Raise.me, a company that has created a clever new way for students to receive financial aid with the motivation of lowering the average debt per college graduate. The problem was that the $50 billion is being dished out among a smaller, self-selecting applicant pool because most
students don’t even bother applying to some colleges or universities
that would give them money — for the simple fact that they think those
same colleges are too expensive to attend. So kids aren’t applying to college because they don’t think they can
pay for it at the same time colleges are trying to find worthy
candidates to receive financial aid. To fix this issue, the company’s approach is to have colleges and universities award “micro-scholarships” for academic and
extracurricular achievements throughout high school rather than dishing
out lump-sum awards after a student applies to their school. Students don’t have to pick and choose which school they want to receive
the aid from, but can expect to receive a cumulative amount of $20,000 in financial aid and scholarships throughout their high school career. Since it was founded in 2012, Raise.me has helped colleges award nearly $1
billion in student aid packages. Do you think this is an efficient way to handle the current student debt problem we are experiencing in America? Do you think this will eventually lead to the average student graduating with less debt in the future?
https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/29/raise-me-grabs-12-million-to-fix-how-colleges-provide-financial-aid/
I think that this is a better way for colleges to distribute their aid, particularly for future students. With the aid not being tied to studying at a particular school, students are able to choose a college or university based on fit, and not simply because the school is offering them the highest aid package. Graduating with approximately $20,000 less in debt is also not a bad deal. But the real problem - ridiculously high tuition prices - is not solved. However, it would certainly put people in a better financial position both going in and coming out of college. And I think it's a good solution from a party who can't do anything to change the price of a college education.
ReplyDeleteI think this is actually a really clever idea and I wish I had known about it! Knowing exactly how much aid you have earned before applying to a school can make a huge difference for any student. I know that personally it would've made a HUGE difference for me. I chose not to come to K out of high school because I couldn't commit to that much debt each year. It seemed ridiculous. If I had already known that I had roughly $20,000 in scholarships & aid, I more than likely would've gone to K right out of high school!
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a great option for prospective college students. However, 20,000 dollars does not do much for the extreme debt of many student. I do hope, however, that this program can help to eliminate some of the "self-selecting" that occurs in the college application process that leads to greater inequality.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Zoe. I'm not sure how this would eliminate the debt problem, but it would definitely diversify applicant pools, and hopefully expand access to many different demographics.
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