Funding Your Future Education

With the constant rise in the price of education, the idea of going to a four year university is an one that is seemingly unreachable for many aspiring students that want to continue in their learning experience. However, there are several scholarships available to students who are willing to do the research necessary to find them. I have found this particularly useful when exploring the money that will be available to me through Biola University, Master’s College, and Pepperdine University. It is when students engage in this examination that they will find many ways in which to save money which will benefit them greatly in the future.

In my own life, I have examined what scholarships can pertain through me through Biola University, when considering both my GPA and SAT scores. The first one that I came across was the general approximation that was given to me based on the two aspects of GPA and SAT scores, and figured that I would receive between 7,000 and 9,000 dollars a year. This would help me out substantially throughout four years as it would bring the grand total of tuition for one year from an original cost of $36,332 to $28,332 considering I would be getting an average of $8,000 dollars in scholarship money a year. In addition to this, I am also eligible for their Community Service Scholarship, or CSS, because I have been involved in leadership and community service efforts while maintaining a high GPA. This would grant me an additional $3,000 by freshmen year, decreasing the price to $25,332. The display of community service also makes it possible for me to save additional money through what is known as the SURGE scholarship, which is awarded to those who maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, and whose leadership displays ethnic diversity and multicultural awareness. This particular scholarship has the potential of saving me $4,000 to $6,500 dollars a year. In total, this would save approximately $16,000 my freshman year and $13,000 during my next three years.

In addition to Biola, Master’s College also has many scholarship opportunities. Within the undergraduate program, the starting tuition would be $15,810 per year, including the prices for the dorm and meal plans. However, I would be qualified for two scholarships, these being the Distinguished Scholar Scholarship and the Honors Scholarship. The Distinguished Scholar Scholarship is for those who have an unweighted GPA of 3.85 or higher, which would reward me with an average of $7,050 per year. In addition to this, the Honors Scholarship would grant me approximately $5,500 my freshmen year by having above a 3.65 GPA and a cumulative SAT score (of the math and critical reading sections) between 1050 and 1600. This amount of scholarship money would significantly decrease my tuition from $15,810 a year to about $6,810, essentially cutting the price in half.

The third college that I am very interested in going to where scholarships would help a substantial amount is Pepperdine University. Scholarships are particularly important when it concerns this school because they just had a hike in their tuition that has just broken $50,000 a year. An estimate of what I would be paying a year including board and meal plans would be about $53,000 a year. There are limited scholarships that Pepperdine offers, however I am qualified for a couple of scholarships which include the Faculty Scholarship and the Talbots Women’s Scholarship. The Faculty Scholarship is aimed at students who are able to maintain a 3.5 GPA or higher, and can vary from $3,000 to $12,000 or more, but it cannot exceed the tuition rate. The second is the Talbots Women’s Scholarship that directly applies to women living in the United States who are planning to enroll in a full four year undergraduate study. Ten $15,000 and one $30,000 scholarship is provided for those who show outstanding academic dedication. If I were to get a $10,000 faculty scholarship it would reduce tuition to about $43,000 a year, and the Talbots scholarship would decrease it to $38,000 a year. Although the tuition rate would still be high, the money granted to me per year would help significantly, as I would be saving over $52,000 during four years through an average grant of $13,000 each year.

In conclusion, scholarships can be an extremely beneficial way in cutting down the costs of going to a four year university. The primary focus of my scholarships is academics, but I also can get a combined amount of $3,000 from my dance studio and from volunteering at St, Mary’s Hospital that would apply to any college I choose attend. In addition to the scholarships that are available to me, the colleges mentioned above also have other ways of helping students through financial aid opportunities depending on your economic status. Another outlet that can save students an extra 1,000 to 3,000 dollars is by applying for FASFA(free application for student aid) early, and most colleges with honor that commitment with a particular grant of money. Applying the above to scholarships, the final totals per year are as follows: Biola: $20,332, Master’s: $11,810 and Pepperdine: $33,000. Between all three of these colleges and the additional dance and St. Mary’s scholarship money, I am looking an offer of over $40,000 per year, or $160,000 over four years. When seeing the breakdown of how beneficial scholarships can really be to my college education is extremely encouraging and motivates me to continue to perform my best in the last two years of high school as I know how much it will help me have a successful future.