Easing Student Financial Stress

 

THE COST OF COLLEGE IS JUST WAY TOO HIGH …

 

As governments make fewer investments in higher education, the cost of tuition keeps rising. That increase continues putting a serious strain on young people who dream of a better life through a quality education.

 

Studies show that college graduation rates for Black students have not increased at the same rate as white students at four-year public institutions across the U.S. The leading culprit, according to a survey of Black and Latinx communities, was lack of affordability.

 

 

WHAT’S GOING ON?

 

• The average cost of college has increased by over 30 percent over the past 10 years

 

• Nearly 40 percent of students graduating from high school in June never see their first college class – because of costs

 

• Most students burdened by the cost of college are from historically underrepresented, underserved Black and Latinx communities

 

• College enrollment rates for Black and Latinx students in Prince George’s County, MD and Montgomery County, MD are also, on average, 5 to 20 percentage points behind their peers

 

• Six-year college completion rates for District of Columbia students – the vast majority being Black – are at 44 percent or nearly 20 points below the national average.

 

 

WE WORK TO MAKE EVERY DOLLAR COUNT …

 

That’s why we have a Greater Washington Urban League College Sustainability Fund (“CSF”) helps ease many of the financial burdens associated with a higher education.  It’s not just tuition - every dollar counts when worrying about everything from textbooks to housing to food.  Each year, the CSF continues to award more than $25,000 in merit and income-based scholarships to both high school graduates and students currently enrolled in a 4-year college.

 

Through the generous support of our partners and concerned individuals, the CSF offers financial support to struggling college students currently enrolled in a 4-year public institution anywhere in the United States. Student CSF recipients are permanent residents in one of the three jurisdictions GWUL serves, including the District of Columbia, Prince Georges County, MD and Montgomery County, MD.

 

Our goal: to decrease many of the financial burdens associated with higher learning and to increase the college graduation rate and future success of underrepresented populations in our region.