Financial Aid Research Paper

Salmon 1
Donovan M. A. Salmon
Dr. Margarette Connor
ENG 101-116: English Composition
28 March 2014
Academic Scholarships: Untapped Financial Resource
The pursuit of a college education has continued to be a daunting experience for college bound students and the parents who support them. Adult students who are responsible for their own support, while pursuing a college degree, can find themselves delaying their academic pursuits because of the escalating cost. In some extreme cases, they opt to abandon their goals completely because they are unable to finance the cost. Other students may opt to take on the burden of crippling debt in order to finance their college education. This stark reality was emphasized by President Barack
Obama in his speech at Henninger High School, Syracuse, New York on August 22,
2013. The President stated, "The average student who borrows for college now graduates owing more than $26,000, and a lot of young people owe a lot more than that" (Obama). Are academic scholarships—the untapped financial resource—the key to unlocking the code of a debt free college education?
Financial planning and developing a budget of the estimated cost of a college education is an integral component of the college planning process. Considering the escalating cost of a college education, delaying the pursuit of one 's education could mean that it will be more expensive later. Developing a college budget will help students

Salmon 2 identify how the financial cost of their

Example of A College Budget:
COST/YEAR

Fall-Semester 1

Spring-Semester 2

education will be distributed, and what
$
$
$
$
$

2,280.00
680.00
800.00
1,020.00
680.00

$ 10,920.00 $

5,460.00 $

5,460.00

Source of Financing
Personal Funds:
Room and Board
$ 1,360.00 $
Personal Expenses
$ 1,360.00 $

680.00 $

680.00

680.00 $

680.00

$ 5,646.00 $
$ 1,513.00
$ 7,159.00 $

2,823.00 $
$
2,823.00 $

2,823.00
1,513.00
4,336.00

$ 8,519.00 $

3,503.00 $

5,016.00

Scholarships or Loans $ 2,401.00 $

financed by scholarships or loans. There

$
$
$
$
$

TOTAL COST 1st year

element of the cost may have to be

TUITION AND FEES
ROOM AND BOARD
BOOKS AND SUPPLIES
PERSONAL EXPENSES
TRANSPORTATION

4,560.00
1,360.00
1,600.00
2,040.00
1,360.00

$
$
$
$
$

2,280.00
680.00
800.00
1,020.00
680.00

1,957.00 $

444.00

5,460.00 $

5,460.00

are tools available on the internet that can help students with this process. A useful resource is The College Board website. Myra Smith, past Executive

Financial Aid:
Pell Grant
TAP

Director of Financial Aid Services at The
College Board (Smith), provides a brief synopsis of how to start the thinking process around the cost of college and developing the financial plan.

Personal Funds + Aid

TOTAL COST 1st year

$ 10,920.00 $

Source: Example of a college budget developed by
Donovan Salmon.

Students attending BMCC, as a freshman responsible for their own support for the academic year 2013-2014 can expect to pay $2,100.00 per semester or between
$180.00 to $370.00 per credit in tuition cost plus other fees. The model presented is a budget for a freshman. It is clear from the data that this student would have to apply for a scholarship or a loan to cover the cost of $2,401.00 that could not be financed by personal funds and financial aid.
Investing the time and energy to explore the financial benefits of academic scholarships could make a difference—not having to abandon one 's academic goals or incur long-term debt—having the financial freedom and resources to achieve one 's academic potential. Scholarships provide financial resources that can be utilized by

Salmon 3 students to finance the cost of their college education. The funding provided by scholarships do not have to be repaid by the student. Scholarships, when combined with Federal student grants and Federal work study programs, can help to cover the cost of a college education, possibly eliminating the need to apply for a loan. There is a variety of scholarships on the BMCC website available to the student population. BMCC scholarships are administered by the BMCC Foundation, Inc. Applying for a BMCC scholarship has specific requirements. Applicants must complete an online application, submit a personal statement, obtain two recommendations and maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average. It is also recommended that students applying for scholarships get involved in the BMCC community by volunteering.
Christopher S. Penn, author of Scholarship Search Secrets, alludes most students applying for scholarships often make fundamental mistakes that compromise their scholarship applications. Penn, in his book, provides very useful information that can help students successfully navigate the scholarship search and application process.
Penn suggests that students pay critical attention to the elements that will improve their opportunity for receiving a scholarship. One of the most vital elements of the scholarship application process is the Scholarship Essay, also known as a Personal
Statement. Students often fail to take advantage of the scholarship opportunities that are available because they are required to submit a personal statement and find this process intimidating. Considering the potential financial benefits that can be derived from applying for scholarships, why would students not apply? Penn indicates that the scholarship search is a full time job (Penn 10). Penn also states, "While it may seem that many scholarships are intended for the very top academic performers or the

Salmon 4 poorest students, the reality is that there are scholarships for everyone" (11). However, based on data available on the website for The National Center for Education Statistics, scholarships account for the smallest percentage of financial aid resources that are utilized by students. Clearly everyone is not taking advantage of the scholarships that are available.
Full-time Beginning Undergraduate Students

This chart with statistical data


Beginning students are those who are entering postsecondary education for the first time.
NUMBER
RECEIVING AID

PERCENT
RECEIVING AID

TOTAL AMOUNT OF AID
RECEIVED

Any student financial aid1

4,391

86%

——

——

Grant or scholarship aid

4,301

84%

$26,328,723

$6,122

Federal grants

4,123

80%

$19,357,405

$4,695

Pell grants

4,122

80%

$19,135,230

$4,642

515

10%

$222,175

$431

3,185

62%

$6,942,618

$2,180
$1,511

provided by The National Center for

TYPE OF AID

Education Statistics provides some

Other federal grants
State/local government grant or scholarships

information on the scholarships awarded

Institutional grants or scholarships 19

BMCC full-time beginning



$1,510,945

$3,945

7%

$1,510,945

$3,945

0

Other student loans
1

$28,700

7%

383

Federal student loans

0%

383

Student loan aid

and other financial aid data related to

AVERAGE AMOUNT OF
AID RECEIVED

0%

$0

—

Includes students receiving Federal work study aid and aid from other sources not listed above.
All Undergraduate Students
TYPE OF AID

undergraduate students for the

Grant or scholarship aid1 NUMBER RECEIVING
AID

PERCENT
RECEIVING AID

TOTAL AMOUNT OF AID
RECEIVED

AVERAGE AMOUNT OF AID
RECEIVED



statistical information indicated that only
19 institutional scholarships and grants were awarded to full-time beginning



72%

$89,353,395

$5,093

16,599

68%

$66,023,883

$3,978

Federal student loans academic year 2011-2012. The

17,545

Pell grants

2,710

11%

$12,483,264

$4,606

1

Grant or scholarship aid includes aid received, from the federal government, state or local government, the institution, and other sources known by the institution.

For more information on Student Financial Assistance Programs or to apply for financial aid via the web, visit Federal Student Aid.

Source: The National Center for Education Statistics

undergraduate students. This represented approximately 0.4%, of the 5,120
full-time beginning undergraduate students.1 The value of the scholarships awarded amounted to $28,700 an average of $1,511.00 per student. Compared to student loans 7.0% of the reported population or 383 students received loans amounting to $1,510,945.00, an average of $3,945.00 per student.
A review of the BMCC Factbook, produced by the

1

The statistical data above indicates that 4,301 full-time beginning undergraduate students, 84%, received financial aid consisting of Grants and Scholarships.

Salmon 5
BMCC Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, page 70-71 indicated a similar trend for the academic year 2011-2012. BMCC Foundation scholarships were awarded to 326 recipients, approximately 1.5% of the 21,612 students that received financial aid.
The value of the scholarships awarded was $458,487.00 an average of $1,406.00 per student. Student loans were disbursed to 4,505 students, representing approximately
20% of the students receiving financial aid, amounting to $13,652,883 an average of
$3,031.00 per student.
In summary, after comparing the data from two independent sources, it is clear that there is a huge disparity between students who received loans and students who received scholarships. Based on the relatively low number of students that received scholarships, I wish to state that the student population should strive to take advantage of the funding provided by scholarships. Scholarships will help to lower the cost
of college, and in some cases eliminate the debt that students have to bear resulting from the escalating cost of a college education. Why would students not take advantage of the help? The BMCC Learning Resource Center has a wealth of resources available to assist the student community, requiring help with developing and writing a compelling personal statement for their scholarship application. Delay no further. Do not miss the deadline and leave all that money on the table.

Salmon 6

Works Cited
Assessment, The Office of Institutional Reasearch and. http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/iresearch/factbook/index.jsp. n.d. Web. 1 April 2014.
BMCC Foundation, Inc. Home. n.d. Web. 17 March 2014.
Education, US Department of. "Institute of Education Science." June 2013. National Center for Education
Statistics. Web IPEDS 2012-2013, Winter Collection. 17 March 2014.
Obama, Barack. YouTube. 22 August 2013. Web. 17 March 2014.
.
BMCC Scholarship Office. Writing the Scholarship Essay. n.d. Web. 17 March 2014.
Scholarship Office. Scholarship/Award Programs Administered by BMCC. n.d. Web. 17 March 2014.
.
Penn, Christopher S. Scholarship Search Secrets. http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/, Copyright
1998 - 2009. eBook.
Salmon, Donovan. Example of the college cost budget. Budget. New York: Self, 2014. Document.
Smith, Myra. "College Cost: FAQs" College Board. n.d. Web. 17 March 2014.
.