Beloit College
PA-8: Affordability and Access

Beloit College is proud to offer several programs to help low-income students with access to college and the cost of college, including the Student Support Services Program, the McNair Scholars program, and the Help Yourself and Upward Bound Programs.

The Student Support Services (SSS) program: SSS students receive ongoing support and encouragement before, during, and after they attend Beloit College. Students' individual needs will determine the type and level of support services they receive, but our constant goal is for them to get the most out of their Beloit College experience. Our services include: Academic Advising & Personal Counseling The foundation of our program rests on the on-going individual academic advising and personal counseling that students receive from SSS staff and peer mentors. Advising is provided to help students focus and direct their academic efforts toward their chosen areas of interest as well as potential career goals. The personal counseling services provided by SSS can help students overcome common college concerns such as stress and anxiety. Beloit College also has a Health and Wellness Center with Mental Health Counselors on staff for any extensive issues or concerns. To be eligible, students must meet one or more of the following criteria: most income background as defined by federal TRiO guidelines, be a first-generation college student, or have a learning or physical disability. The Help Yourself Program: Serving the Beloit area for nearly years, the Help Yourself Programs are dedicated to preparing local youth to be successful in school and preparing students to attend a four-year institution of higher education. In recent years, 100% of our participants have graduated from high school, with 95% of them going on to a four year college immediately after graduation. The Help Yourself Programs are comprised of two sub-programs: Mezzo Academy and Pre-Collegiate. The Mezzo Academy is for students in grades 6-8, while Pre-Collegiate is for 9th-12th grade students. The three primary goals of our programming are academic success, college access, and career exposure. Students must fill out an application for participation during the school year and/or summer program. Students are selected to participate in the Help Yourself Programs based on their desire to attend college, their economic status, their attitude, and their ability to commit to the program as a family.

The Student Support Services (SSS) program: Helps make college affordable for first and second-year SSS Pell Grant recipents by providing Grant Aid awards that range from $500-$1200 for eligible students that participate in the program. In addition, the program offers Book Aid awards to all SSS students that fufill their academic and financial literacy requirements of the SSS program. The book aid awards range from 20-300 dollars per student. Each year the program provides 30-40 low-income students the Book Aid award. McNair scholars Program: A federally funded program (one of the TRIO Programs funded by the Department of Education) mandated by Congress. The goal of the program is to increase the number of students in doctoral degree programs who are low-income and first-generation undergraduates or students who come from groups underrepresented in graduate education. At Beloit, students earn around a $2,800 stipend by conducting summer research with a faculty mentor before their Junior and Senior years. The Charles Winter Wood Scholarship, named after one of Beloit’s first African American students (Class of 1895), is available to students who have been traditionally underrepresented in American higher education. In addition to these scholarships, qualified Charles Winter Wood Scholars are encouraged to apply to TRIO, federally funded programs offering resources and opportunities to qualified students for academic success and scholarly research. Beloit is one of the few liberal arts colleges in the U.S. to offer three TRIO programs on its campus. Award: Up to $40,000 per year, renewable for 4 years Criteria: Low income (definition here), first generation, and/or domestic minority status • Record of academic achievement in a rigorous college preparatory curriculum and evidence of leadership and involvement • Students eligible for consideration will be recommended to the scholarship committee for review.

The Upward Bound and Help Yourself Programs: Students must fill out an application for participation during the school year and/or summer program. Students are selected to participate in the Help Yourself Programs based on their desire to attend college, their economic status, their attitude, and their ability to commit to the program as a family.

The admission staff visits high schools that have high-achieving students who come from low-income, disadvantaged backgrounds. We also maintain and cultivate contacts at community based organizations that serve these students; these CBO's tend to have focused initiatives that steer students towards private, selective colleges and universities. Upon admission, Beloit has a travel subsidy that underwrites campus visits for underrepresented, low-income students who could not otherwise afford to travel to campus.

We also have formal group visit policies (www.beloit.edu/prospective/visit/groupvisit/) to accomodate groups of students, often led under the auspices of CBO's, who visit campus. We attempt to taylor our programming at these visits around not only the generalities of Beloit but also around things that may be of particular interest to groups, including financial aid, campus life, and support for under-represented students.

While Beloit does not have any policies about meeting full-demonstrated need, our aid programs have historically been (and continue to be) very generous in making Beloit an affordable choice to students who are committed to this kind of education.