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THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SCHOLARSHIPS: LESSENING THE BARRIERS FOR STUDENTS AND REVIEWERS

Amanda Fischer, University of Minnesota Thuy Doan, University of Minnesota

Michelle Tolan, IFSA-Butler Jarlath McGuckin, CIEE

Objectives

Participants will leave with: ¨  An understanding of scholarship barriers, and

strategies for how to mitigate them ¨  Ideas for tweaks can you make to your existing or

new scholarships ¨  Actions/ideas to implement in your own institution

or organization

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Assumptions

1. Must address other financial needs of students in order for scholarships to be successful

¤ Financial aid, budgeting, and fundraising

2. As educators, we are involved in the process of discussing financials and scholarships with students

¤ Discussions happen fairly early on ¤ Timing of conversations a big challenge

3. This panel doesn’t have this down 100% ¤ Share lessons learned and generate discussion/ideas

Definition of Terms

¨  Scholarship vs. Grant ¨  “financial need” ¨  EFC (estimated family

contribution) ¨  Diversity: what is it to you?

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Student Scholarship Barriers

¨  Popcorn: What scholarship-related barriers must students overcome?

¨  Identify 2-3 specific student populations and the barriers that might be unique and/or more acute to them.

Student Scholarship Barriers

¨  Terminology ¨  Perception of “need” ¨  Notions of diversity ¨  Assumptions on availability

First Generation College Students and/or Low-Income Students:

¤  (all of the above) + ¤ Type of award ($$) ¤ Timing ¤ Application requirements

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STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP BARRIERS

What role might we be playing in these barriers? •  What do we require (and why)?: letters of

rec, GPA, essays/writing samples •  How informed are we? •  How do we market/promote scholarships?

Promotion of Scholarships

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Promotion to Students: Providers

¨  Marketing to students and advisers is crucial.

¨  Advisers: Same old “beef stew” of scholarships & grants?

¨  Availability and attainability of new scholarships & grants

¨  Terminology as barrier: “Scholarship” vs. “Grant” vs. “Financial Aid”

Promotion to Students: SA Advisers Strategic promotion can make a BIG difference on campus

>30% increase in scholarship applications

Specific Activities/Resources

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Scholarship Chart

You CAN Afford to Study Abroad Info Sessions

¨  Focus: Navigating scholarships, choosing an affordable program, how to use financial aid

¨  4 x per year, ~ 30-60 students each session ¨  Integrated promotion into other student materials

¤ Flyer with dates in all advising cubes ¤ Always on website ¤ Slide in our First Step session

n Online and in-person 30 min intro session (Study Abroad 101)

¤ Mentioned in our Program Selection Workbook

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Scholarship Process Webpage

4 Step Process 1. Scholarships Chart 2. UofM Scholarship Search Creative Financing Ideas 3. You CAN Afford to Study Abroad Info Sessions 4. Support resources: ¤ Center for Writing ¤ Personal Statement Tips

National Scholarship Promotion

Info Sessions, workshops, handouts, and emails to students for the following scholarships:

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Role of Campus Advisers

¨  Psychological impact of advisers ¤ Encouraging or discouraging ¤  Incorrect or outdated info

¨  Who do students seek info from? ¨  Disseminate beyond Ed Abroad offices

¤ Ex: Funding Learning Abroad Adviser Trainings

¨  Encourage deeper engagement

Scholarship Advising on Campus

¨  Use multiple touchpoints ¨  Personal encouragement ¨  Offer pointers and coaching ¨  Acknowledge students are busy ¨  Suggest 1-2 scholarships ¨  Diversity scholarships ¨  Mention award ratios ¨  Train other campus advisers

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Scholarship Structures

Scholarship Structure

¨  Why do you have a scholarship?

¨  Research who you’re trying to reach and work backwards

¨  Psychology of Student ≈ Psychology of Scholarship

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Addressing Middle Income Students

¨  Scholarships & Grants now split into 3 buckets: ¤ Academic Excellence ¤ Access

n GAIN

¤ Ambassadorship

¨  Pell eligibility in 2014-2015: EFC = $5157

Timing is Crucial

¨  GAIN – Reply & Retraction

¨  GAIN – Confirm à Travel Agent for airline

ticket à remainder = travel stipend

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Feeling the impact

Structure a scholarship so students are able to feel the impact

Application Components

¨  What do you need to determine who receives a scholarship? (i.e. do you really need all you’re requesting?)

¨  When do you ask for it? ¨  Examples:

¤  IFSA-Butler First Gen ¤ UMN & GAIN

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Eligibility and Preference Factors

Who is your target population? ¤ Eligibility: Broad/narrow enough? ¤ Important to include definitions

n  ‘financial need’

Are you using preference factors or eligibility criteria? ¤ Ex: Financial Need/First Generation Scholarship ¤ Who are you trying help?

“Planning” Scholarship Models

¨  CIEE Global Access Initiative (GAIN) ¤ Rolling admissions review ¤ Early application = Early award notification

¨  UMN Financial Need/First Generation Scholarship ¤ Earlier deadline = Early award notification ¤ Rollover capability ¤ Multiple chances to apply

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Essay Prompts, Wordsmithing, and Lowering Reviewer Bias

Essay Prompt Re-Design

¨  Process ¤  Is there a problem? ¤ Brown bag focus group ¤ Small committee: wordsmith, clarify issues, purpose, goals ¤ Critical approach: Why is this important?

¨  Why high quality essays are important ¤ May color reviewers’ impressions of study abroad quality ¤ Students more competitive for OTHER scholarships

¨  Outcome: Very impressed by heightened quality

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How much reviewer bias does your structure allow for?

¨  How do our own psychologies affect how we review scholarships?

¨  Strategies for minimizing reviewer bias: ¤ Detailed rubric ¤ Detailed instructions that give examples of bias to take

into consideration (awareness is key) ¤ For grammar component: non-native speaker checkbox

¨  Outcomes: ¤ Scores no longer flip flop and are more consistent (never

perfect though!) ¤ Reviewers MUCH happier and less emotionally conflicted

Discussion

What methods of scholarship structuring and promotion have been the most successful and made scholarships feel accessible to students? For example: ¨  Do your scholarships reward or encourage participation?

¨  How are you marketing to students?

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Action Items/Takeaways

¨  Analyze: Are your scholarships achieving what you want? ¨  Think about how you promote & discuss scholarships w/ students and advisers: Are scholarship barriers at your institution being addressed? ¨  Which tools/strategies would work well for your institution? ¨  This may be challenging at first, but worth changing the status quo Call to Action: ¨  What changes will you make this year? ¨  Psychology of Scholarships 2.0, next year?

THANK YOU! Amanda Fischer, University of Minnesota fisch856@umn.edu Thuy Doan, University of Minnesota thuydoan@umn.edu Michelle Tolan, IFSA-Butler mtolan@ifsa-butler.org Jarlath McGuckin, CIEE JMcGuckin@ciee.org