In the face of skyrocketing college costs and limited public
funding available to students the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara
enjoyed a record setting year.
"Everyone tells us how important it is to go to college, but nobody
understands that with all the loans I'm going to be in debt for a really
long time," says one recent high school graduate preparing for college. "I
just don't know how I'm going to pull it off."
College education rates are rising faster than students' ability to pay
for them. That's why the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara is so
important.
We're successful because our mission is simple: We receive money from the
community and give it back through investments in students as they pursue
higher education.
This was a record-setting year for the Scholarship Foundation. Three
records were set, two we are proud of, one we are striving to erase.
Our first record set is the total amount of money raised that went to
scholarships. This year we awarded a total of $800,000 in scholarships,
sending local students of all ages to colleges and universities around the
country. This is a record of which we are very proud. Our first record led
directly to our second.
In 1995 we funded a total of 635 students, a growth of 73% since 1991-a
truly noteworthy record. These 635 students represent a truly diverse
group of recipients, from single mothers working to finish their degrees,
to young men who are the first in their families to attend college. (you
can read about some of our recipients
throughout this Report.)
Our third record is one we are striving to erase. This year we turned down
a record 257 qualified students. These students will apply again, and in
1996 we will do all we can to let them know the community is behind
them.
Every student we send to college represents the generosity of our
community. We, at the foundation, are only the middlemen; it's the
community's money, and as stewards of that money we want you to share in
our pride.
A question often asked by those who have already graduated and do not
remember college being so expensive is "How bad is it?"
In just five years, in the University of California system, college costs
rose 40%. Needless to say, high school job wages- and parent wages- are
not increasing at the same rate.
Student employment can only pay a fraction of the educational price, which
means students must seek out college loans, which in turn means they
graduate with years of debt.
As reported in the College Board News last December, "College students are
shouldering larger and larger debts to cover their expenses-which may lead
to a 'deeply mortgaged future' for many young people in our
society..."
Students are told to pursue their college dreams, but they are graduating
with their hands tied behind their backs, bound in debt by college
loans.
And it's not just the financially needy who cannot afford college. The
middle to upper-middle classes also feel the crunch. Costs at private
colleges and universities are not going down. Four years of private
college can cost more than $100,000.
As U.S. News & World Report reported last December, "Average
tuition at four-year colleges will increase six percent this school year,
double the rate of inflation."
But there is some good news, and it directly involves the Scholarship
Foundation. Students who recieve grants or scholarships during their first
year of college are more likely to stay in school. As was reported in
Student Aid News in March 1995:
"Poor students are more likely to stay in college if they recieve grants
their first year...students would worry less about financial pressure
during their first year, when they are the most vulnerable to drop
out."
The scholarships provided by the Scholarship Foundation not only help
students go to school, they also help students stay in school.
We have all heard the trite, yet accurate adage, "If you think education
is expensive, try ignorance." But these days, the painful truth that lies
on both sides of that saying haunt any student who is looking to enter the
world of higher education. But the prospect of not going to college is
even more financially daunting.
The income difference between high school and college graduates is 42%,
and the gap is widening.
In the end, as responsible citizens, we must make college available for
those with the motivation and desire to go.
For 33 years we've help assist more than 9,000 local students, not only to
pursue their long-held dreams, but also to create new ones. We thank you,
our students thank you.
