Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Invests in At-risk Students Helping Them Graduate from College

AUSTIN, Texas, April 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation's Dell Scholars Program today awarded 303 students across the country with $6,060,000 in college scholarship funds for a total of $55 million invested in 2,548 scholars to date. The program has helped a total of 615 students successfully graduate from college with lower than average debt.

The Dell Scholars Program is unique in that it not only offers financial assistance to at-risk students, but it also offers wrap-around services that help scholars and their families deal with personal challenges that might affect their ability to complete their course work. These problems range from financial to relationship issues and can become obstacles to the ultimate goal- graduation. The program also provides an online community for mentoring and peer interaction. This all-inclusive approach is what has helped 80 percent of Dell Scholars graduate in a six-year period, as compared to the national graduation rate average of 19 percent for low-income*[i], underserved students.

While the price of college continues to rise, financial issues are only part of the overall problem facing these students.  Studies show that only 56 percent of college students earn a degree within a six-year period, coupled with the fact that low-income, high-risk students are much more likely to drop out of college due to personal pressure from family responsibilities.  In addition, these at-risk students are often faced with the inability to tackle the academic challenges of college because of the work hours required to keep them there, and the ongoing financial challenges of their families. The Dell Scholars Program is designed to help students face and overcome these obstacles by investing in services that will increase their chances of achieving success.

"Our hope is that other organizations and scholarship programs will recognize that, while these students might be financially challenged and face other related obstacles, they are more than capable of becoming college graduates," said Janet Mountain, executive director of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.  "The success of the Dell Scholars who have already graduated from the program proves that with the proper assistance, these students can earn degrees and go on to careers and post-graduate success."

And it keeps getting better. In its tenth year, the Dell Scholars Program continues to proactively change their approach by anticipating and planning for student obstacles before they occur.  Using past learnings from earlier classes, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has implemented several front end support systems such as early flag warnings, summer new scholar orientations and the Student Risk Indicator (SRI).  These systems are designed to help scholars avoid potential issues and minimize the negative impact when they do experience challenges.  As a result, the class of 2010 is projected at a 93 percent six-year graduation rate as opposed to the 80 percent current graduation rate. 

"Our goal is to improve overall graduation rates for these low-income, at-risk students," said Oscar Sweeten-Lopez, of the Dell Scholars Program at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. "With nine years of experience now behind us, we have learned that a check alone is not enough.  While financial assistance can get these students to college, we need to help them go all the way and finish with a degree in hand."

Dell Scholars receive $20,000 each to complete their higher education over the course of six years. In addition, the Dell Scholars Program provides its students with technology, a private scholar networking community, resources, and mentoring to ensure they have the support they need to achieve their college degrees. Scholars become part of a support network for each other that is made up of themselves, their schools, families, peers and a dedicated Dell Scholar team at the Michael & Susan Dell foundation.

For a complete listing of the class of 2013 Dell Scholars, go to www.dellscholars.org. Follow their stories on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/DellScholarsProgram.

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About the Dell Scholars Program

The Dell Scholars Program is a scholarship program unique in the type of students it supports and how it fosters those students on their path to a college degree. An initiative of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Dell Scholars Program provides its students with resources and mentoring beyond initial financial assistance to ensure they have the support they need to obtain a college degree.  Follow us on Twitter.

About the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

Michael and Susan Dell established the foundation in 1999. The gift was inspired by their passion for supporting children's causes as a way to make an even greater difference in a measurable way, particularly for those children living in urban poverty. Based in Austin, TX, the Dell family foundation funds programs that foster high-quality public education and childhood health, and improve the economic stability of families living in poverty. To date, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has committed almost $850 million to assist nonprofit organizations working in major urban communities in the United States, India and South Africa. Our vision is to focus on opportunities with the greatest potential to directly and measurably transform the lives of children living in urban poverty. Follow us on Twitter and on Facebook.

For further information, please contact:
Meredith Young
512-794-4726
[email protected]

*[i] "19.9% for those from the bottom quartile of family income, below about $36,080." Source: Postsecondary Education Opportunity November 2010 www.postsecondary.org

SOURCE Michael & Susan Dell Foundation