Andrews University has an awesome merit-based scholarship program accompanied by a generous gift aid program. I say this after working more than a decade in student financial services on more than one campus. During that time, I’ve seen a variety of scholarship programs and efforts to help families afford a Seventh-day Adventist college education. I believe our new program reflects Andrews University’s strong commitment to partner with families to achieve their educational dreams.
The Andrews Partnership Scholarship was first introduced to our 2002–03 freshman class. Each freshman was awarded from $1,000 to $6,000 based on their ACT/SAT scores and academy/high school GPA. Because our scholarship commitment is for four years, many of those freshmen have received $12,000 from Andrews University by the end of their sophomore year. By their graduation, they could receive $24,000! That’s an awesome partnership!
Because these scholarships are based on academy/high school scholastic performance, it is important for parents of seventh- and eighth-grade students to encourage their children to do their best as they enter their academy/high school years. For students who are already in academy/high school, it is important for them to recognize that their academic performance will make a big difference in their Andrews Partnership Scholarship eligibility.
The Andrews Partnership Scholarship is also available to undergraduate transfer students whose college GPAs are 2.5 or higher. The renewable scholarship amounts are $1,500 to $4,000. This is great news, because many of these transfer students ran out of merit scholarships after their freshman year at other schools. This is just part of the story, though. How do we partner with families in financial need?
The need-based portion of our financial award to students is our Andrews Gift … and is just that … a gift. Andrews Gift funds are available to undergraduate students based on their FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) information. We provide Andrews Gift to satisfy a percentage of need with free money. In fact, we have awarded our students with not just a $6,000 Andrews Partnership Scholarship, but also an additional Andrews Gift of more than $4,000. That’s more than $10,000 in free money for one academic year from Andrews University! In addition, federal and state aid might be available, depending on the individual student’s award.
Why has Andrews University taken such a significant step in partnering with students and their families? It’s simple: We believe God Himself designed Adventist education. We believe Adventist education is part of God’s redemptive plan. In turn, we are committed to helping students develop their full potential to serve their Creator and Redeemer. Be blessed by the miracle stories we share in this issue. Miracle stories our students are experiencing now … not years ago … now!
If you are contemplating beginning or continuing an undergraduate or graduate program and are interested in receiving financial aid, we'd like to hear from you. Let us know what we can do for you. There's still time to apply for fall 2004.
Please call us at (269) 471-3334, e-mail us at sfs@andrews.edu, and explore our new student financial services Web site for prospective students (including details on financial aid priority dates, a calculator to determine Andrews Partnership Scholarship award levels, complete details on our student financial services advisors, links to important information, and more):
http://www.connect.andrews.edu/studentfinance.
We cordially invite you to come see us during a workshop at one of the Lake Union academies, or in our office on the Andrews University campus. Also look for us at Lake Union camp meetings. Wherever we meet, let’s talk about our partnership in Adventist education. Students, their families, Andrews University, and God—that’s an awesome partnership.
Jerri Gifford, student financial services director
