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Question/Answer Sheet For The. Charlottesville Public Schools Scholarship 1. What's the need? A poll of Buford Middle School 7`h graders, done in May, 2000; found that 78% want to go to college. However, only 40% of those polled believe they actually will attend college. The reasons: college is too costly, and going to college would defer needed earnings. College is seen as an unattainable goal for the majority of these students. There is, in fact, a need for more scholarship funding (see #2). Moreover, low-income students usually come from families that never sent anyone to college; thus, college isn't in the mindset and plans of the students, their parents and their older siblings. The need, then, is both for money as well as the hope that money provides: if students learn by middle school that college funds are available to those who work hard and do well in high school, and if there are no bureaucratic hassles in applying for these funds, it will change many students' perceptions of themselves and their goals. 2. Aren't there a number of other scholarship programs available for low-income students? • Yes, there are both scholarships and loan programs available. Loans, of course, saddle students with enormous debt for many years after graduation. Some low income students select colleges based on which ones offer the best fmancial aid packages. But those schools are often not the most appropriate ones for the applicants. The Charlottesville Public Schools Scholarship offers deserving students important advantages that other funds don't offer: flexibility, simplicity, and local access. It is flexible: the program is not limited to those living in poverty; many families of modest incomes need assistance sending kids to college. It is simple; there are no complicated bureaucratic forms to apply. It is locally administered, making it easy for students to work through any questions and.problems they have during the application process, and encouraging students to return to Charlottesville after graduation. Finally, professionals working with low-income students report that there simply is never enough money to meet the need. This fund makes a small but important contribution to that need. 3. What difference will this make for the scholarship recipients? For the City? There is a great deal of concrete evidence that going to college makes a big difference in the lives of young adults. The unemployment rate for those without college degrees is twice that of college graduates. College graduates earn one and a half to two times as much as those without degrees. College graduates are less likely to get in trouble with the law. And the skills they gain • from college enable them to give a great deal back to their communities — as certified teachers and other professionals, as active community members, and through their higher incomes (which generates higher tax revenues for the community).