College Opportunity Fund (COF)
What is The College Opportunity Fund (COF)?
The College Opportunity Fund (COF), created by the Colorado Legislature, provides a stipend to eligible undergraduate students. The stipend pays a portion of your total in-state tuition when you attend a participating college.
Eligible undergraduate students must apply, be admitted and enroll in classes at a participating college to receive this benefit. Both new and continuing students are eligible for the stipend.
Qualifying students may use the stipend for eligible undergraduate classes. The stipend is paid on a per credit hour basis directly to the college at which the student is enrolled. The credit-hour amount is set annually by the General Assembly.
What is a stipend?
"Stipend" means the amount of money per credit hour paid by the state of Colorado on behalf of an eligible undergraduate student who is attending a participating college in the state of Colorado.
The specified amount of the stipend per credit hour is set annually by the Colorado General Assembly. The amount will never exceed the student's total in-state tuition. The value of the per credit hour stipend will be the same for each eligible undergraduate student attending a participating state college.
If an eligible undergraduate student attends a participating private college in the state of Colorado, the per credit hour amount is fifty percent (50%) of the annually set stipend amount.
Total stipend hours per student, per semester, are reported to the College Opportunity Fund (COF) by the college you are attending. COF matches the student information provided by the college with Stipend Application Account information in its database (the information you provided when you created your stipend account) and disburses the stipend amount requested directly to the college.
How do I apply for the College Opportunity Fund Stipend?
You apply for the stipend by completing the on-line Stipend Application or the paper application. When you complete the stipend application you create an account that is accessible to you. The college you attend will access this account information when it requests payment on your behalf.
Additional questions about eligibility and participating colleges and universities?
If you have additional questions or need further support visit The College Opportunity Fund (COF) website or contact your School Counselor.