Forty-two percent of New Haven high school seniors have applied to New Haven Promise, Betsy Yagla, New Haven Promise spokesperson, said in a press release.

New Haven Promise, which was announced last November, will provide Yale-funded scholarships to any public college in Connecticut for New Haven public high school seniors who have cumulative grade-point averages of 3.0 and have “demonstrated good civic behavior.” Of the 848 New Haven high school seniors who reside in the city, 360 applied for the scholarship.

“It is gratifying to see our students responding so positively to the New Haven Promise,” University President Richard Levin said in the press release. “Our colleges and universities are the nation’s principal avenue of upward social mobility, and we want more of our young people in New Haven to have the lifetime benefits higher education brings.”

Superintendent of New Haven Public Schools Reginald Mayo said in the press release that he was proud of the number of students who applied for the scholarship, adding that this rate is a testament to the efforts of the ongoing School Change Initiative reforms in New Haven public schools.

The number of students ultimately awarded the scholarship will be announced later this spring, once the program identifies the applicants who meet its eligibility requirements.