21%
of St. Thomas students are Pell grant eligible, meaning they have high financial need
Top Priority: Scholarships
Expanding Access
Many promising students can't attend St. Thomas due to insurmountable financial barriers.
Generous donors who fund scholarships break down those barriers, making way for a student to have the full transformtional St. Thomas experience and fulfill their potential.
Because helping every student achieve their full potential is at the core of our mission as a Catholic university.
Priority One: Scholarships
Affordability is the #1 reason students don’t enroll at St. Thomas.
Providing financial aid to 97% of undergraduate students is insufficient to meet the need of all qualified students who want to become Tommies. More than 35% of enrolled students still have significant financial need after scholarships, grants, work study and federal loans. This gap often forces students to:
- take on excessive loans
- opt out of living on campus with peers
- work extraordinarily long hours, jeopardizing academic success
- delay graduation
- withdraw from school
Be a Difference-Maker
Our financial aid team has found that a scholarship of $6,000 per year closes the financial gap for potential Tommies.
You can be a difference-maker with immediate impact by contributing to our general scholarship fund or by creating a named annual scholarship.
For lasting impact, create a named endowment that will provide support to promising Tommies for years to come.
Promising Students Need Your Support
35%
of St. Thomas students find that scholarships, work study and federal loans don't cover their college expenses
#1
Reason for withdrawal from college is financial need
Indebted, But Not Forever In Debt
Together we can prevent students from dropping out with debt and no degree.
Your gift – at any level – will help new and current students get their degree so they can become morally responsible leaders who will make the world a better place.
Breaking Down Barriers
Scholarships Matter
For many students, cost is the sole barrier between attending college and not. We see time and time again that scholarships drastically change the trajectory of a student's life, allowing them the comfort of finding their true passions.
“I’m most excited about the unknown – about not knowing where my career is going to go. But to know it can go somewhere. I feel extremely blessed that someone would invest in my career this way." - Layla Siferllah-Griffin