May 11, 2015 | Jack Kramer, UConn Foundation

Philanthropy Goes On Helping Students After They Graduate

Student scholarships and other forms of financial support help UConn students graduate with lower-than-average debt.

A group of degree candidates from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences pose with Young-Chan Son, a lecturer in chemistry at the Avery Point Campus before their Commencement ceremony at Gampel Pavilion on May 10, 2015. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

A group of degree candidates from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences pose with Young-Chan Son, a lecturer in chemistry at the Avery Point Campus before their Commencement ceremony at Gampel Pavilion on May 10, 2015. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

A group of degree candidates from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences pose with Young-Chan Son, a lecturer in chemistry at the Avery Point Campus before their Commencement ceremony at Gampel Pavilion on May 10, 2015. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
A group of degree candidates from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences pose with Young-Chan Son, a lecturer in chemistry at the Avery Point Campus, before their Commencement ceremony at Gampel Pavilion on May 10. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

The more than 8,200 students who received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Connecticut this past weekend face, on average, less debt than college students at other public and private universities, thanks to student scholarships and other types of financial aid.

Eighty-three percent of UConn undergraduates receive some form of financial aid, and the average student loan debt at UConn is nearly 20 percent lower than the national average for students at private and public institutions, as of 2013, the latest available data.

And the UConn Foundation is committed to raising more money for student financial support.

Without his Leadership Scholarship, Trayvonn Diaz ’15 (CLAS) says he wouldn’t have graduated. “I wouldn’t have been able to participate in activities around campus, such as concert performances, bus trips to New York City and Boston, my coed community service fraternity, local charity races, or other experiences that helped me enjoy the overall UConn experience.

“Not to mention,” Diaz added, “that I would have struggled to purchase the textbooks I needed for required courses in my major.”

Adds Claire Price ’15 (CAHNR), who will return to UConn this September to pursue her Ph.D., “I am just so grateful. Neither myself nor many of my friends could have attended UConn without scholarship money.’’

Transforming Lives

This year’s graduation comes a few months into the UConn Foundation’s five-year, $150 million fundraising initiative, called “Transforming Lives,’’ which has a stated goal of doubling the amount of financial support – including merit and need-based scholarships – that it raises for the benefit of UConn students.

Over the past five years, the Foundation has raised an average of $15.6 million annually for student support – which includes scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships – augmenting UConn’s efforts to offer aid to more than 10,000 students per year.

“Scholarships and financial aid can translate directly into lower student loan payments for graduates,” said UConn Foundation President & CEO Joshua R. Newton. “The more donors step forward, the better position UConn graduates are in to begin the next chapter of their life. We’re grateful for the support this initiative has received so far, and realize that philanthropy must play an even bigger role going forward.”

The focus on helping students pay for the cost of college comes as the number of students applying to UConn has topped 35,000 – more than triple the number of applications from 20 years ago.

The student support initiative also hits at a time when UConn has risen dramatically in stature. It currently ranks No. 19 on the U.S. News & World Report list of the nation’s top public research universities.