Private Scholarships Count: Access to Higher Education and the Critical Role of the Private Sector
Published May 2005
Study showing that private aid assists students and their families in numerous ways and helps to achieve goals that cannot or should not be a part of other financial aid
Private scholarship aid represents a key part of the last frontier of our knowledge about how students pay for college. While private scholarships have been a part of the college financing equation for decades, no systematic effort has ever been attempted to estimate how much private aid is awarded and to whom. This study is important for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that paying for college has now become one of the most important lifetime financial investments that individuals can make. We believe this study shows that private aid assists students and their families in numerous ways and helps to achieve goals that cannot or should not be a part of other financial assistance, such as aid provided by government or directly from colleges and universities.