Representatives of MTV were in Washington, D.C., in January. Their visit had nothing to do with shows like “Real World,” “America’s Best Dance Crew” or even “College Life,” though scholarships, grants and other forms of financial aid were on the agenda.
The MTV representatives, along with representatives of the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center, were there to speak with educators, business leaders and government officials about how to eliminate roadblocks when it comes to scholarships, grants and other forms of financial aid. Their discussions came after a College Board study found that many parents and students aren’t familiar with scholarships, grants and other forms of financial aid. Their suggestions included making the federal financial aid system less complicated and more student-oriented.
The study, Cracking the Student Aid Code, was commissioned by the non-profit College Board, which suggests that scholarships and grants can be especially important at times like this, when family incomes haven’t been rising the way that tuition costs have. Even in a slow economy, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics notes, college and university degree-holders tend to be more likely to remain employed. Many families apparently agree: 70 percent of the 1,000 parents and more than 90 percent of the 1,250 students expressing their opinions in the College Board study agreed that, in this economy, a college or university degree is more important than it has ever been.
Respondents in Cracking the Student Aid Code tended to be from low and moderate income backgrounds. They might be among many who find public, or state, colleges and universities appealing in that these two and four year institutions tend to be some of the most affordable. When students attend public colleges and universities where they live, they’re provided reduced “in-state” rates that they can further be reduced with help from scholarships, grants and other forms of financial aid. Nearly half of all parents responding to Cracking the Student Aid Code, however, said they didn’t know how much tuition at public colleges and universities in their home state costs.
Some colleges and universities have been making efforts specifically to reach out to Latino populations in their communities to let them know about scholarships, grants and other forms of financial aid. Latino students represent one of the fastest growing minority groups in the United States, and groups such as ¡Excelencia in Education! have been working to help Latino students succeed in colleges and universities – in part by providing government and education officials with the information they need about issues such as awareness of scholarships, grants and other forms of financial aid. For the time being, however, only 44 percent of Latino parents responding to Cracking the Student Aid Code said they were familiar with the federal government’s Pell Grant program.
One of the recommendations that’s been proposed for increasing scholarship, grant and financial aid awareness among the Latino population is to make information available to new parents as well as students as early as middle school. The College Board and MTV, in addition to simplifying the federal financial aid system, recommended making all students aware of scholarships, grants and other forms of financial aid way before the time comes to apply for them.
MTV and the College Board held a contest whereby people were called upon to come up with imaginative digital tools for dealing with financial aid. The responses included an interactive Avatar game for navigating the process of securing scholarships grants and loans, an interactive Facebook application including step-by-step guide for completing what’s known as FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid and an online texting, or Short Messaging Service (SMS)-based site that would alert people to new scholarships and grants and track their progress in obtaining them.
The three finalists are now vying for $10,000 and having their ideas developed with help from the College Board, MTV and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “We were blown away by our audience’s creative ideas to address this challenge,” Jason Rzepka, MTV vice president of Public Affairs, was quoted in the finalist announcement as saying. Students who are seeking school scholarships should visit Test Drive College Online to explore some of their options.
Tags: college board, financial aid, morehouse college, mtv