NIU today | NIU Attracts New Freshmen With Innovative Financial Aid Programs

NIU’s Enrollment Management Strategic Plan, adopted in 2019, included a call for the university to identify and pilot innovative financial aid programs.

This work is ongoing and is already bearing fruit.

As NIU celebrates the fifth consecutive year of growth among incoming freshmen, with this specific enrollment sector increasing nearly 12% this fall compared to the same period last year, the number of students benefiting of scholarships covering tuition and fees through the Huskie Pledge and the new Rockford Promises are also on the rise.

NIU met the Huskie Pledge for 877 students (39% of incoming freshmen) who will pay no tuition and out of pocket for their first year and potentially beyond. That number is more than 20% higher than in fall 2020 and includes 361 Chicago public school graduates who contributed to an 11.5% increase in enrollment in the state’s largest district.

Likewise, nearly 100 new freshmen living in Rockford and graduates of Rockford Public School District 205 have qualified for the first year of the Rockford Promise program at NIU.

Both programs require grantees to maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher at the NIU to renew their grants each year.

Considering their high school grade point average of 3.53, persistence towards diplomas seems achievable.

“A more surrogacy-based system allows students to have access to financial resources, and this gives them clarity and greater financial stability over the years, as it is not based on changes in income. year to year, “said Samantha McCarron, director of NIU. Financial aid.

“They know they have it, and they know that as long as they play, they can keep it – and that they have full control of it,” McCarron added. “I think this goes in support of our goals of making education equitable for all.”

Indeed, 72% of Huskie Pledge recipients and 79% of Rockford Promise recipients are first generation students. Meanwhile, 83% and 59% are students of color, respectively.

Launched at NIU in 2020 to help talented students who would otherwise struggle to afford higher education and fulfill their higher education dreams, the Huskie Pledge has enrolled more than 700 freshmen, or 35% of the class. . The scholarships are available to students whose adjusted gross family income, or family assets, are $ 75,000 or less.

Rockford Promise matches talent with opportunity and serves its region by training the workforce of tomorrow. Students also benefit from mentoring, pre-employment training, and access to a community of other academics in the region.