Last week, MCC received a gift that served as a perfectly timed lead-in to the Thanksgiving season: a $2.25 million donation from alumni Tim '80 and Robin '80 Wentworth. Their remarkably generous gift will provide 40 students with full scholarships for two years. It’s almost impossible to overestimate the value of this opportunity for students. And, I speak from experience.
Like most of MCC’s students, I lacked the means to go to college and had to rely on a combination of scholarships and loans. Luckily, this balance was more heavily weighted toward scholarships, meaning that the debt I carried off with my diploma was not overwhelming. This really was just dumb luck: had I been offered more loans, as an 18-year-old with financially unsophisticated parents, I likely would have taken them.
We recognize that many of our students -- whether 18 or 48 -- come to MCC with about the same level of financial acumen that I took to the University of Florida as a naïve freshman. Thankfully, MCC’s Financial Aid Office recognizes that it should work to change this situation. That’s why MCC has partnered with SALT, a program created by a nonprofit group, American Student Assistance, seeking to increase students’ financial literacy. Our students (and alumni) can now take advantage of SALT’s interactive features, free of charge:
* Money management tools that show them how to take control of their finances
* Advice from SALT’s expert loan counselors
* A single dashboard that allows them to track their federal student loans
* The “My Money 101” course that teaches practical financial literacy
* Postings for jobs and internships to jump start their career
In the end, it’s all about how to assure students have the tools to manage the cost of their educations. So, here’s a great data point on college affordability: almost 50% of recent MCC graduates completed their educations without any federal direct student loans or alternative/private loans. In other words, they graduated debt-free. The new SALT program provides even more MCC students with the education and tools necessary to begin their paths to the future without being overly burdened by the financial obligations of their past.
As you start planning your Thanksgiving, then, please remember to give thanks for the Wentworths and all other generous donors who provide our students with the gift of education, for our outstanding Financial Aid Office and their commitment to our students’ success, and -- of course -- for the SALT, that seems to go with everything!
What financial literacy advice would you give our students? Share it on the blog.
Anne M. Kress
President's Office
11/20/2013 |