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Scholarships 101
How St. Lawrence Does Its Part for Educational Access with Assistance from Alumni, Parents and Friends

This is a quiz.  The answers may astound you.
a) What do 83% of all St. Lawrence students have in common?
b) How is St. Lawrence different from Harvard?
c) In what way does St. Lawrence outrank Princeton?
The Answers:
a) This year, 83% of all St. Lawrence students receive financial aid; 78% receive financial aid directly from St. Lawrence resources.  (The remaining 5% receive aid from outside sources such as the state and federal government or community-based scholarships.)      In other words, of all the students who receive financial aid
at St. Lawrence University, 94% of them receive their aid directly from the University’s own resources.
b) Twenty-one percent of the U.S. students at St. Lawrence in the class of 2009 qualify for Pell Grants; 7% of undergraduates at Harvard qualify.  Pell grants, funded by the federal government, are awarded to students in the lowest income brackets. 
c) Princeton is proud that 52% of its undergraduates receive financial aid.  At St. Lawrence, 83% of our students receive financial aid.
           
What’s financial aid?
A St. Lawrence financial aid package typically contains these elements:
1) Scholarships and grants from University resources:   St. Lawrence dedicates about $28.6 million each year to scholarship aid and grants. 
2) Scholarships and grants from external sources, such as the federal Pell Grant and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG).
3) Student loans: Most common are federal subsidized and unsubsidized low-interest loan programs. The average borrower indebtedness for members of the Class of 2005 was $26,274, so the University has an important goal to replace, as much as possible, loans with outright scholarships and grants. 
4) Student employment: Students are usually paid an hourly wage, which many put toward personal expenses.

• As noted in (1), St. Lawrence dedicates $28.6 million of its own money to financial aid. Some details:
• The average SLU grant/scholarship offered to the class of 2009 was $18,166; the average aid package (including aid from all sources) was $28,411.
• Because the University expends approximately $60,000 per student per year in total operating and capital spending, every student benefits from a substantial institutional subsidy, regardless of aid status.
• The range of grants for this class was $1,000 to $42,541.
• Where does this money come from?  In large part, but not exclusively, alumni, parents and friends. 

There are two ways that a donor can set up a scholarship at St. Lawrence:

• Named endowed scholarships can be set up with gifts of $75,000 or more payable over five years. The gift is placed in endowment and approximately 5.5% of the fund value is available to be awarded each year in perpetuity. 
• Expendable scholarships, awarded with a minimum gift of $2,500 for each year in which they are awarded.

St. Lawrence would just not be St. Lawrence without its strong and deep commitment to financial aid, according to Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Terry Cowdrey, who in the Summer 2005 issue of this newsletter explained, “We have a high percentage of students from families of lower resources – in part, because we have remained committed to enrolling top North Country students, many of whom need substantial financial assistance, and in part because we believe that all of our students will have a stronger educational experience if they attend college with students of varying socioeconomic backgrounds.”
           
Some Recently Funded Scholarships That Set an Example

• William J. Crombie '69

  The Sabra J. Bartlett ’74 Endowed Scholarship, to benefit North Country students.
• The Forelli Family Scholarship, for students who have financial need. 
• The William J. ’69 and Jill S. ’69 Crombie Scholarship, which is awarded to students with financial need, preferably from, with second preference to students from countries other than the United States because, says Bill, “As the world continues to get smaller, the need for better understanding among cultures is becoming more important.”
• The Waddie N.’54 and Judith P. Kalil Scholarship for students from the Town of Webb High School in Old Forge, N.Y., a small Adirondack community, where Waddie grew up.
• The C. Chandler Perine ’67 and Michael Deane ’67 Memorial Scholarship, in memory of two fraternity brothers who died in the Vietnamese War.