LOUISVILLE, Ky. —  All students entering their senior year at Jefferson County Public School can attend college for free. Evolve502 announced the launch of a scholarship program Tuesday that will allow those students to pursue a college education tuition-free at any Kentucky Community and Technical College school or Simmons College of Kentucky.

With this scholarship, students can pursue an associate degree, a career credential, or take 60 hours of credit before transferring to a four-year university.

The Evolve502 scholarship is a last-dollar scholarship, meaning it will cover any remaining tuition and fees not paid for by other scholarships or grants.

Evolve502 estimates 750-800 graduates from the JCPS Class of 2021 will take advantage of this scholarship opportunity. JCPS senior Shamso Hussein said this scholarship eases the financial worry of pursuing higher education.

"When I heard of the scholarship, I was very excited. I wasn't worried about the money, so I was just more focused on my education," Hussein said.

In addition to the scholarships, students whose families earn less than $40,000 a year will be eligible for opportunity grants of $1,000 per semester to assist with costs outside of tuition like books, housing, and transportation.

Evolve502 Executive Director Marland Cole said Kentucky lags behind other states when it comes to the percentage of high school graduates who go on to pursue higher education. On the other hand, Cole said jobs that require postsecondary education are on the rise in the commonwealth. She hopes this scholarship will set more Louisville area students up for successful futures.

"We just believe strongly that everyone needs some level of education past high school to really be successful and reach their full potential. We think this is just a wonderful opportunity and we would encourage everyone to take advantage of it," Cole said. 

Scholarship applications will be available starting Oct. 1 on Evovle502's website. Printed copies will be made available at each JCPS high school.

Evolve502 and the University of Louisville are also partnering for a 2+2 program for the JCPS Class of 2021 which will allow a portion of the Evolve502 scholars to continue their education at UofL. The university will provide a last-dollar scholarship to eligible Evolve502 scholars in the JCPS Class of 2021 who complete an associate degree at a KCTCS school or Simmons College. Scholars must also be Pell grant eligible at the time of transfer to UofL. 

Right now, the scholarship is just for the JCPS Class of 2021. However, Evolve502 said the goal is to raise enough money to carry the scholarship through 2034, the graduation year of the incoming kindergarten students.