California Lutheran University's Student Newspaper Since 1961

The Echo

California Lutheran University's Student Newspaper Since 1961

The Echo

California Lutheran University's Student Newspaper Since 1961

The Echo

    CLU matches UC tuition

    California Lutheran University accepted another University of California to the existing five as part of the Public Price Promise.

    The Public Price Promise scholarship is a promise made by Cal Lutheran to match the difference in price offered by six UC institutions.

    The UCs that are on the listย  are UC Los Angeles, UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC San Diego and the newest being UC Irvine.

    โ€œWe really needed to look at the UCs that were sought after, cherry picking the most selective,โ€ ย  Matthew Ward,ย  vice president of enrollment and marketing, said.

    Both out-of-state and in-state students are eligible.

    For freshman, one must first be accepted to both Cal Lutheran and a designated UC, secure a $450 deposit, obtain a letter from a high school counselor with the intent to attend and provide a copy of an admission letter from the UC.

    The student with intent must have at least a 3.0 GPA as calculated by Cal Lutheran, at least 60 transferable units, a transcript depicting all the studentโ€™s progress and an admission letter from the institution.

    The benefits do not end at the baseline price. It is possible for a student who is awarded this scholarship to receive more financial aid. This can be a helping hand to many families who find theย  Cal Lutheran tuition of $57,641 intimidating.

    This scholarship gives hope to those who thought that a private education was out of reach.

    โ€œWe looked and found the UC system to be one of the most competitive in the world,โ€ Ward said. โ€œWe looked at the students who got accepted to that structure of education and looked at the kind of scholarship opportunities they would get at Cal Lu.โ€

    Another aspect Ward and his team had to brainstorm was the demographic that would take Cal Lutheran up on this offer. What they found is a significant number of first generation college students and Latinos were the most prominent demographic to receive this scholarship, according to Ward.

    โ€œThis has been something the admissions counselors here have been pushing toward. It allows us a new way to offer an affordable education,โ€ Diana Hernandez, admission associate, said.

    Ward said he believes current and incoming students are either misinformed or just unaware that such a scholarship exists. When Hernandez meets with families one-on-one, a major concern is the financial constraint that comes with attending a private institution.

    Conner McKinney
    Staff Writer
    Published November 5th, 2015