The cost of a college education is rising. TheNational Center for Education Statisticsstates that, from the 2008 to 2009 school year to the 2018 to 2019 school year, the cost of tuition, fees, and board at public colleges and universities rose 28%. At private nonprofit schools, the costs of college rose 19%, after being adjusted for inflation. Covering those rising costs may be difficult. A scholarship program may require you to fill out the FAFSA if it’s a need based award.
Scholarships may fill the financial gap for some families. They may help students with unmet financial need or be based on merit. Typically, students may not pay back scholarships. According to a report fromSallie Mae, 7 in 10 families (73%) used a scholarship to pay for college education for the 2019 to 2020 school year. In the 2018 to 2019 school year, 82% did so. Of the total, 33% of families used grants and scholarships. This helped them pay for college. Many students could use them to cover tuition, books, or other costs. This may help alleviate some financial stress.
Why Scholarships Are Important for Your Company?
Scholarships provide financial support for students to help pay for a college degree. These funds enable students to obtain education they may not have access to otherwise. Scholarships go further than being financial aid for many students. They reward deserving students with the ability to afford higher education. This could help them pursue a college degree. They bring brand awareness of sponsoring companies to students who want to jumpstart their career.
They may attract students to those sponsoring organizations for possible employment. Scholarships create community support and engage more people with brands who may not have other connections to them.
What Are the Benefits of Starting a Scholarship?
College scholarships are vital to many students. They may help companies in branding and reach. They may help companies give back to the community as well. Several types of scholarships are available to deserving scholarship recipients. Consider these other reasons on why are scholarships important.
1. Make College Education Accessibleand Affordable
Scholarships could be valuable when it comes to paying for higher education.Sallie Maenotes as much as 65% of college students use them to help cover costs. Students tend to not pay back scholarships. This opens doors for those who may not otherwise have the funds to attend school. It may also lessen the burden later, after school. Then, they may not have student loans to repay. According to Sallie Mae’s How America Pays for College report, 58% of families use scholarshipsto help pay for college. Scholarships and grants provide 25% of coverage for college costs per family.
2. Encourage Philanthropy Within the Company
Scholarships enable companies to give back. They may also play a role in corporate social responsibility. This helps companies find ways to play a role in the support of the community. In this way, they may help the company to be a leader within the community. Companies may wish to focus on charities, organizations, or other aspects based on the company’s values. This may allow them to help support local community efforts.
Scholarships also teach philanthropy. A student receiving a scholarship may be grateful for it. In turn, they see the value of giving back. They learn the importance of serving the public. They may be more willing to give back to others in the future.
3. Attract and Retain Talent
Some scholarships incorporate internship opportunities. College students may benefit from gaining work experience after their education. The scholarship could help companies attract new talent.
Sometimes, those new employees through the internship could be valuable. They bring new insights from their college education into the company. This may support the company’s need for innovation. It’s also important to support current employees. Many current employees may want to go back to school. They may want to pursue a graduate degree. Scholarships could help employers retain these employees.
4. Create Brand Awareness
Providing scholarship assistance may help companies build their brand. School students seek out scholarships often with their parents. They get to know the companies they apply to. The marketing of such scholarships also helps the community as a whole to know the company. Some scholarships could support students in the local community.
All of these things help the company to build their brand. It helps companies to gain recognition for their efforts. It gets the business’ name out there. It creates more engagement opportunities for the company with its prospective customers.
5. Provide Support to Students in Need
Scholarships may be essential for many college students. This type of financial assistance may be the only way a student affords to attend a college or university. Without it, they may not be able to pursue their career goals. Providing a scholarship fund is a good way to give back to students in need. It’s especially important when students have a high GPA, ambitious goals, and a drive to support others in public service.
Here’s an example. Scholarships lessen the financial burden of school. Student loans may offer students in need to get into school. However, the cost of paying back student loans later may be high. Many students usually have to work during their time in school to meet other financial needs. This leads to less time to focus on their studies. Scholarships may help to fill in the gaps necessary. Scholarships could help decrease the number of student loans needed. Scholarships directly reduce how much a student needs to pay for their education out of pocket. They also reduce how much time they have to work. This may give them more time to study.
6. Encourage Diversity
Scholarships encourage diversity by enabling more people from various ethnic backgrounds to achieve their academic goals and career dreams. In some minority populations, the financial burden of higher education seems insurmountable. However, completing a scholarship application may open the door for those students to help pay for school.
7. Support Employees in Their Continued Education
Scholarships could support employees and their continued educational needs. They provide valuable funds to keep employees learning. It may help them remain more engaged in the industry or create new opportunities.
Highschool students are not the only ones who need help. Employees pursuing graduate school may need a bit of help. Those who need continuing education credits may as well. Companies set the terms for eligibility. They may wish to focus just on their employee. Their scholarship program may also help employee’s children or dependents.
It is possible, for example, to establish a scholarship to encourage current employees to complete their master’s degree. Other times, companies may encourage employees to diversify their education. They may wish to study a new field. Some may wish to go to school part time to enhance key skills in a related area. Company scholarships could also boost employee morale and support non traditional students. They may also show appreciation for employees’ hard work.
8. Useful for Market Research
Scholarships may help companies get to know their community better. They may help companies gain more insight into who is interested in the field. Sometimes scholarships open the door for new ideas and inspirations. The application process may involve a wide range of questions that may help in gathering this type of data and insight. Some application questions may include:
- What is your estimated household income?
- Which best describes your race or ethnicity?
- What is your age (or age range)?
- What is your gender?
- What is your employment status?
Companies may wish to create a scholarship that requests insight and information from college and highschool students. It could help to support decisions within the company itself. For example, this may allow companies to gain insight into what customers are interested in and what ideas they have for future development.
9. Boost Product Sales and Downloads
In some situations, scholarships may help to increase product sales or downloads. This may help companies to gain new potential customers and clients. Scholarship opportunities or applications may be a way to get marketing data to help support further efforts. As a result, it builds brand recognition. It may help with branding for the company as well. A required download may open the door for ways to communicate with that potential customer for years to come.
