When oilman Tim Marquez and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper stood before a group of South High School students last fall, they had only the best of intentions.
They were excited to tell some 800 seniors at three high schools that a new foundation would make it possible for all of them to go to college. They were fulfilling thousands of dreams.
Unfortunately, their generosity and enthusiasm outpaced the actual details of the new program. As of last Friday, the Denver Scholarship Foundation still had no formal written agreements with any participating universities – only “verbal agreements” with about 11 colleges. Now, ongoing confusion about who qualifies for the scholarships, and how much each student can receive, has dampened the prospects of a few students who had aspired to attend pricey private schools.
“That scholarship was my future,” said Anahi Gutierrez, who has earned a 3.9 grade-point average at Abraham Lincoln High and hoped to attend Regis University, where tuition runs about $25,000 a year. Gutierrez is not a U.S. citizen, so she has few chances for other financial aid.
To keep expectations reasonable, officials should have been more clear last year about how much students could expect to receive. Even though the foundation posted a $3,000 cap on its website – a figure that will help most students attend the Community College of Denver, Metro State or the University of Colorado at Denver – even school counselors weren’t aware of it, and it wasn’t explained to students. Students were told they must demonstrate need for the money, and they had to apply for federal and state aid and at least three private scholarships. The foundation – started with a generous $50 million donation from Marquez – would provide the “last dollars in.”
While it’s unfortunate some students set their sights on pricier schools, it’s not realistic to expect the foundation to pay such hefty private school tuition bills. That would sharply diminish the number of available scholarships.
A majority of students, 291, have chosen to attend the Community College of Denver, Metro or CU-Denver. However, another 139 have picked other schools and will face funding gaps from a few bucks to thousands of dollars.
The controversy has taken some of the air out of a wonderful philanthropic endeavor. Still, hundreds of students who will attend college in the fall might not have had the chance otherwise.
It’s a rocky beginning, but we hope the program will be a strong one for years to come.
