N.J. Admin. Code § 9A:9-4.2 - Academic requirements

(a) Garden State Scholarship recipients shall meet the academic requirements defined by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority to be eligible to receive a grant in any program category.

(b) The academic requirements for Garden State Scholarships include secondary school ranking in the graduating class and/or a combination of the secondary school ranking and combined critical reading and math Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores or grade point average. Where critical reading and math SAT scores are not available, the appropriate equivalent from the American College Testing (ACT) Program may be used.

(c) Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholars shall be selected on the basis of the following criteria:

1. Class rank of one, two or three in the graduating class and rank within the top 10 percent of the graduating class at the end of the junior year; or

2. Class rank within the top 10 percent of the graduating class at the end of the junior year with combined critical reading and math SAT scores of 1260 or above at the end of the junior year.

(d) Distinguished Urban Scholars attending secondary schools within the Type A and B school districts as determined by the New Jersey Department of Education and provided in written notice to the Authority pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding between the New Jersey Department of Education and the Authority shall be selected on the basis of the following criteria:

1. Class rank within the top 10 percent of the graduating class at the end of the junior year with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 (or an equivalent scale) at the end of the junior year.

(e) Students from each school selected pursuant to (d) above shall be ranked among the students selected at that school according to the following formula and the highest ranking students will be offered scholarships:

1. Academic qualification for a scholarship is determined by an Academic Index (AI). The AI is derived by combining two factors, secondary school GPA and rank in class which will be weighted equally. The formula for combining the two factors is:

AI = (GPA x 37.5) + (Converted Rank x 2)

2. The converted rank shall be determined from the table set forth in (h)1ii below.

(f) For students selected pursuant to (d) and (e) above, each school located within a Type A and B school district shall receive that proportion of the total available scholarships which reflects the size of the graduating class at the end of the junior year as compared to the total number of students in the graduating classes from all schools within Type A and B districts at the end of the junior year.

(g) Garden State Scholars shall be selected on the basis of the following criteria:

1. Class rank within the top 20 percent of the graduating class at the end of the junior year with combined critical reading and math SAT scores of 1000 or above at the end of the junior year, or through the January administration of the SAT in the senior year in the event that funds permit a second-round selection of awards.

(h) Garden State Scholars shall be ranked according to the formula in (h)1 below and the highest ranking students will be offered scholarships based on information as of the end of the junior year. Additional scholarships may be offered during the senior year dependent upon available appropriations.

1. Academic qualification for a scholarship is determined by an Academic Index (AI). The AI is derived by combining two factors, the combined critical reading and math SAT scores from the College Entrance Examination Board and a converted secondary school rank in class. The formula for combining the two factors is:

Critical Reading + Math SAT scores	+ (Converted Rank x 2)
AI =	----------------------------------
10

i. SAT scores: Critical reading and math SAT scores are to be weighted equally. Where SAT scores are not available, the appropriate equivalent from the ACT Program may be used. The highest critical reading score from any administration may be combined with the highest math score from any administration.

ii. Rank in class: In order to weight secondary school rank equally with combined critical reading and math SAT scores, the converted rank is multiplied by two. Conversion of the secondary school rank to a standardized score is necessary in order to combine it equally with the combined critical reading and math SAT scores which have also been standardized. The table below gives the converted rank multiplied by two, which is the figure to be combined with the test score sum in the AI formula given in (h)1 above.

SECONDARY SCHOOL RANK
CONVERSION TABLE
Percent	Converted
Standing	Rank x 2
00-01	=	150
02	=	142
03	=	138
04	=	136
05	=	134
06	=	132
07	=	130
08	=	128
09-10	=	126
11-12	=	124
13-14	=	122
15-16	=	120
17-18	=	118
19-21	=	116
22-24	=	114
25-27	=	112
28-31	=	110
32-35	=	108
36-39	=	106
40-43	=	104
44-47	=	102
48-52	=	100
53-56	=	98
57-60	=	96
61-64	=	94
65-68	=	92
69-72	=	90
73-75	=	88

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 9A:9-4.2

Amended by R.1985 d.153, effective 4/1/1985.
See: 16 N.J.R. 3281(a), 17 N.J.R. 816(a).
Section substantially amended.
Amended by R.1986 d.108, effective 4/7/1986.
See: 17 N.J.R. 2726(a), 18 N.J.R. 680(b).
Substantially amended.
Amended by R.1988 d.128, effective 3/21/1988.
See: 20 N.J.R. 33(a), 20 N.J.R. 656(a).
Substituted "scholar" for "scholarship"; deleted text "and the graduate fellowship award".
New Rule, R.1988 d.532, effective 11/7/1988.
See: 20 N.J.R. 1635(a), 20 N.J.R. 2772(b).
Old section was Award amounts.
The new rule was erroneously added effective 7/5/1988 as R.1988 d.303. See: 20 N.J.R. 720(a), 20 N.J.R. 1558(a). The text at that time should have remained Award amounts.
Amended by R.1990 d.14, effective 1/2/1990.
See: 21 N.J.R. 3408(a), 22 N.J.R. 29(b).
Added class rank of 3rd to those eligible for Distinguished Scholars Program minimum award.
Amended by R.1991 d.599, effective 12/16/1991.
See: 23 N.J.R. 2211(a), 23 N.J.R. 3756(a).
Revised (g)1.
Amended by R.1992 d.486, effective 12/7/1992.
See: 24 N.J.R. 2510(a), 24 N.J.R. 4373(a).
Revised (b)-(h); deleted (i).
Administrative Correction to (b).
See: 25 N.J.R. 1513(a).
Administrative correction.
See: 27 N.J.R. 3602(a).
Amended by R.1995 d.582, effective 11/6/1995.
See: 27 N.J.R. 2662(a), 27 N.J.R. 4305(a).
Amended by R.1997 d.454, effective 11/3/1997.
See: 29 N.J.R. 2763(a), 29 N.J.R. 4679(b).
In (d), inserted "and provided ... Office of Student Assistance".
Amended by R.2002 d.290, effective 9/3/2002.
See: 34 N.J.R. 1392(a), 34 N.J.R. 3079(c).
Amended by R.2005 d.357, effective 10/17/2005.
See: 37 N.J.R. 2602(a), 37 N.J.R. 4020(b).
In (b), deleted "will" following "Scholarships"; added "critical reading and math" throughout (b), (c), (g); in (c)1, added "and rank within the top 10 percent of the graduating class"; in (c)2, rewrote score "1,260" as "1260"; rewrote (h).