UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- This time of the year many students are preparing to look into furthering their educations or are already getting acceptance letters into universities.
It's also when the question, "How am I going to pay for this?!" may pop into their minds.
There's a new scholarship program available in our region and students can get free money for doing the things they've already been doing.
It sounded too good to be true for Keyara Morgan, a junior at Claysburg-Kimmel High School in Blair County.
"Whenever you're earning money for college because of doing well in high school, that's really awesome to hear about."
It's the same story for freshman Alexis Short at Ferndale Area Junior-Senior High School in Johnstown.
"It's inspiring. I try a lot harder so I can get more money for my scholarship."
Raise.me is a unique micro-scholarship program, no requirements necessary. It's a program Penn State University is proud to be piloting for its second year with six schools in our area and five schools in the Philadelphia area.
Those schools in our area are: Claysburg-Kimmel, Ferndale, Meyersdale, North Star, Rockwood and Salisbury Elklick.
"We see this as a really creative way to provide students access to the university to help them think about affordability and to also build success when they get here," says Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education at Penn State, Jacqueline Edmondson. "Because the habits they've established in high school should make them successful when they come to the university."
Here's how it works. Students from 9th to 12th grade can input any grades, sports or clubs they participate in, community service and more all while getting money for it from Raise.me's 125 college partners. The funds vary for each university.
"They don't have to do anything extra. They just have to do a good job and they can pick and choose their colleges," says Superintendent of Ferndale-Area School District, Carol Kakabar.
"I can speak for Penn State where the monies is coming from our Provost's Office and so students can earn up to $4,000 a year for the four years they're at Penn State and that's stackable on other financial aid awards," explains Edmondson.
Other students 6 News talked with say it not only motivates them but it helps them stay on track with their future goals.
"It just pushes you because you see all these things and all these opportunities and it just shows that there's so much more than what you thought was out there," says Gabi Dodson, a freshman at Ferndale.
One of the best parts about Raise.me is even if you hear about the program when you're a junior or senior, you can still input anything you did all throughout high school.
"It's an incentive for the student, it's also an incentive for the college because they can see the type of student and their work ethic they would be receiving," says Kakabar.
It's a minimum effort to apply with a maximum benefit.
"This would help you. I think it would help me be more motivated like I'm already getting this much money taken off every year," explains Morgan. "I might as well try to get on the Dean's List and do all that stuff because it's more free money!"
There are 12 Pennsylvania universities including Penn State that are part of Raise.me. The others are Temple University, Cedar Crest College, Neumann College, Susquehanna University, York College of Pennsylvania, Franklin & Marshall College, Messiah College, Lafayette College, Ursinus College, and Juniata College.
Penn State's program is in a pilot phase. Edmondson says they will be looking at data to see which high schools to potentially expand to.
If you're not part of the high schools mentioned in this piece, you can still benefit from Raise.me and other colleges on the site by creating a profile and earning money.
For more information on this outstanding opportunity, click here.
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