CLEVELAND — As many people like Julian Rogers know, going to college is an expensive investment, especially if you aren’t eligible for scholarships and financial aid.
“A lot of students have a lot of challenges and a lot of families in Cleveland have a lot of challenges, and so, sometimes day-to-day can be tough and coming up for funds for school and college is also hard,” said Local Government and Community Relations Assistant Vice President, Julian Rogers.
Rogers and Case Western Reserve University President Eric Kaler understand these financial burdens could discourage students from pursuing a college education at their school.
To alleviate this strain, Kaler says the school is putting more money into their Cleveland Scholars program, starting for the class that is enrolling in the Fall of 2024.
“We have decided and found the resources to expand our existing Cleveland Scholars program, which provided full tuition for graduates from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District or East Cleveland to full cost of attendance,” said Case Western Reserve University President Eric Kaler.
Currently, there are 56 students enrolled in the program.
With this expansion, the university hopes to double that number.
“Only 15% of our entering students are from the state of Ohio, much less from Northeast Ohio, and we’re happy with the people from the rest of the world, the rest of the country that come, but we would want to be a little bit more welcoming for our hometown students and this I think will help us do that,” said Kaler.
Elijah Smith is a hometown student. He is currently enrolled in the Cleveland Scholars program and said he wishes he could have received this same opportunity.
But he said he’s glad this additional money will be available to give other students a chance he said he’s fortunate to have.
“I know people would probably be more motivated to go to college instead of like, ‘Eh, there’s no point if I’m going to pay money,' so… it should be better on them. It will be easier on them than it is on me,” said Smith.
The expanded Cleveland Scholars program will cover tuition and fees in addition to on-campus housing, books, supplies and personal expenses.
To be eligible, you must have attended a CMSD school, including CMSD Partner Charter Schools, or East Cleveland Public School for your final two years of high school.
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