Study: Whites receive disproportionate share of college grants, scholarship funds (graph)

[alp227]

Next time when conservatives pooh-pooh that white privilege exists even after the election of Obama...show 'em this: "Study: Whites receive disproportionate share of college grants, scholarship funds (graph)":



The founder of the influential Fastweb.com and FinAid.org websites wrote a short research paper two weeks ago arguing college minorities receive a disproportionately smaller share of available private scholarships and grant funding. The paper has received renewed attention after popular blog Freakonomics mentioned it Monday. Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of the two college funding self-help and resource sites, wrote minority students enrolled as full-time in four-year institutes represent one-third of the student body population but are awarded only a quarter of private scholarships. Caucasians with the same enrollment status win 76 percent of available merit-based scholarships and grants, despite accounting for less than two-thirds of the U.S. student population.

His report begins with an example of a student creating a “Whites-Only” scholarship under what he calls the “myth” that minority students are catered to with financial rewards on a non-merit basis. He argues the outcry against perceived unfair treatment from a small number of white students belies the data.

[mzteris]

1. I'm the first person to share this on FB

and no one has tweeted it (I don't tweet). I can't believe that!

Word needs to be spread far and wide.

[SheilaT]

2. Well for one thing, whites are disproportionately

likely to attend good schools, meaning they come out of high school with higher grades, often in more rigorous courses, things very likely to lead to scholarship money.

My younger son was given merit scholarship money, without our asking for it, and without ever filing the FAFSA. He got it because he was a sufficiently desirable student, with decent enough grades and test scores. Actually, the two colleges he'd been accepted to both offered him money. And yes, he's white and attended an extremely good private school, which gave him an enormous advantage academically.

[toddwv]

3. There goes another racist talking point.

And the idea that blacks and other minorities get preferential treatment is a standard meme for those who hate Affirmative Action.

[progressoid]

4. I don't think these pesky facts will deter their racism. n/t

[toddwv]

5. Definitely not.

But having an easy counter-argument based on facts is always a good thing regardless of if they dismiss it, and they will, or not.

[exboyfil]

6. Not to get flamed but they do and it is codified in the rules

for both public and private aid. African Americans and Latinos compete in the same pool as European Americans and Asian Americans for National Merit scholarships. The National Merit also has programs for both groups that have lower scores for qualification (in the case of African Americans it looks like 20 points in my state). Those designations receive the same level of scholarship as the National Merit scholars in our state. In addition our state has special scholarships for several minority groups. You can find it on the school websites.

That is not to say that it should not be done, but to say that it does not exist is disingenuous. What I see in our state is that more money is spent in schools with higher minority population at the K-12 level so the argument about resources really does not stick either. A wonderful education is available to everyone in this state if an individual is willing to take advantage of it.

I frankly think carving out scholarships for "whites" is stupid and counterproductive, but private organizations have the right to do what they want. You can't allow set asides for one racial group but not another.

Some examples of scholarships in our state. If you are European American with a 33 ACT you still would be unlikely to receive a scholarship of the value of the Halas-Sayers scholarship (25 ACT) (I know this because my bosses daughter was a 4.0 with 35 ACT and still only got the second level award while going into engineering at the University of Iowa).

University of Northern Iowa Scholarships
Multicultural Scholar Awards
• Available to new graduates from high school for four years
• Available to transfer students for two years
• Renewable with a college GPA of 2.5 or above
$2,500 • Requires ethnic or racial status of African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino/Spanish, Alaskan
Native or American Indian, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
• Must be U.S. citizen or permanent resident
• Students admitted by March 1 will receive award for the following academic year
• Remaining allocation will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis
Freshmen:
• New graduate from high school
• RAI of 270 or above
Transfers:
• Must have 30 transferable hours with cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above
• Must have graduated from high school prior to 2011

Tuition Guarantee Program for Multicultural Community College Iowans
• Two-year commitment of full tuition and fees provided through
a combination of federal, state and institutional grants and
scholarships
Tuition and fees • Must be an Iowa resident
• Must have 30 transferable hours from an Iowa Community College
• Must have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as determined on the FAFSA of 5273 or less
through two years for continued eligibility
• Requires ethnic or racial status of African American/Black, Hispanic/Latina/Spanish, Alaskan
Native or American Indian, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

University of Iowa
Halas-Sayers Scholarship
For members of underrepresented groups (African American, Hispanic/Latino(a), American Indian, Alaskan native, native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander). Additional requirements are outlined below.

Value: The amount awarded varies depending upon other scholarships and grants received.
The annual cost of attending the University (as determined by the Office of Student Financial Aid) will be covered.
The award may be renewed for up to four years.
Additional requirements:
Graduate from either a Chicago area public high school or a public high school in Iowa
Declare a major in applied physics, astronomy, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering (any type), environmental sciences, geoscience, mathematics, microbiology, physics, science education, speech and hearing science, or statistics
Requires an ACT composite score of 25 or above (or a combined SAT critical reading and math score of 1130 or above) AND a minimum cumulative high school GPA of 3.50 or above on a 4.00 scale.
Demonstrate financial need