Our Scholarship Approach
We are investing $11 million in scholarships in 2010 as part of our Go On initiative to increase the percentage of Idaho students who complete post-secondary education. We have targeted the scholarships for the following priority needs:
First Generation Scholarships
Remove financial barriers for college-ready high school students who are the first in their family to attend college. Researchers have found that students from homes where neither parent had earned a bachelor’s degree are about twice as likely as those with a college-educated parent to leave before their second year. (Lumina Foundation, 2009) This scholarship can help break that cycle for Idaho families.
Completion Scholarships
Remove financial barriers for low-income full- or part-time students who are re-entering college and are in pursuit of a degree. Federal statistics show that 82% of undergraduate students over age 24 are employed while going to school. Forty percent of these students have annual incomes of less than $25,000 – a total that won’t even cover the cost of full-time attendance at many institutions. Unlike their younger counterparts, adult students often can’t qualify for financial aid. (“On Focus” newsletter, Lumina Foundation, 2005)
Transfer Scholarships
Remove financial barriers for low-income, core-certified students from any community college or two-year college who are trying to pursue a bachelor’s degree at a four-year institution. Our goal is to enable students to advance from an associate’s degree to a bachelor’s degree. Having already completed all their core undergraduate requirements, these students are more likely motivated, given financial support, to go on and complete their degree.
Non-Traditional Scholarships
Remove financial barriers for students a year or more out of high school who have never attended college. Similar to the Completion Scholarship, the Non-Traditional Scholarship is for students who have never attended college and are a year or more out of high school. Twenty-six percent of Idahoans ages 18-64 years old have completed an associate or baccalaureate degree. Our goal is to increase that percentage by 18% by 2012.
Know-How-2-Go-IDAHO Scholarships
Reward and motivate more students to take rigorous courses that lead to college success. These merit-based scholarships are based on overall high student performance including the succesful completion of four math and four science courses in high school (4×4).
