As college applications start to roll in for students, the question of how to pay for it is something every parent and student worries about. But through a new Gary partnership, that’s a question some students may no longer have to worry about.
The initiative, a partnership with Hard Rock Casino, the Urban League of Northwest Indiana, and Indiana University Northwest, will provide eligible graduating students in 2025 and 2026 with full tuition coverage for up to four years at the university.
In Gary, the promise of tuition-free access to Indiana University Northwest could help more local students attend college. Organizers say the new scholarship is designed to remove one of the largest barriers to college and make enrollment financially possible for more families.
The “Do Well By Doing Good” Scholarship was an idea that Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana President Matt Schuffert shared with Urban League of Northwest Indiana President Vanessa Allen-McCloud. Because of their existing relationship, she said she immediately understood his vision for Gary students.
“He wanted to provide an opportunity for students to receive scholarships,” Allen-McCloud said. “There’s a need to provide opportunities for funding and financial resources for students that may not be able to afford getting their education.”
A Gary native and Indiana University Northwest alumnus, Schuffert said the program was a way to give back to Gary’s youth.
“IUN is Gary’s University,” he said. “They do great things there and offer a very diverse campus.”
Administered through the Urban League, the scholarship will be available to Gary high school students attending public, charter, private, faith-based, or home schools. This includes Gary residents who attend schools in neighboring cities.
To qualify, students must earn a 2.5 GPA, earn a Core 40 diploma, complete 30 to 40 hours of community service, volunteer work, or a leadership role, and plan to attend Indiana University Northwest as a first-year student pursuing a two-year or four-year degree. Program leaders expect to award about 30 scholarships per year, depending on the number of applicants.
As long as students maintain at least a 2.5 GPA and are eligible for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, otherwise known as FAFSA, the scholarship will cover four years of tuition, which is currently valued at $8,774 per year, according to university estimates.
“It’s important because it will give them a hand up and not a handout,” McCloud said.
Promotion for the program has ramped up to let Gary students know about the scholarship. A few Gary buses are wrapped with advertisements using the phrase “free ride” as a play on words referencing the scholarship’s tuition coverage.
“It’s an invitation for our students to know that they can go to school right here in our city and receive a degree,” McCloud said.
Chelsea Whittington, chief of public and community relations for the Gary Community School Corporation, said she remembers being at West Side Leadership Academy when her counselors persistently pushed her to complete every available scholarship application. Because of the impact that effort had on her future, she said the district is now taking the same approach with today’s students.
“We have to hound them and let them know we’re doing this because it’s in their best interest,” Whittington said. Working closely with principals, counselors, and English teachers, officials hope to help ensure students’ applications can be submitted. In her words, the students may be tired of seeing them, but they won’t stop: “Who doesn’t want a full ride to college in this day and age?”
According to the Indiana University Northwest website, 44% of students in 2022-2023 graduated with no student loan debt. It’s a number that university officials hope to increase as more students are accepted to this scholarship program.
“When you set limits, you don’t get the full potential,” stated Dorothy Frink, interim vice chancellor for enrollment management and student affairs at Indiana University Northwest.
A graduate of Gary Roosevelt who left and returned to the community, Frink said she understands the importance of pushing local students to do better.
“Having a formal education, whether it’s two years or four, will help them and help the city,” she said. “The more individuals we have here with degrees, the better it is to get businesses to come here.”
For more information about this scholarship, visit urbanleagueofnwi.org.