Summary
In this activity, students explore the components of Oklahoma's Promise including the eligibility requirements, what the scholarship will cover, and how to apply. Oklahoma students are encouraged to begin thinking about the academic requirements—grade point averages and required courses—that they must meet to maintain eligibility.
Essential Question
How can Oklahoma’s Promise support my postsecondary goals?
Learning Objective
Examine the eligibility requirements for the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship.
Snapshot
Introduction
Students recall the different options for paying for postsecondary education.
Knowledge Building
Students identify the eligibility requirements for Oklahoma’s Promise and what the scholarship will pay for.
Wrap-Up
Students demonstrate their understanding by identifying true and false statements about Oklahoma’s Promise.
Materials List
Activity Slides (attached)
Oklahoma’s Promise Infographic handout (attached; one per student)
Paper
Writing utensil
Introduction
10 Minute(s)
Introduce the activity using the attached Activity Slides. Share the essential question on slide 3 and the learning objective on slide 4.
Give each student one piece of paper. Display slide 5 and introduce the Tell Me Everything strategy. Have students recall what they know about ways to pay for postsecondary education. Have them write as much as they can on their paper. Allow them a few minutes to work.
Transition through slides 6–11 to introduce financial aid terms and their definitions. Ask students to volunteer any other information they know about each financial aid option that is not mentioned on the slides. During this time, encourage students to add any information to their paper that they did not write down initially. As students share, answer any questions and clear up any misconceptions.
Knowledge Building
15 Minute(s)
Show slide 12 and give each student one copy of the attached Oklahoma’s Promise Infographic handout. Tell students that as they read, they should underline any information they think is important and put question marks next to any information they do not understand.
Give students 5–7 minutes to read and annotate the handout.
Display slide 13 and invite volunteers to share responses to the following questions on the slide:
What is Oklahoma’s Promise?
What can the scholarship money pay for?
Help students understand that Oklahoma’s Promise is a tuition scholarship program that helps Oklahoma students pay for their education after high school.
Consider asking the class if they would or would not be required to pay back the money from Oklahoma’s Promise, since it is a scholarship. Allow students time to respond, then share that if they receive an Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship, they would not be required to pay back that money.
Show slide 14 and facilitate a class discussion about eligibility requirements for Oklahoma’s Promise. Help students understand that to receive the scholarship, they must be an Oklahoma resident; they must keep up their grades; they must take certain classes to meet academic requirements; and they must talk to their parents or guardians to determine if they meet the financial requirements.
Display slide 15 and play the video Staying Eligible for Oklahoma’s Promise.
Show slide 16 and have students silently think about the answer to the following question on the slide:
True or False: Oklahoma’s Promise reviews academic and financial information while you are attending high school and while you are attending a postsecondary institution (PSI).
Having students first think silently will give everyone a chance to consider the statement before someone shares a response.
Then, ask for a volunteer to share their answer and reasoning. Alternatively, consider asking the whole class to raise their hand if they believe it to be true. Then, ask those those who believe it to be false to raise their hand, and ask for a volunteer to share their reasoning. Help students understand that they must maintain eligibility to continue to receive the scholarship each school year.
Display slide 17 and play the How to Apply for Oklahoma’s Promise video.
Similar to the process for slide 16, show slide 18 and have students silently think about whether the following statements on the slide are true or false.
True or False: You must apply online.
True or False: You must start college the first August after graduation.
Invite volunteers to share their thoughts and reasoning for each statement. Ensure that students understand that they can apply online but they could also mail in their form. Further, they are not required to begin college immediately after graduation to receive Oklahoma’s Promise.
Wrap-Up
10 Minute(s)
Display slide 19 and introduce the Fiction in the Facts strategy. Explain to students that each of the following slides includes three statements, two of which are true and one that is false. Share that it is their job to determine which statement is false.
Show slide 20 and read the three statements aloud. Ask the class to quietly determine which statement they believe is false, giving everyone enough time to formulate a response. Ask for a volunteer to share which statement they think is fiction along with their reasoning. Then, transition to slide 21 to reveal the false statement.
Repeat this for the next two sets of statements using slides 22–25. Use this time to clarify misconceptions about Oklahoma’s Promise and emphasize the financial opportunity Oklahoma’s Promise affords.
Display slide 26 and remind students to go to OKPromise.org to start their application.
Follow-Up Activities
Complete the 10th Grade Campus Visit: Milestones That Matter during your next campus visit.
Research Rationale
Adults typically spend a significant portion of their time, sometimes as much as a third of their lives, at work, so having meaningful work is crucial to their overall well-being at work and at home. Decent work means not only making money but having good hours, job security, safety, a short commute, fair pay, and benefits such as paid time off and healthcare. These things can add up to a sense of well-being about what you do and who you are (Solberg et al., 2021). Research shows a critical connection between experiences in education and the path to decent work (Duffy et al., 2022). In fact, “as the level of education increases, the probability of attaining decent work also increases” (Masdonati et al., 2022).
Postsecondary education can be a life-altering experience for students. College graduates tend to have more job satisfaction, jobs that offer a greater sense of accomplishment, more independence and opportunities for creativity, and more social interactions in their jobs than non-college graduates (Wolniak & Enberg, 2019). College graduation also increases the chances of employment. Over the last 20 years, the unemployment rate for college graduates has been approximately half of that of high school graduates (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022). College helps students develop skills that prepare them for careers in the tech-driven economy, including non-routine, abstract skills that aid in problem-solving, multitasking, and creativity (Oreopoulos & Petronijevic, 2013).
Resources
Duffy, R. D., Kim, H. J., Perez, G., Prieto, C. G., Torgal, C., & Kenny, M. E. (2022). Decent education as a precursor to decent work: An overview and construct conceptualization. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2022.103771
K20 Center. (n.d.). Fiction in the facts. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/60
K20 Center. (n.d.). Tell me everything. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/107
K20 Center. (2026, May 5). How to apply for Oklahoma's Promise [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7qGOFxZaFM
K20 Center. (2026, May 5). Staying eligible for Oklahoma's Promise [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT52h5Ji--Y
Masdonati, J., Massoudi, K., Blustein, D. L., & Duffy, R. D. (2022). Moving toward decent work: Application of the psychology of working theory to the school-to-work transition. Journal of Career Development, 49(1), 41–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845321991681
Oklahoma’s Promise. (n.d.). Scholarship deadlines. https://okpromise.org/scholarship-deadlines.shtml
Oklahoma’s Promise. (n.d.). What is Oklahoma’s Promise? https://okpromise.org/
Oreopoulos, P., & Petronijevic, U. (2013). Making college worth it: A review of the returns to higher education. The Future of Children, 23(1), 41–65.
Solberg, V. S. H., Park, C. M., & Marsay, G. (2021). Designing quality programs that promote hope, purpose and future readiness among high need, high risk youth: Recommendations for shifting perspective and practice. Journal of Career Assessment, 29(2), 183–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072720938646
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2022, March 9). High school graduates with no college had unemployment rate of 4.5 percent in February 2022. The Economics Daily. https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2022/high-school-graduates-with-no-college-had-unemployment-rate-of-4-5-percent-in-february-2022.htm
U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Search and compare colleges. College Scorecard. https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
Wolniak, G. C. & Engberg, M. E. (2019). Do “high-impact” college experiences affect early career outcomes? The Review of Higher Education, 42(3), 825–858.