College Board announced that Broward County Public Schools Deerfield Beach High School junior Jalliyia Phillippy has earned one of the first Class of 2023 $40,000 scholarships through BigFuture, the College Board’s online guide that helps students plan for life after high school. In addition to awarding $40,000 scholarships to four juniors, 25 high school seniors each earned $40,000 scholarships by completing key steps to plan, prepare, and pay for college.

Jalliyia is enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program, an internationally standardized accelerated honors course of study for highly motivated and academically talented students. She credits the program for challenging her to expand her thinking, find connections, solve problems and prepare for college. Jalliyia aspires to be a doctor and hopes to use her scholarship to attend Howard University to study biology and medicine.

“Broward County Public Schools is proud to congratulate Jalliyia Phillippy for this outstanding achievement,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Vickie L. Cartwright. “She has overcome so much to stay on the path to college during two years of uncertainty and challenges caused by the pandemic. Jalliyia serves as a role model all students can follow to make their college dreams attainable.”

Powered by College Board, BigFuture simplifies the path to life after high school by recommending small steps students can take to explore career interests, identify potential majors, find colleges and scholarships, and access financial aid. It rewards students’ efforts by providing chances at scholarships.

“Now more than ever, students need simple and credible tools to help them choose the college and career that’s right for them,” said Tarlin Ray, College Board senior vice president of BigFuture. “We’ve integrated these scholarship steps into BigFuture so every student – no matter where they are on their journey to college – can take the small actions these 29 students have taken to raise their hands and earn themselves a big future.”

All class of 2023 students are eligible to win $500 and $40,000 scholarships they can use at two- or four-year institutions. There is no essay, test score, citizenship status, family income or minimum GPA requirement. Drawings for $500 and $40,000 scholarships are held every month. Students whose families earn less than $60,000 per year have extra chances at scholarships and earn double the entries for every drawing. The sooner students complete the following steps and the more steps they take, the more entries they’ll earn:

1. Build a College List: Students search for colleges and add six or more to their list.
2. Practice for the SAT: Students use Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy to get ready for test day.
3. Explore Scholarships: Students explore a list of scholarships personalized for them, based on their background, achievements, and future plans.
4. Strengthen Their College List: Students make sure their list has a mix of reach, match, and safety schools.
5. Complete the FAFSA: Students complete the free government form to apply for financial aid.
6. Apply to Colleges: Students apply to at least two colleges they want to attend.

College Board has dedicated $25 million to the program that lays out six simple steps all students can take to get to college. More than $14 million in scholarships have been awarded to more 15,000 students since the program launched in December 2018. Class of 2023 students with College Board accounts in the United States and U.S. territories will be automatically entered into monthly drawings for $500 and $40,000 by completing specific steps on bigfuture.org.