{"id":47204,"date":"2024-01-25T14:57:47","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T14:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelandmark.com\/?p=47204"},"modified":"2024-01-25T14:57:47","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T14:57:47","slug":"umass-offeringscholarships-for-mass-community-college-grads-in-top-10-percent-of-their-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2024\/01\/25\/umass-offeringscholarships-for-mass-community-college-grads-in-top-10-percent-of-their-class\/","title":{"rendered":"UMass offeringscholarships for Mass. community college grads in top 10 percent of their class"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WORCESTER \u2014 The University of Massachusetts has announced that the top 10 percent of the Commonwealth\u2019s future community college graduates will receive a minimum of $5,000 per year above federal and private financial aid if they enroll at one of the four nationally ranked UMass campuses in Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell.<\/p>\n

The Community College Advantage Scholarship is designed to incentivize highly talented community college students to finish their associate degree at one of the Commonwealth\u2019s 15 community colleges, and then complete their bachelor\u2019s degree at UMass.<\/p>\n

The CCAS also seeks to address two challenges facing public higher education in Massachusetts:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Providing equitable access to historically underrepresented groups of students in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on race-based admissions, and<\/p>\n

\u2022 Strengthening the Commonwealth\u2019s talent pipeline as the number of high school graduates in Massachusetts is projected to decline in the coming years, the existing population is aging out of the workforce, and more young people are leaving the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to send a clear message that UMass welcomes highly talented community college graduates to continue their pursuit of a college degree on our nationally ranked Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell campuses,\u201d UMass President Marty Meehan said. \u201cWe believe this initiative will lead to more community college graduates choosing to finish their four-year degree at UMass, which will accelerate their upward economic trajectory and strengthen the Commonwealth\u2019s workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Quinsigamond Community College, we are an inclusive institution that works to offer everyone the opportunity to achieve their dreams of obtaining a higher education. The Community College Advantage Scholarship is exciting news for our community college students and the Commonwealth,\u201d said QCC President Dr. Luis G. Pedraja. \u201cEnsuring our top tier students have the financial ability to advance in their higher education within the state is not only a win for them, but also for their families and our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting in Fall 2024, the CCAS will help develop and retain diverse talent in Massachusetts by:<\/p>\n

Guaranteeing students in the top 10 percent of their community college graduating class automatic admission to a University of Massachusetts campus and a minimum of $2,500 per semester ($5,000 annually) for a total of at least $10,000 for the students\u2019 final two years of college. Students remain eligible for additional aid based on individual circumstances. The CCAS will supplement federal and private grants awarded to the student.<\/p>\n

To be eligible for the Fall 2024 CCAS, students must:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Complete their degree in the top 10 percent of their graduating class at their college. This will be calculated as of the end of the semester prior to the UMass financial aid priority deadline (Students applying for fall admission must have been in the top 10 percent of their class as of the end of the Fall 2023 semester).<\/p>\n

\u2022 Complete the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or equivalent state financial aid application.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Be eligible for in-state tuition.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Have earned 45+ credits that are transferable to UMass.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Be on track to complete their associate degree prior to the Fall 2024 semester.<\/p>\n

The CCAS is the latest in a series of state and UMass initiatives aimed at expanding access to a four-year college degree, which data shows significantly enhances a person\u2019s lifetime income.<\/p>\n

The university has increased annual institutional financial aid by 67 percent to $395 million since 2015 and has launched an early college program that allows high school students in urban centers to earn UMass course credit while still in high school, thereby saving them tuition costs once they get to college.<\/p>\n

The state has recently made community college tuition free for students 25 years of age and older and has expanded the MassGrant Plus program by $62 million to make public higher education more affordable for lower- and middle-income students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WORCESTER \u2014 The University of Massachusetts has announced that the top 10 percent of the Commonwealth\u2019s future community college graduates will receive a minimum of $5,000 per year above federal and private financial aid if they enroll at one of the four nationally ranked UMass campuses in Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell. The Community College […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":96545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-school-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}