Reach Beyond - The Campaign for Onondaga Community College - Goals of the Campaign

Presidential Scholars Program

With college access at the heart of Onondaga’s mission, the Presidential Scholars Program continues our historic focus on access to high-quality, affordable education through a $4,000,000 endowment that will provide full tuition and fees to any student in Onondaga County who completes high school in the top 20 percent of his/her graduating class.

Today, over 90 percent of the fastest growing jobs in the United States require at least some post-secondary education, making a college degree more important than ever. Onondaga has become that critical gateway to a bright future for students of all backgrounds and a source of hope for the future of the region as a whole. Here, bright high school graduates gain the confidence and direction they need to succeed in a four-year institution, and students who would otherwise be shut out of higher education gain access to a college degree and a pathway to a better life. However, even with Onondaga’s affordable tuition, students and families are finding it harder than ever to pay for a college education.

Program Features

• Provides full tuition and fees scholarships for any student in Onondaga County who completes high school within the top 20% of his/her graduating class.
• Meaningfully addresses financial barriers to pursuing higher education, leveling the playing field for all.

Benefit to Students

• Reduce economic barriers and increase access to higher education
  • 25% of low income students who rank in the top quartile on standardized tests such as the SAT, never go to college.
• Motivate more local students to stay on track and excel.
  • Every year, 1 in 3 young adults – more than 1.2 million students – drop out of high school.
  • Many who complete high school lack basic skills and readiness for job training and college.

Benefits to the Community

• Brain Gain: More of the area’s brightest students remain in Central New York to live, work and raise families.
• When fully funded, the Presidential Scholars Program will support as many as 200 students per year, forever.
• Each student supported by the scholarship program will return an average of $5,000 in increased earnings and spending and reduced social costs annually to the community.
• The program will return nearly $1,000,000 every year to the local economy.

Investment:  $4,000,000