No. The Opportunity Scholarship may only be used for students entering traditional Kindergarten through 12th grade. Students must be at least 5 years old by August 31 of that school year or at least 4 years old by April 16 before the school year for which they are applying, and approved for traditional Kindergarten according to State guidelines.

Not always. The scholarship amount varies by award tier and may not cover the full cost of tuition and fees of every school. If a school’s tuition and fees exceed the student’s award amount, families are responsible for paying the difference.

No, but more than 700 schools are currently registered to receive program funds. We call these “Direct Payment Schools.” Find a school on the list of Direct Payment Schools.

No. Students are not required to be enrolled in a private school when they apply. However, Opportunity Scholarship funds can only be used for tuition and fees at registered private schools. If a student is awarded a scholarship, they must be enrolled in and attending a registered private school, also known as a Direct Payment School, by October 1 to use scholarship funds for the fall semester.

Yes. Families relocating to North Carolina may apply for the Opportunity Scholarship as long as they are physically residing within the State at the time of enrollment in the nonpublic school and meet residency documentation requirements no later than October 1.

No. Scholarship funding may be limited. A new student application submitted February 2 through March 2 will be entered into a random lottery. Renewal students are awarded first. New students are then awarded the Opportunity Scholarship in order of their assigned Award Tier until funding is exhausted. For more information visit Awarding Process.

No. Opportunity Scholarship funds can only be used for tuition and fees at registered private schools. However, students may be co-enrolled in both a homeschool program and in a registered private school, with scholarship funds applied to the private school tuition and fees.

The Education Student Accounts (ESA+) is North Carolina’s scholarship program for K12 students with disabilities who require special education services. Families may apply for both the Opportunity Scholarship and the ESA+.

No. MyPortal allows only one parent to be listed on the account, known as the parent of record. If you wish to make a change to the parent listed in MyPortal, the parent of record must email the program to request the change. We will add a task to your record. The current and prospective parent of record must complete certain steps before these changes can be made. 

When parents are separated or divorced and share joint custody (50/50) of the student(s), either parent can be the MyPortal parent of record and apply on behalf of their student(s).

Yes. Parents are encouraged to submit an application for each student on the same day.

No. Applying for the Opportunity Scholarship does not enroll your student in a school. You will need to follow the admissions process for the school you choose.

No. Scholarships are awarded per student, not per family.

No, scholarships are not awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Just make sure to apply by the final day of the priority application period.

You will be notified in April through your MyPortal account if your student is a scholarship recipient. If your student receives an award offer, you must accept or decline the offer by the deadline provided.

MyPortal will display an award amount of $0 until schools complete Certification & Endorsement between August and October. This is when schools report final tuition and fee amounts, for each semester, including any applicable discounts or institutional aid. Your school can provide you with the tuition and fee amount, which you can compare with your award tier to anticipate any remaining balance.

We send scholarship funding to Direct Payment Schools twice per year; once for the fall semester in August/September and once for the spring semester in January/February.

No. Families are not allowed to keep any remaining funds. Scholarship awards can only be used to cover costs of tuition and required fees at registered private schools, up to the amount of the assigned Award Tier.

More than 700 schools are currently registered to receive program funds. We call these “Direct Payment Schools.” Visit the list of registered schools.

Your student must be enrolled and attending a school that accepts Opportunity Scholarship funds by October 1 to use the scholarship in the fall semester.

No. Opportunity Scholarship funds can only be used for tuition and fees at registered private schools. However, students may be co-enrolled in both a homeschool program and in a registered private school, with scholarship funds applied to the private school tuition and fees.

You could convert your scholarship award to a single term award for spring or re-apply as a new student for the next school year. Your student must be attending an eligible school by March 1 to use their spring funding.

Yes. You can transfer scholarship funding to another eligible nonpublic school. You are responsible for notifying your current school that you wish to withdraw and for enrolling your student in a new school.

Yes. Opportunity Scholarship funds can pay private school tuition and fees if a student is enrolled part-time in public school and part-time in an eligible private school.

The law that governs the Opportunity Scholarship program requires SEAA to verify a percentage of Opportunity Scholarship applications for income each year.

If the IRS has not finished processing your tax returns and your deadline is approaching, you can email OpportunityScholarships@ncseaa.edu to request a deadline extension. Requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and are not guaranteed.

No. We can only accept an electronic version of your tax return transcript. Request the transcript at www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript.

You must submit a tax return transcript for every member of your household who filed a tax return last year.

Select “Get Transcript Online” and choose “Return Transcript” for the requested year. If you can’t access your transcript, see the following question, “Why do I get an N/A message?”

This could mean your taxes are still being processed by the IRS. Keep checking. The site updates as taxes are processed. If your transcript is not available by your deadline to submit documents, email us at OpportunityScholarships@ncseaa.edu to request an extension of time.

No. You do not need to upload the required files to each student’s record individually. Complete the Income Verification Worksheet for any one student in your household who was awarded the scholarship. The information will automatically be applied to all students listed on your account.

After you submit the Income Verification Worksheet, we will send a Non-Filer form or a Basic Necessities form to your MyPortal To-Do List. These are for households that reported no income or reported income but were not required to file taxes.

When you complete the Income Verification Worksheet select “yes” for “Did this person file a tax return?”. Then email OpportunityScholarships@ncseaa.edu to tell us that you filed for an extension of time. We will ask you to submit a copy of your Application for Automatic Extension of Time to file U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (Form 4868).

Action items on your To-Do list will be checked off once you submit documents.

If you made an error on an electronic form or uploaded the wrong document, email us at OpportunityScholarships@ncseaa.edu to request assistance. Please provide us with details about the error so we can assist you.