Washington State Opportunity Scholarship.
The Washington State Opportunity Scholarship (WSOS) program was established in 2011 to provide scholarships to low- and middle-income resident students pursuing eligible high-demand majors in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and health care, and to encourage scholarship recipients to work in the state upon completion of their degrees.  The WSOS is a private-public match program in which the state matches any private donations to fund the scholarships.  The state match is capped at $50 million annually. 

 The WSOS was expanded in 2017 and 2018, and now includes a Career and Technical Scholarship pathway.  The Career and Technical Scholarship provides $1,500 per quarter to a student pursuing an apprenticeship or a certificate or associate's degree in a professional-technical program.  In 2020, 552 students received a scholarship.  
  

Students must meet the following requirements to qualify for the Career and Technical Scholarship:

• be a Washington resident;
• have earned a high school diploma or equivalent in Washington;
• have a total family income that does not exceed 125 percent of Washington state family median income based on family size;
• file a financial aid form;
• plan to pursue an eligible certificate or degree at an eligible higher education institution or enroll in a registered apprenticeship program; and
• plan to enroll in at least six credits.

Rural Jobs Initiative.
  The Rural Jobs Initiative (RJI) is administered by the WSOS and is a separate scholarship program within the Career and Technical Scholarship.  To qualify for the RJI, a student needs to:

• be a Washington resident;
• be a resident of a rural county or have graduated from a Washington high school in a district with fewer than 2,000 students;
• have a family income that does not exceed 70 percent of Washington state median family income adjusted for family size;
• be enrolled in a certificate, degree, or other industry-recognized credential or training program that prepares a student for a high-employer-demand field; and
• be enrolled at a community or technical college in a rural county.

The RJI recipients are eligible to receive $3,500 in their first quarter, $2,500 in their second quarter, and $2,000 per quarter for the remainder of their program.  In 2020, 17 students received a scholarship.

Eligibility for the Career and Technical Scholarship is expanded by removing the requirement for a student's high school diploma or equivalent to be from Washington.

Eligibility for the RJI is modified.  To be eligible for the RJI a student must either:

• be a resident of a rural county and be enrolled in a community or technical college; or
• have graduated from a school in a rural county and be enrolled in a community or technical college located in a rural county.