Clarion University announces a new scholarship program aimed at motivating students to do better in high school and prepare better for college.
Through an online program platform called Raise.me, students can now earn micro-scholarships – small scholarships tied to specific accomplishments – from Clarion, starting in 9th grade for a wide range of individual achievements such as taking an advanced course or joining an extracurricular activity.
"This is a unique program that helps students whose parents did not go to college and do not really understand what colleges are looking for, learn and be rewarded for doing the things that we value," said David McFarland, director of scholarships at Clarion. "The better their grades, the higher a micro-scholarship they receive. If they get perfect attendance, they get a micro-scholarship. If they visit colleges, they get a scholarship. If they take the SAT or ACT and score above a certain mark, they will get a scholarship. Plus, they see what they need to do to earn higher scholarships, and those who catch on can earn more scholarship money – making college affordable for them."
The school that the student chooses to attend will award the funds as a merit scholarship to the student and apply it to their account
Raise.me is a social enterprise focused on expanding access to higher education, especially among low-income and first-generation students. Raise.me was developed in response to the fact that most scholarships and grants today are awarded by colleges at the very end of high school - after a student has already done well or not, applied to a college or not, and been accepted or not - which is often too late to impact a student's college ambitions or choices.
The program allows students to track specific goals they want to accomplish throughout high school, helping them become more competitive college applicants and more successful college students.
Students, educators, and parents can learn more about Raise.me at https://www.raise.me/join/clarionu. For information about other scholarships available to Clarion University students, visit www.clarion.edu/externalscholarships.