The New Mexico Legislative Lottery Scholarship is automatically awarded to qualified students beginning in the second semester of their freshman year. No application is necessary; however, we strongly recommend that students complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) at  fafsa.ed.gov.

• Award Amount: Tuition only (Fees are not included)
• The Scholarship award amount is the same for all students and is set annually by the New Mexico NM Higher Education Department by June 1st of each year.

To qualify for the Lottery Scholarship, students must:

• Be a New Mexico resident (regardless of immigration status)
• Enroll in fifteen credit hours at a four year public New Mexico college or twelve credits at a public New Mexico community college the first regular semester following high school graduation or receipt of a high school equivalency  credential  (GED). Home-school  students  must  have  a  high school equivalency credential dated prior to the entering semester.
• Be declared in a financial aid-eligible program
• Complete 15 credit hours (12 at a community college) and earn a 2.5 GPA or greater for the first semester.
• Not have been awarded any other state scholarship that pays 100% tuition.

To maintain eligibility for the scholarship, students must:

• Complete 15 credit hours at a four-year college each semester (12 at a community college) and maintain a GPA of 2.5 or greater.
• Maintain enrollment without breaks in attendance during fall and spring terms

Duration of Scholarship

The Lottery scholarship can be awarded for a total of three semesters if student is:

• Pursuing an Associate’s degree or seven semesters if pursuing a Bachelor’s degree. This means that a student can receive three semesters of Lottery Scholarship award while pursuing an Associate’s degree and may then be eligible for four more scholarship awards if the student declares a four-year degree and is enrolled without any break in attendance.

Legacy Students:  If a student has received at least three semesters of Legislative Lottery Scholarship by the end of spring of 2014, they are considered a legacy student and will continue eligibility under the old Lottery eligibility requirements. Legacy students must complete 12 credit hours each semester and maintain a GPA of 2.5 or greater and are eligible to receive the scholarship for eight semesters.