A Lower Tuition is Just a Few Hours Away

Written by Matt Cunningham

Illustration by Madison Otten

FRCC offers the Foundation Scholarship opportunity for its students. The application for this scholarship is open from Dec. 1 to March 1 each year. Students who apply complete a single application for all scholarships. The amounts typically range from $1,000 to $5,000 for full-time students and $500 to $1,000 for part-time students. That means this scholarship can help pay for a book or an entire class.

“It takes time to get people assigned to scholarships, which is why there is a March 1 deadline,” said Brent Edwards, financial aid advisor for the Westminster campus. This allows for the financial aid department to assign people to their scholarships.

Students seemed to be aware of FRCC’s scholarships, but not as knowledgeable about other ones, such as transfer scholarships at four year institutions. People should be aware that even partial scholarships can save hundreds to thousands of dollars. According to debt.org, there is 46 billion dollars given out in scholarships and grants each year.

“No, I do not know, nor do I know what scholarships I am qualified for,” said FRCC student Daniel Ethington. Though I do know the FRCC scholarship and what is required.”

There are plenty of opportunities for students to receive scholarship money. CollegeBoard.org has statistics that show, in the 2014 to 2015 school year, roughly two thirds of college students received aid from scholarships and grants. There are scholarships for students of all types. Whether one has a unique talent, the ability to write a strong essay, or a specific major, most students have the opportunity to at least get a partial scholarship. The steps required for scholarships usually take about a five to 15 hours, according to the site. So if a student wins $300, and it takes 10 hours to complete, that means that student made $30 an hour.

“I am aware of how much school can save you,” said FRCC student Cassi Lando, “Classes are expensive so every little bit helps. I feel like I do get a good amount of emails to keep me updated on specific scholarships offered at Front Range, but there are also many that I may not know about.”

“A high percentage of students [who apply] will be rewarded with the Foundation scholarship,” said Edwards. “However, the Colorado Merit scholarship is a 100 percent [award rate]  if you meet the requirements, and we have the funds.” The Colorado Merit Scholarship is a more difficult one to receive, because of the list of eligibility requirements. Students who apply for this scholarship must be a Colorado resident, enrolled in at least 9 credits per term, have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, complete the FAFSA, meet all eligibility requirements for Federal Title IV aid, and must be an undergraduate student without a bachelor’s degree. This scholarship may have more requirements than others, but it can save students up to $750.

Scholarships require a lot of work from its applicants, but for students who are in need of financial aid, they can be a real lifesaver. The Foundation Scholarship is open until March 1, 2019 this year. If students need any help writing their scholarship essays, the Writing Center in the library is available to work with them at any time during the week. The link to apply for this can be found at FRCC Foundation Scholarship.