Washington’s budget battles have thwarted a plan for tuition-free community college, but locally, schools like Harper College are offering such programs to some students.
The deals aren’t open to everyone, since they come with minimum grade-point average requirements and other conditions. But for those who qualify, the award can be life-changing. “I gave a lot of thought to , but then I saw the tuition,” said Michael Nwaigbo, 20, who graduated from Chicago’s Kennedy-King College last year and now plans to study civil engineering at UIC.
“If not for the Star Scholarship, I wouldn’t have gone to college at all.”the Star Scholarships in 2014, touting them as a way to help students who are needy but well-prepared: Recipients must have a cumulative high school GPA of at least 3.0. The scholarship covers tuition and books. Chancellor Juan Salgado said the idea is to motivate high school students by presenting a straightforward and realistic route to higher education. “It really is an access play … because you don’t have to worry about the finances for your first two years,” he said. Tuition for a full-time student at City Colleges is about $3,500 a year, and similar to other cost-free community college programs, the Star Scholarship kicks in only after a student is awarded federal and state financial aid. But that can be more complicated than you might think.Salgado said City Colleges’ students often apply late for federal financial aid, stymied by inexperience and paperwork requirements, and that can limit their awards. In other cases, students are living in the country without legal permission and ineligible for federal aid. Chicagoan Ruth Flores, 21, is a DACA recipient, and all through high school worried about getting enough money for college. She figured she would have to work before starting higher education, but the Star Scholarship allowed her to begin immediately, she said.She graduated from Daley College last year and is now at UIC, studying psychology with an eye toward becoming an educational adviser. Without the scholarship, she said, “It would have taken me a lot longer to get my associate degree.” Just under half of scholarship recipients end up graduating from City Colleges, Salgado said, which is twice as high as the rate for the general student body. But Andrew Johnson, a teacher and college access counselor at Chicago’s Westinghouse College Prep, said that should prompt students considering a community college scholarship to broaden their horizons. He said graduation rates at four-year schools tend to be much higher — UIC’s, for example, is 62% — and with maximum financial aid, some can offer deals close to a free ride. “It’s not just about how much college costs, it’s about what you get for that money — support, advising, outcomes, connections to professors and other students,” he said. “There’s a whole lot that goes into figuring out what is worth what.”Salgado said the City Colleges are increasing support for their students, including tutoring, advising and mental health services.Harper College takes a different approach with its Promise Scholarship program, which offers free tuition but not books. Its minimum GPA is 2.3, but it requires students to sign up as high school freshmen, limits the absences they can accumulate and requires them to do community service. Consequently, the program sees plenty of attrition before students reach college age — only about 7% of those who enroll as freshman end up earning the scholarship — but administrator Michelé Smith said that’s to be expected when nearly every student signs up during high school registration. “Over time, students fall out for various reasons,” she said. “There are a good number of students who never had any intention of coming to Harper. … By their junior year, they know they’re going to go to university, so they no longer keep up with that criteria.” Even so, hundreds of students enroll as Promise Scholars each year, with about 40% graduating . Adan Ramirez, a 20-year-old from Rolling Meadows, is set to become one of them later this month before he heads to Trinity International University in Deerfield to complete his bachelor’s degree. Sophomore Adan Ramirez retrieves color copies of his graphic designs during a graphic design class at Harper College on May 10, 2022, in Palatine. He said he still had to cover roughly $3,000 in non-tuition expenses at Harper, but that was manageable with a part-time job and the help of his parents. Given the importance he and his family place on higher education, he said, he would have found a way to go to college no matter what. But the Promise Scholarship certainly made things easier.No statewide push Other community colleges in the Chicago suburbs have their own free tuition programs, usually tied to high grade-point averages or class rank. But Matt Berry, spokesman for the Illinois Community College Board, said there has been no overall push to expand such programs after the state increased funding for the monetary award program, the needs-based grant known as MAP, by $122 million. Some believe the nationwide free tuition model proposed by the Biden administration might still be the best way to go. Dick Startz, professor of economics at the University of California at Santa Barbara, said it could remove mental barriers that discourage some from pursuing higher education. “If everyone knew community college was free, then it would just be in everyone’s head that if they wanted to go to community college, they could,” he said. Meanwhile, at least one Illinois school is moving ahead with its own version of the Promise Scholarship.Sauk Valley Community College, emulating Harper’s approach, will begin with high school freshmen, and anticipates 600 will sign up by the time they’re ready for college in four years. Lori Cortez, the school’s dean of institutional advancement, said part of the idea behind the program is to keep students close to home via the community service requirement. “Data shows that community service is directly linked to population retainment,” she said. “With Illinois being one of the most out-migrated states in the nation, we need to do more than offer MAP funding to retain citizens.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Mother charged after loaded gun goes off in student's backpackCHICAGO — The mother of a Chicago student faces child endangerment charges after the student brought a loaded gun to school in a backpack and the weapon accidentally discharged, police said.
Read more »
Kim Kardashian Scores Her First 'Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Edition' CoverYes, we're a little surprised this hasn't already happened, too:
Read more »
Pima Community College celebrates first in-person graduation in two yearsPima Community College celebrates first in-person graduation in two years
Read more »
As Chicago-Area Counties Approach ‘High' COVID Levels, Could Mask Mandates Return?According to the newest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID cases and hospitalizations are threatening to push several Chicago-area counties, including Cook County, into the highest-level of COVID alert in coming weeks.
Read more »
Biden fights current of soaring housing pricesIt's more expensive than ever to rent or buy a home, with prices spiking significantly over the past couple of years.
Read more »
Chicago school celebrates 'College Signing Day' with entire graduating class accepted into collegeIn all, seniors at the all-boys public charter high school were admitted to 412 different high learning institutions with over 1,300 college acceptances, and received more than $18 million in scholarships and grants.
Read more »