September 24, 2008

Purdue welcomes first class from Access and Success campaign

Purdue awarded $7 million to 820 Trustee Scholarship students and $3.7 million to 638 Presidential Scholarship winners this year.

The Trustees Scholarship offers an annual award of $8,000 for Indiana residents and $10,000 for out-of-state students. The Presidential Scholarship offers an annual award of $5,000 for Indiana residents and $7,000 for out-of-state students. In-state tuition is $7,750 for students enrolling this fall; non-resident students pay $23,224.

Both scholarships are renewable for up to four years of full-time enrollment at the West Lafayette campus for students who maintain a 3.0 GPA while at Purdue. To be considered for the Presidential or Trustee scholarships, students must have attained a high school GPA of 3.8 on a 4.0 scale. The Trustees Scholarship also requires either a 2000 or higher score on the SAT or a score of 30 or higher on the ACT composite and writing tests. Students scoring between 1850-1990 on the SAT or 27-29 on the ACT would be eligible for the Presidential Scholarship.

"Not only are we helping these students, we are raising the bar for all our students by extending this assistance to those who are the most academically qualified," said Pamela Horne, assistant vice president for enrollment management and dean of admissions.

To date, Purdue has raised more than $68 million for these and other new or expanded scholarships and programs.

"These scholarships are just the first phase of our expanded program to help qualified students attend Purdue," Horne said.

For students currently enrolling for next fall, two other new scholarships will be available.

Purdue Promise: The Purdue Promise ensures a Purdue education to Indiana students whose families earn $40,000 or less and who meet the requirements of the Twenty-First Century Scholars Program. Purdue will provide a combination of grant aid and work-study funding that will meet financial need for four years. These students also will benefit from academic and social support programs designed specifically for Purdue Promise scholars. The first recipients will start class in fall 2009. About 200 students a year will be enrolled, and by 2013 Horne said she expects that 880 students on campus will be part of this program.

Purdue Marquis Scholarship Program: This program helps Indiana students whose families earn $40,000-$70,000 and who qualify for minimal or no state and federal aid. The average income for Purdue student families is $70,000, and assistance will be provided on a sliding scale. The first award from the funds raised by the campaign will start in fall 2009.

For the Trustee and Presidential scholarships, complete admission applications must be on file in the Office of Admissions by Nov. 15. For the Marquis, students should file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid by March 1. Interested students can contact the Division of Financial Aid at (765) 494-5050 or go to https://www.purdue.edu/dfa  for more information on financial aid and admissions requirements.

Access and Success also is raising funds for programming to help students succeed. The funding will support:

Learning communities: These ongoing academic programs allow students to enroll in several of the same courses and live on the same residence hall floors.

The university hopes to grow participation in the learning communities from 1,400 students - almost 20 percent of the first-year class - to as many as 2,500, Horne said. Donations made this year will be applied for fall 2009.

The College Guide: This initiative will place recent Purdue graduates in high schools across Indiana to promote college as an option. The project, beginning as early as fall 2009, would focus on at least 10 Indiana high schools with low college-going rates.

Boiler Gold Rush: The campaign also is raising money to support students who want to attend Purdue's freshman orientation program, Boiler Gold Rush. This August, Purdue awarded 200 full and 100 partial fee waivers annually for students attending Boiler Gold Rush. The campaign is expected to add another 150 full and partial scholarships.

The Boilermaker Common Reading Effort: Incoming students, student leaders, faculty, staff and residents of Tippecanoe County will be enrolled in what is hoped to be the largest common reading experience in the nation, Horne said.

The reading program will help prepare students for the rigors of the university before they arrive. The program will begin in fall 2009.

For 2008-2009, Purdue expects to spend $27.5 million on various forms of donor-funded student scholarships and fellowships. Total aid from all sources is $467 million. Together with government-funded grants, more than 31,000 Purdue students will receive financial aid this year.

Writer: Jeanne Norberg, (765) 494-2084, jnorberg@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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