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GREENWOOD DISTRICT, Tulsa.–Eligible residents of one of the city’s most underserved communities are getting a boost to help pay for higher education, thanks to a new tuition waiver program from Oklahoma State University.

OSU-Tulsa is located in the historic Greenwood District, home to the original Black Wall Street. The urban campus recently announced the North Tulsa Community Tuition Waiver, which will cover up to $1,500 a year toward the cost of an undergraduate degree.

Students must have lived in north Tulsa at the time of their high school graduation, KTUL reported.

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“OSU-Tulsa is committed to increasing access to bachelor’s degrees for our community,” said Susan Tolbart, director of scholarships and recruitment at OSU-Tulsa. “This tuition waiver program will help remove financial barriers so our students can achieve their academic and career goals.”

OSU-Tulsa’s North Tulsa Community Tuition Waiver

In recent years, OSU-Tulsa has released several initiatives geared toward supporting the Greenwood community. Last year, the urban campus announced a new College of Professional Studies. 

They also launched the Center for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation a couple months ahead of the 100-Year Anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

“There is a Renaissance-like energy awakening in Greenwood,” Quraysh Ali Lansana, the center’s acting director, said last year. “We want to match the energy of other centers we work alongside, such as the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation and the Greenwood Cultural Center, and work together to amplify truth, healing and change.”

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With north Tulsa being a largely working-class community, the degree programs and class schedules are designed to work around a student’s busy life.

To be eligible for the tuition waiver, students must remain enrolled full-time, with at least six credit hours taken at the OSU-Tulsa campus. Students must also maintain a 2.0 GPA and fill out the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The deadline to apply for the North Tulsa Community Tuition Waiver is September 9.

For more information on eligibility requirements and how to apply contact ??OSU-Tulsa Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid via email at tulsa.financialaid@okstate.edu or via phone at 918-594-8273.

Deon Osborne was born in Minneapolis, MN and raised in Lawton, OK before moving to Norman where he attended the University of Oklahoma. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Strategic Media and has...