Twenty high school seniors from across the state each earned $1,500 for college while learning important financial literacy skills through the 2015 Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship sponsored by Iowa Student Loan. More than 2,000 Iowa high school seniors registered for the scholarships in January and February, and of those, nearly 1,200 completed online financial literacy tutorials and a related assessment to qualify for one of 20 scholarships. The 20 winners were those who scored highest on the assessment or, in the case of a tie for top scores, received the highest scores on an independently judged essay. The tools, along with tips that registered students received by email through the scholarship period, are designed to help students avoid the pitfalls of heavy student loan debt, a continuing concern for college graduates in Iowa and nationwide, said Christine Hensley, chair of the Iowa Student Loan board of directors. “The scholarship program is one way we encourage high school students to internalize these concepts before they ever need to take out a loan,” she said in a release that lists the winners. 

     To view a Business Record Insider article about the upcoming Financial Literacy Summit, click here.