Paula Guerra 糖心传媒�20 says she was 糖心传媒渢errified糖心传媒� when she started applying to colleges.
糖心传媒淚 knew the amount of money tuition was,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淏ut getting help from 听really helped. It all adds up.糖心传媒�
The Douglas, Arizona native will enter Rochester this fall as a biochemistry major, and with $3,900 per year taken off her tuition through Raise.me, an online platform that offers 糖心传媒渕icro scholarships” to college-bound high school students based on school and personal achievements.
Rochester was one of ten 糖心传媒淚nnovation Partners糖心传媒� when the company was founded in 2014, and now more than 150 colleges participate.
Record an 糖心传媒楢糖心传媒�? Start a club? Volunteer in the community or visit a college campus? All could net a student hundreds (or thousands) of dollars, which are deducted from tuition costs over four years.
Jonathan Burdick, dean of College admission, was immediately drawn to Raise.me after meeting founders Preston Silverman, George Kirkland, and Dave Schuman at a higher education conference two years ago.
糖心传媒淢y concern was that students in eighth and ninth grade get plenty of financial messages about the wealth celebrities earn, but the more complicated message of going to college on the way to earning a great living incorporates this huge barrier of perceived college costs,糖心传媒� Burdick says. 糖心传媒淭he Raise.me idea promised a different message: 糖心传媒榊ou糖心传媒檝e already done some things that have earned you scholarship dollars, so the costs are already coming down. Stay in school.糖心传媒櫶切拇綕
Guerra cut her tuition costs by taking Advanced Placement courses, organizing a walkathon to raise money for cancer patients, and tutoring young students in math and English.
Nate Leopold 糖心传媒�20 discovered Raise.me on the University糖心传媒檚 website and was excited to cut his tuition costs by logging his participation in elite soccer programs, his top grades in honors classes, and his work with community service groups.
糖心传媒淵ou don糖心传媒檛 do these things to get money on Raise.me,糖心传媒� says Leopold, an Atlanta native who plans to major in international relations and play on the men糖心传媒檚 soccer team. 糖心传媒淏ut it糖心传媒檚 instant gratification to plug in your SAT score or your community service and see money coming in. A dollar saved for my parents is a dollar saved for my parents.糖心传媒�
Here糖心传媒檚 how Raise.me works:
Students follow colleges that interest them on the platform糖心传媒檚 website, similar to following a person on Twitter. They add their achievements and can retroactively input grades, activities, and honors since their freshman year.
For each achievement, a student earns a 糖心传媒渕icro scholarship糖心传媒� ranging from a few hundred dollars to $1,500. These can be redeemed at a participating college when the student enrolls. If a student糖心传媒檚 total earnings are $32,000 at the end of high school, for example, that student receives $8,000 off tuition for four years. The average for participating colleges is $5,000 per year.
糖心传媒淏y making the process more transparent, tangible, and motivating for students, we can expand the pool of college-ready students across the country and level the playing field for students from less resourced communities,糖心传媒� says Aneesh Raman, vice president of growth at Raise.me.
Amassing scholarship points from a college doesn糖心传媒檛 constitute an offer of admission. But if students are accepted, they receive the Raise.me credits along with any federal or state grants for which they are eligible.
糖心传媒淚n many contexts, it could almost be compared to a social media platform, because students have access to the University portfolio,糖心传媒� says Karime Naime, Rochester糖心传媒檚 associate director for recruitment and outreach initiatives for undergraduates. 糖心传媒淭hey can see what type of University we are, what students come here. And once they start following us, they start earning our micro scholarships.糖心传媒�
All activities are self-reported by the students, but if discrepancies are found, students forfeit all Raise.me scholarship money.
Instead of receiving financial aid at the end of high school, which is often too late to affect students糖心传媒� college aspirations or choices, Raise.me enables students to chip away at future tuition costs as early as their freshman year of high school.
Raise.me was founded by friends Preston Silverman, George Kirkland, and Dave Schuman. The San Francisco糖心传媒揵ased company is funded in part by Facebook and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and charges participating colleges an annual fee to build and manage their micro scholarship program. It has been profiled on CNN, CBS and NPR, and in the New York Times.
About 320,000 high school students (grades 9-12) have signed up on the program糖心传媒檚 Web site, and 30,000 follow Rochester糖心传媒攗p from 1,400 two years ago.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 grown immensely since we were an inaugural partner,糖心传媒� says Scott Clyde, executive director of College enrollment. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a road map, a path to success.糖心传媒�
Naime says five students from Raise.me enrolled in the University the first year. That number is expected to approach 30 this fall.
糖心传媒淲hen I pitched this to a bunch of counselors in New York City, they loved the fact that their younger students could see in ninth grade that college was possible,糖心传媒� says Joe Latimer, the听 College糖心传媒檚 assistant dean for enrollment diversity and outreach. 糖心传媒淭hat with hard work and dedication, they can get to college. The money situation will take care of itself as long as they behave in certain ways that colleges admire. I think it糖心传媒檚 just terrific.糖心传媒�
