This plan was inspired by businessman Patrick F. Taylor and his commitment to investing in educational opportunities.
The first students to receive grants from TOPS started their freshman year of college in the fall of 1998.
[3] The eligibility criteria are now a 2.5 GPA or higher on the TOPS core high school curriculum, a score of 20 or higher on the composite ACT, and completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid application.
In addition, students must have graduated from a high school in Louisiana, and their parents must live in the state.
[4] When Governor Roemer signed the Louisiana College Tuition Plan into law in 1989, it included an income cap; this provision was eliminated when the TOPS bill was signed into law in 1997, making the program available to all students in the state with sufficient academic performance.