Ironton and Tri-State area, have an opportunity to apply for scholarship aid if they plan to attend Ohio University Southern.

Last year the university awarded more than 50 scholarships to about 242 students.

“Criteria will vary by scholarship,” Jackie Adkins, OUS coordinator of financial aid and scholarships, said.

Some of the majors for which scholarships are available include equine studies, nursing, education, business, electronic media and psychology. Criteria can involve academic performance, financial need and being a first generation college applicant.

Deadline for the Appalachian Scholars Program is Feb. 25. This is a $40,000 scholarship that is amortized over four years with $5,000 awarded for the freshman and sophomore years at OUS. The remaining $30,000 will go to the student when he or she attends the Athens campus.

Packets are available at Adkins office with applications and other requirements.

The university also offers a three-tier freshman merit program. The first tier is the freshman excellence, which provides a full tuition for all four years. The second is the academic merit with gives a half-tuition scholarship. And the last level are freshman leadership grants that are $1,000 awards.

Each of these has specific grade point average and ACT scores that are required.

The deadline to apply for these is March 1.

Additional information may be obtained by contacting Adkins at adkinsj@ohio.edu or at (740) 533-4603.