November is National Scholarship Month (NSM), so it’s as good a time as any to highlight the importance of college scholarships, especially given the challenges besetting higher education.
In fact, the National Scholarship Providers Association created NSM to raise awareness of the vital role scholarships play in reducing student debt and expanding access to postsecondary education.
According to the Education Data Initiative (EDI), more than $100 billion in grant and scholarship money is awarded annually, including government sources. However, just 11 percent of college students receive scholarships.
This figure is much too low. How do we encourage more students to seek out scholarship opportunities?
The cost of attending public and private colleges and universities has risen sharply in recent years. According to U.S. News & World Report, over the last two decades tuition and fees at private universities have soared about 112 percent, while in-state tuition and fees at public universities have climbed about 107 percent.
Earlier this month, the UC Board of Regents approved a tuition hike of as much as 5 percent for each new cohort of incoming students. Two years ago, the Cal State system voted to raise tuition 6 percent annually for the next five years.
Despite what critics would have you believe, college remains a worthwhile investment. Ensuring access to bachelor’s programs for all members of the community has become increasingly difficult, however. Low-income families in particular are effectively being priced out of four-year institutions, and the situation isn’t much better for their middle-income counterparts.
Many students and families turn to loans, but as most know this can lead to other problems. EDI reports that the average public university student borrows $31,960 to earn a bachelor’s degree. College loan balances are often much higher, especially among private university borrowers, complicating or even delaying early adult milestones such as starting a family and buying a home.
This is where scholarships come in. Needs-based scholarships are particularly important, though merit-based scholarships, which recognize academic or athletic achievement, are crucial in their own right.
State and federal governments as well as colleges and universities award scholarships, as do private sources such as companies, civic groups, religious organizations, and foundations, including the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.
In each case, funding determines both the number and size of awarded scholarships. For instance, funding for the Federal Pell Grant program must be appropriated annually through the government’s budget process.
The Scholarship Foundation and organizations like it depend on the generosity of community members. When urging county residents to support our organization, I typically focus on the tangible benefits of our scholarships. For instance, Foundation recipients boast a six-year graduation rate that greatly exceeds the national average – 92 percent vs. 61 percent.
In this we are hardly alone. A recent study cited by application management platform CommunityForce found that in general scholarship recipients are 30 percent more likely to graduate on time.
Scholarships have intangible benefits as well. Students routinely tell us that receiving a Foundation scholarship deepened their connection to our community and spurred them to make a greater effort in their studies. A typical comment: “When it was hard to get good grades, I remembered that someone from home had invested in me, and it made me want to persevere.”
For all these reasons and more, I encourage our community to support local students pursuing higher education by funding more scholarships. When we invest to increase local students’ access to postsecondary education, we are in effect investing in our community’s future prosperity.
A version of this commentary appeared in the Santa Maria Times.