News
New $25,000 Pace University scholarship
Eligible Westchester Community College students may now take advantage of an extraordinary new scholarship program offered by Pace University. The scholarships, open to an unlimited number of Westchester Community College Associates Degree graduates who wish to obtain a four-year Bachelor’s degree at Pace, will allow many students to afford to continue their studies.
The initiative will provide transferring full-time students who have successfully graduated from Westchester Community College and meet eligibility requirements with an annual scholarship equal to $25,000 to be credited against Pace University’s standard full-time tuition. The program will begin with the 2015-2016 academic year. Westchester Community College graduates interested in enrolling for the fall semester may apply at any time. Transfer applications will begin to be accepted this summer.
This scholarship is designed to provide students with a solid education and access to the real-world experience critically needed upon graduation at a substantial reduction in cost. Based on the 2015-2016 rate, the scholarship will enable eligible students to offset more than 60% of the full-time cost of tuition during their first year at Pace. The scholarship is for study at Pace University’s Pleasantville Campus only and is not available for the iPace online degree program.
“This exciting new partnership will benefit our students and ultimately will have a positive effect on the local economy,” says Dr. Belinda S. Miles, President of Westchester Community College. “These students, after completing their studies at Westchester Community College, will now have the opportunity to move on to Pace and then into the workforce.”
“We are delighted to give eligible Westchester Community College graduates the opportunity to earn a 4-year Bachelor’s Degree through this innovative scholarship program,” says Pace University President Stephen J. Friedman. “Our ability to enable them to imagine new futures and advance their lives is at the core of our university motto of Opportunitas.”
The new scholarship program responds to student and industry needs, offsetting the rising cost of obtaining a 4-year degree and bridging the gap between academia and what employers want. Addressing the kind of change needed in higher education, the collaboration is a concrete response to the often prohibitive cost young people face to obtain a 4-year degree, as well as industry concerns that college students nationally are not graduating with the skills necessary to enter the workforce.
Added benefits for Pace University-Westchester Community College scholarship recipients who otherwise might depend entirely on student loans to finance a 4-year degree potentially include a smaller debt burden and a repayment term shortened by several years. The scholarship program is yet another example of Pace’s commitment to leadership in providing quality and education and positioning students for professional success. The initiative also marks the first time Pace has collaborated with a 2-year school to offer students such a unique opportunity that benefits both schools and surrounding communities.
To graduate from Westchester Community College, students must meet certain minimum performance requirements. By opening the scholarship program to Westchester Community College graduates with a minimum GPA of 3.2, Pace can substantially ensure continuing access to high quality applicants equipped with the ability to excel, succeed and ultimately graduate from Pace.
About Westchester Community College: More than just the County’s largest educational institution, it is a living, breathing part of Westchester that goes beyond the influence of a typical college and affects the lives of all who enter its doors. The faculty serve as a community of scholars for an increasingly diverse population of students. More than 13,000 credit students attend classes at the spacious 218-acre main campus in Valhalla and extension centers in Peekskill, Ossining, White Plains, Mount Vernon and Yonkers. An additional 13,000 students are enrolled in non-credit classes through SUNY’s largest Continuing Education unit.
About Pace University: Since 1906, Pace University has educated thinking professionals by providing high quality education for the professions on a firm base of liberal learning amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university, Pace has campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, enrolling nearly 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in its Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lubin School of Business, College of Health Professions, School of Education, School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. Visit www.pace.edu