HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A Bay area student who recently graduated from Armwood High School, made Princeton University more affordable by applying for more than 200 scholarships, reflecting growing interest in outside aid as college costs remain a concern for families.
Adeola Adeyemo said she was awarded about 40 of the scholarships she applied for, including $2,500 from the DeBartolo Family Foundation, $20,000 from the New York Life Insurance Empowerment Scholarship, $20,000 from the William Gregory Foundation and $20,000 from the Stem Scholars Program.
When choosing a college, price was her top constraint.
“College in the U.S. is just an unfathomable amount of money,” Adeyemo said. “And so it was just something I knew it was something I needed to do if I was going to enter these spaces.”
According to Education Data Initiative, tuition at private universities is almost four times the cost of in-state tuition at a public university. The organization also reports that only about 10% of students are able to land private scholarships.
“Families often rule out private universities because they think the cost is out of reach,” said Stephen Kubasek, vice president of university advancement at St. Leo University in Pasco County.
Kubasek said 98% of students at St. Leo receive some sort of financial assistance. He said the school provides up to $24,000 in scholarships to help with costs.
“We’ve definitely seen the need grow and as an institution, we’re offering more aid to our students to help them bridge that gap,” Kubasek said. “We’re seeing more donors stepping forward to help students bridge the gap as well.”
Kubasek said students should start looking for scholarship money well before senior year of high school. He also said families should check scholarship requirements and reach out to target schools to see what assistance is available.