Statistics show that on average, college tuition rates tend to double every nine years.

In the state of Georgia, the Georgia Board of Regents increased tuition by 15% at some state universities ? the biggest hike in 18 years! With tuition increasing, along with state budget cuts across the nation, the hunt for scholarships is on.

With the holidays around the corner, now's a good time to take advantage of your spare time and do a thorough job of completing scholarship applications. Starting early will help you avoid the rush of completing those applications, allowing you to gather all the materials you need to make your application ready for review. To help in your hunt, you can apply for three scholarship applications through Jackson EMC. The Walter Harrison, A.T. Sharpton-Gainesville College and the A.T. Sharpton Unrestricted applications are due January 21, 2004.

High school seniors who have already been accepted to college, or students enrolled in an accredited college, university or technical school are eligible to apply. Current full- or part-time students are also eligible. Recipients must be customers of Jackson EMC or the sons or daughters of a customer and be a resident of the home served by Jackson EMC.