In another record-breaking year for helping students with college, Grand Rapids Community Foundation Trustees approved $1.2 million in scholarships for 2017.  The scholarships for high school seniors, college students and grad students went to 677 people. A majority of students (75 percent) attend or will attend college in Michigan.

 “It’s notable that 51 percent of the students who received scholarships are the first in their family to attend college. That’s up 4 percent from last year—and is something we want to continue to grow,” said Ruth Bishop, Education Program Officer. Each year, Bishop convenes 18 diverse committees of 93 community members who review the applications, transcripts and essays and recommend scholarships. “Without our volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to review and give careful attention to each application—this is a time intensive activity,” said Ruth.

Community Foundation scholarships are often created by donors who wish to honor a family member, support education in the community or provide for a student to attend a college they went to or pursue a specific profession. “We have scholarships for aviation, nursing, education, medicine and the arts and much more,” said Ruth. In addition, the Community Foundation administers scholarships for several corporations—including Meijer and Warner, Norcross & Judd.

 Other scholarship factoids:

• Of the 677 awards, 667 were more than $1,000.
• Grand Rapids Public Schools graduates were recipient of 21 percent of the awards.
• Healthcare majors, 162 in all, received a majority of the awards for a total of $368,450; 75 business majors received scholarships for a total of $149,750 and 51 students in the arts received awards valued at $93,000.
• Students at Grand Valley State University were awarded the greatest dollar amount of scholarships at $148,600; Michigan State University $118,000 and Grand Rapids Community College, $84,050.