Last verified: October 2026
How much is the Opportunity Scholarship for a Charlotte student in 2026-27?
A Charlotte-area student can receive up to $7,942 (Tier 1), $7,148 (Tier 2), $4,766 (Tier 3) or $3,574 (Tier 4) for the 2026-27 school year, half paid each semester. NCSEAA, the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority, publishes the four amounts every year.
The tiers come from G.S. 115C-562.2, which ties them to the prior year's average state per-pupil allocation: 100% for Tier 1, 90% for Tier 2, 60% for Tier 3 and 45% for Tier 4. The award can never exceed what the school actually charges in required tuition and fees.
Which income tier is a Charlotte family of four in?
A household of four is Tier 1 at or below $61,050, Tier 2 at or below $122,100, Tier 3 at or below $274,725, and Tier 4 above that. Tier 4 needs no income documentation at all.
Tier 1 is pegged to the federal free or reduced-price lunch line; Tier 2 goes to twice that line and Tier 3 to four and a half times it. NCSEAA verifies a sample of lower-tier applications each year, so keep the tax documents you used.
When can Mecklenburg, Union, Cabarrus and Gaston families apply for 2027-28?
NCSEAA has not posted 2027-28 dates yet, but state law requires applications to open by February 1, 2027, with priority for those submitted by March 1. The 2026-27 priority window ran February 2 to March 2, 2026.
Priority-window applications are not first come, first served. Renewing students are funded first; new students are drawn by lottery and funded tier by tier, lowest income first. A late 2026-27 window for new students closed August 14, 2026.
Which Charlotte-area schools take the Opportunity Scholarship?
Only Direct Payment Schools can receive the money, and NCSEAA's 2026-27 list shows 134 of them in Mecklenburg, Union, Cabarrus and Gaston counties. Every school in our directory carries that flag.
Some of the region's largest independent schools, including Charlotte Latin, Providence Day, Charlotte Country Day and Cannon School, were not on the list when we checked it. A school can join by registering with NCSEAA and meeting the statute's testing, reporting and background-check rules.
NC Opportunity Scholarship: what it is and isn't
| The Opportunity Scholarship is | It is not |
|---|---|
| A grant paid by NCSEAA directly to the private school, each semester | Cash to the family or a spending account |
| Open to every NC K-12 student, with the amount set by income | Limited to low-income families or to students leaving a public school |
| Capped at the school's required tuition and fees | A way to pay for after-school care, lunches or optional trips |
| Usable only at a Direct Payment School with an in-state campus | Usable for home schooling or an online-only school |