Scholarships’ unintended threat

Monday, April 17, 2006 | 7:24 a.m.

Giving away money shouldn't be hard. Especially money for college.

But for the Augustus Society, an Italian-American service club, finding eligible students for its scholarship program has been a challenge since the state's Millennium Scholarship took root.

Augustus Society Chairman George Gingerelli said the lure of the $10,000 Millennium Scholarship, awarded to Nevada students with B averages and above, has kept students from seeking out private scholarships. College aid experts say they suspect other private organizations and companies may be having similar problems finding enough qualified candidates.

College foundation leaders charged with raising money for scholarships have also had a tougher time convincing donors of the need for private scholarships when students can now receive the state money. Some donors have even restricted their donations to non-Millennium students, said Deborah Young, director of scholarships and tribute giving for the UNLV Foundation.

The greater challenge to find students for scholarships and to find scholarship money are both unintended consequences from a scholarship program praised throughout the state for having increased the number of students attending college.

The reality is that students need outside scholarship money as much today as they did before the Millennium Scholarship came out, college financial aid experts said. The scholarship originally covered full tuition, but because of losses in tobacco funding, it now pays for about 80 percent of the first 12 credits.

Students are becoming aware of the gap.

Michael Krainock, who is studying biology at UNLV, figured out that he needed more scholarship help his sophomore year. Like many high school seniors, the Valley High School graduate didn't initially apply for any scholarships. Krainock said he thought the Millennium Scholarship would cover everything. He didn't realize his science books would run up to $800 a semester.

"If I had known how expensive college was, I would definitely have applied for more (scholarships) to cover the cost of housing and books," Krainock said.

The Honors College scholarships he received allowed him to focus on school and get the grades he needed to start medical school in the fall at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. He's also graduating in four years - two years sooner than most of his peers.

"Free money is the best kind," Krainock, 22, said. "To not have the burden of having to pay something back, that is nice. I hope I can maintain that through medical school."

Many students, however, are applying only for the in-house scholarships offered through the university, ignoring the hundreds of other private scholarships out there, said Joni Flowers, who runs scholarship workshops in addition to her work as Community College of Southern Nevada education professor. Students often may not apply for those outside their university because they are overwhelmed by the sheer number or by the application process.

As president of the Cultural Diversity Foundation, which offers its own scholarship program, Flowers works with students and other organizations to help them navigate the scholarship process. With more parents than students in her workshops, she has found that high school students tend to be apathetic when it comes to applying for scholarships, and not just because they think Millennium will pay for everything.

Private companies or organizations such as the Augustus Society also struggle to advertise their scholarships to the right students, Flowers said. It is rare that money will actually go to waste, but the process can be frustrating for both the private organization and the student.

It is easier for students to apply through their university or college because financial aid experts match students to the scholarships offered through the UNLV or CCSN Foundation, Flowers and Young said.

At UNLV, for instance, students can fill out one form to apply for all of the scholarships donated through the UNLV Foundation, Young said. Students must apply separately for outside scholarships that choose to run their own programs.

Students in high school and college can also apply for scholarships through the Public Education Foundation, which manages scholarship programs for private donors and organizations and works with Clark County School District counselors to advertise what is available to students.

The Augustus Society regularly gives about 20 scholarships of $1,000 to $2,000 a year to deserving Italian-American students. But after barely getting enough candidates at all last year, the organization reduced its emphasis on GPA to increase the candidate pool and direct the money to more financially needy students, Gingerelli said.

Still, one scholarship established for a journalism student went to waste because the organization couldn't find a student to give it to, Gingerelli said.

Part of Augustus' struggle may be that its criteria, focusing on Italian-American students, may be too narrow, Young said. Finding an Italian journalism student, for instance, would be tough because UNLV does not record ethnicity that specifically.

The UNLV Foundation accepts scholarships designated for women or minority groups, Young said, but she tries to work with donors to make scholarships as broad as possible to garner larger candidate pools.

The foundation still has received some weird scholarships over the years, such as the Bunny Burns award for cocktail waitresses and bartenders.