Heather Coleman had racked up almost $18,000 in debt before she posted her tuition “help wanted” sign on the Internet.
Coleman, a recent University of Colorado graduate, joined hundreds of students across the country who are cyberbegging for scholarships on .
At her mother’s suggestion, Coleman posted her profile and made her pitch to donors that she was a focused history student with eyes on law school but saddled with student-loan debt.
The efforts netted her $8.
As tuition rises and students need extra money to foot their expenses, many are posting profiles on the website, hoping their educational aspirations and need for funds appeal to donors.
The founder of the website acknowledges that it won’t net students hefty scholarships, but the “micro-sponsorships” could help put a small dent in students’ tuition bills.
“It’s a good idea, but for it to work there need to be philanthropists behind it to sponsor students who are in desperate need,” said Coleman, who graduated in May and is searching for jobs.
Henner Mohr of Denver started the website in 2008. He and his wife were in college at the time.
“We were looking at bills, wondering how we could get some extra money. … Our profiles are still in there somewhere,” Mohr said.
Mohr said there haven’t been “any crazy donations.” In fact, the largest one, Mohr said, was $150.
