Forty percent of students who enroll in a four-year college don’t graduate within six years, with the major obstacle being financial – the inability to fund their education. “Many will be saddled with student debt without the earning potential to pay it off, and they’re more like to end up in default.” (NPR) That is where the Monroe Foundation’s ‘gap funding’ plays a role.
“College dropouts earn, on average, $21,000 less per year than their college graduate counterparts.” — Education Data.Org
Scholarship America lists 5 Reasons to Support Scholarship Giving:
- Student loan debt continues to rise.
- Scholarships make a tangible difference.
- A college education – or lack of one – affects us all.
- We need a smarter America.
- Your gift affects future generations.
“New research shows college graduates are less likely to lose their jobs during the coronavirus outbreak than those without a degree. That’s the finding documented in a working paper that is part of the COVID Inequality Project, a project interested in understanding how the pandemic and government policies are impacting inequality. The paper traces how the coronavirus is exacerbating existing inequality.” — Forbes, April 17, 2020
“In 2018, the median earnings for workers with only a high school diploma was $730 a week, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For those with a bachelor’s degree, it was $1,200, while those with a Master’s degree typically made $1,400 a week.” — Associated Press, November 19, 2019
“The cost of college is going up, but that doesn’t mean the return is not worth it. At nearly 14%, the return to college easily exceeds various investment benchmarks, such as the long-term return on stocks (7%) or bonds (3%).” — Inside Higher Ed, June 10, 2019
“Black students represent a larger share of the undergraduate and graduate student population than 20 years ago, and a larger share of the students who earn degrees. But Black students who began college in the fall of 2011 had higher dropout rates and lower six-year completion rates – 46% at public institutions, 57% at private institutions – than any other racial group,” — The Chronicle of Higher Education
“Student loan debt in 2020 is now about $1.56 trillion. The latest student loan debt statistics for 2020 show how serious the student loan debt crisis has become for borrowers across all demographics and age groups. There are 45 million borrowers who collectively owe nearly $1.6 trillion in student loan debt in the U.S. Student loan debt is now the second highest consumer debt category – behind only mortgage debt – and higher than both credit cards and auto loans.” — Forbes, February 3, 2020
“During the 2019-2020 academic year, U.S. colleges and universities conferred an estimated 989,000 associate degrees, 1,975,000 bachelor’s degrees, 820,000 master’s degrees, and 184,000 doctoral degrees. Women attain more degrees than men at every level.” — U.S. Department of Education
“As the fall semester gets into full swing in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, schools are noticing a concerning trend. Low-income students are the most likely to drop out or not enroll at all, raising fears that they might never get a college degree . . . The lower enrollment figures are the latest sign of how the economic devastation unleashed by the coronavirus crisis has weighed more heavily on lower-income Americans and minorities, who are suffered higher levels of unemployment and a higher incidence of Covid-19 . . . When low-income students stop attending school, they rarely return, diminishing their job and wage prospects for the rest of their lives.” — The Washington Post
