This year, Waco Foundation’s MAC College Money Program awarded 37 local students $5,000 scholarships to the university of their choice, and three additional students full-tuition scholarships to Baylor University.

Among this year’s scholarship recipients, 11 students also graduated high school in May and successfully completed the Early College Access Program earning their associate’s degrees at the same time as their high school diplomas.

To be eligible for the $5,000 MAC scholarship, students must have completed 60 credit hours and have a minimum GPA of 3.0. Each year, Baylor University provides the three MAC Scholarship recipients with the highest GPAs who are transferring from MCC to Baylor with full-tuition scholarships to complete their final two years.

Founded by Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Duncan Sr. in 1995, the MAC College Money Program was established to ensure every local student has the opportunity to achieve a college degree, regardless of his or her financial circumstances. The MAC Program is funded by a number of generous donors and organizations including Clifton and Betsy Robinson, Baylor University, H-E-B Tournament of Champions, The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation, SpaceX and Waco Foundation.

In the last two decades, the MAC Program has awarded nearly $9.5 million in MAC Scholarships to high achieving students in McLennan County. Although students can utilize the scholarship at any college in the nation, the majority choose to continue their education locally at Baylor University, McLennan Community College, Texas State Technical College or MCC University Center’s Tarleton State University or Texas Tech University. More than half of all MAC Scholarship recipients choose to launch their careers here in Waco.

In addition to scholarship awards, the MAC College Money Program offers free personal assistance to help students and their families complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and maximize the amount of federal Pell funding received. The MAC Program also awards grants to help cover any gaps between Pell funding and the cost of tuition for students enrolling at McLennan Community College or Texas State Technical College for their first two years of school.