For the 20 students in President David Boren’s class, studying for next week’s test means more than a grade — it means money.

Since 2008, students in Boren’s American Federal Government course have competed for scholarships awarded to students with the highest academic rank at the end of the semester.

This semester, the top three individuals will receive a $500 scholarship.

“It’s an added bonus to the fact that we get to learn about the government from someone who has experienced it firsthand,” said microbiology sophomore Ganga Moorthy.

Scholarships are funded by Frank Smist Jr., Carl Albert Fellow and American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow.

“[Smist’s] a very generous alumnus, professor and author and decided to establish the scholarships as a way to honor President Boren,” said political science professor Shad Satterthwaite. “Dr. Smist was the first Carl Albert PhD from OU who went on to write books about the intelligence community and Congress and became a full tenured professor at Rockhurst University.”

While working on a biography about Boren, Smist decided to sit in on his classes and meet with a number of the students. The scholarships were established in 2008 as a result of his research time.

In the spring, Boren’s class will enroll 200 students. Three $500 scholarships and eight $250 scholarships will be awarded.

“The 14 scholarships are named to honor three very special OU people: President David L. Boren, OU First Lady Molly Shi Boren and Dr. Shad Satterthwaite, who has assisted the class since President Boren arrived at OU,” Smist said.

Being that the sole criteria to be chosen is academic rank, competition among the fall’s honors students is bound to be rather tough.

“I will definitely try to win one. Since they are based solely on grades, I will do my very best to obtain and maintain a high A in the class,” said political science junior Sara Ciccolari-Micaldi. “However, I will also actively participate in class discussions. Participation makes the class more interactive, and I feel that I learn more by asking and answering questions.”