About
The Promise
The Promise provides graduates of El Dorado High School with a scholarship covering tuition and mandatory fees that can be used at any accredited two- or four-year, public or private educational institution in the US. The maximum amount payable is up to the highest annual resident tuition at an Arkansas public university.
In 2024, the Promise scholarship expanded to fund vocational and technical certifications or degrees at South Arkansas College, further broadening opportunities for students pursuing career and technical education.
The Promise helped reduce my financial burden for tuition and housing, especially during the high prices and housing crisis in Fayetteville, AR, caused by overpopulation.
The Promise allowed me to work part-time instead of full-time during college, which allowed me to participate in many extracurricular activities and hold six academic leadership roles over my three years of undergrad. I also volunteered and completed two unpaid, public-interest internships.
This support made my undergraduate experience much smoother, especially as a first-generation student who did not have the resources to succeed on her own. I’m very grateful for the opportunities that the El Dorado Promise provided me.
-Victoria Moody, EHS, 2022, University of Arkansas School of Law
About the El Dorado Promise Scholarship
The El Dorado Promise is a unique scholarship program that provides the opportunity for a college education for nearly every single graduate of El Dorado High School, regardless of their financial or academic standing.
The program, which was initially established back in 2006, is funded by Murphy Oil Corporation, which has served as an economic engine for this boomtown, located just north of the Louisiana border.
Murphy Oil Corporation set up the fund with its initial $50 million investment with the idea that any student that successfully graduated from El Dorado High School, and had been enrolled in
the school district, since ninth grade, is entitled to scholarship money to attend any regionally-accredited public or private college or university.
In 2024, the Promise scholarship expanded to fund vocational and technical certifications or degrees at South Arkansas College, further broadening opportunities for students pursuing career and technical education.
The Promise in El Dorado provides students with the rare opportunity to gain a college education without the financial stresses and hardships that so often accompany the experience.
Earning a scholarship for the El Dorado Promise
Students that have been in the El Dorado School District from kindergarten through 12th grade receive 100 percent of the scholarship money, which equals the highest in-state public university rate. Unfortunately, students that enter the district after ninth grade are not eligible for this El Dorado High School scholarship.
Students can renew the scholarship for the El Dorado Promise for five consecutive years and must maintain a 2.0 grade point average or higher while completing 12 credit hours each semester.
Virtually unlimited educational opportunities through the El Dorado Promise
A student’s opportunity to learn and reap the bounty of higher education should not hinge on his or her socioeconomic standing. Murphy Oil Corporation is passionate about creating a culture in the public school system where students of all walks of life feel like every educational and professional opportunity is within their grasp.