Insights from The Institute for GOD’s Spring Webinar Series

Navigating financial aid packages can be daunting for students and their families. Recognizing this challenge, the Institute for GOD hosted a detailed webinar during the 2024-2025 academic year to demystify the complexities of scholarship offers. This blog post provides an overview of the essential points covered in the webinar, emphasizing practical strategies for managing college expenses effectively.

Transparency in Scholarship Offers

A 2022 study highlighted by NPR revealed that 91% of colleges were not transparent in their financial aid offers. Addressing this issue, the webinar stressed the importance of a clear and comprehensive scholarship and aid letter, which should include itemized costs such as tuition, room, board, and fees and details on aid eligibility for scholarships, loans, and work-study programs.

The following visuals help students and families understand the cost of college, based on 23-24 national averages.

Understanding Total Costs

The total cost for an undergraduate student at the Institute for the academic year 2024-2025 is $27,830, which includes tuition, fees, room, and board. This comprehensive figure helps families plan financially by providing a clear breakdown of all educational expenses upfront.

Things to note:

• Some costs, like the meal plan, are variable if a student wants 10 or 15 meals per week or needs an alternative meal plan.

• Summer costs are listed below but are also variable at a student’s discretion.

• The 12-17 unit block rate tuition means a student can enroll in 12-17 units per semester at the same cost. These can also be spread into winter and summer intensives.

Understanding Available Scholarships

The Institute for GOD provides several scholarships to make biblical education as affordable as possible. These include:

Academic Scholarships: Students can be eligible for academic scholarships based on their GPA. A student with a 3.5 cumulative GPA can earn a $1,995 Dean’s scholarship, and a student with a 3.8 cumulative GPA can yearn for a $4,200 President’s scholarship.

Servant Leadership Scholarship: This scholarship is for students who are active in service to their church, community, or school or take on significant leadership roles in church, school, athletics, and the arts. Students fill out a “Servant Leadership Questionnaire” to apply, and awards range from $500 to $3000.

Program Scholarships: The Institute for GOD offers several program scholarships for students who participate in programs we understand are beneficial for their spiritual development. These include The Academy for GOD, Students Living a Mission (SLAM), and OneLife.

Phoenix Scholarship: This award honors those who have risen through hardship or trials, named after our school mascot signifying resurrection and new life. Students who have lost a parent, experienced a life-threatening illness, are living away from the country they were born in, or other significant hardships should apply with an essay and a financial assessment.

On average, students earn around $7,200 in the above scholarships.

ProDev Program: Your Best Strategy for Graduating Debt-Free

The webinar introduced the ProDev program, a unique work-and-learn opportunity that marries practical workplace skills with biblical ethics. Participation in various levels of the ProDev program makes students eligible for a significant scholarship and provides them with hourly wages that help cover their educational expenses without accruing debt. Participation levels integrate with The Institute’s 7 academic terms a year (Four 8-week terms + Three 4-week intensives) and allow students to continue their ProDev experience for additional weeks, contributing towards their school bill.

Participation in the Standard Level of ProDev and an average scholarship package gives students $16,810 in scholarships.

This would bring a student’s net price (the price families pay after financial aid is applied), to $11,020.

Remember that participating in ProDev not only qualifies you for a significant scholarship but also provides students with a direct cash payment, helping them pay their remaining bills.

Compare this to the national average net price (price after subtracting financial aid) of $34,790 at private colleges and $20,310 at public colleges.

An Additional Opportunity: Church Matching

In 2024, The Institute for GOD is launching a Church Matching Scholarship. This program encourages local churches to support their students in pursuing of biblical education. If churches participate in this scholarship opportunity, The Institute for GOD will match it, up to $2,000 per year (providing a potential $4,000 additional aid to the student per year), further reducing the cost of education.

Calculating and Managing Payments

After accounting for total aid and scholarships, which amounted to an average of $16,810 in the sample, the remaining balance for the year is $11,020. With an initial payment of $2,500 in August, the remaining $8,520 can be divided into nine monthly payments of approximately $947. This structured payment plan allows students to manage their finances without the pressure of a lump-sum payment.

Strategies to Pay for College

Several strategies were discussed to manage the remaining financial need, including:

• Participation in the ProDev program offers different engagement levels and corresponding financial benefits.

• Savings from summer work or family support.

• Effective budgeting for indirect costs such as phone bills, car payments, health insurance, and other personal expenses.

Conclusion

The Institute for GOD's webinar on understanding scholarship offers crucial insights into making biblical higher education more accessible and financially manageable. By explaining the details of scholarship letters, discussing the ProDev program, and looking into payment strategies, the webinar equipped students with the knowledge to approach their educational finances strategically and confidently.

Have remaining questions? We’d love to help. Book a call below!

Sources:

NPR, 2022. ”A New GAO Report Takes a Look at College Financial Aid Letters”

College Data. “How Much Does College Cost?”