Free College Tuition for Students in New Haven, CT (New Haven Promise), Kalamazoo, MI (Kalamazoo Promise) and Syracuse, NY (Say Yes to Education)

Yale University has started a new program for students in New Haven, Connecticut to offer free college tuition to all public universities or colleges in the state of Connecticut. The program is called the New Haven Promise. It is funded by Yale and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.

The New Haven Promise program will provide up to $8,000 a year for New Haven students to attend a public college in Connecticut. It will also contribute up to $2,500 each year to students from New Haven who attends a private college in Connecticut.

To qualify for 100 percent of funding at a public college or university with the New Haven Promise program students are required to have live in New Haven and attended charter or public schools there since kindergarten. Also students who attended public or charter schools in New Haven since at least 9^th grade, will receive 65% of their college tuition for public colleges or universities in Connecticut, notes the New York Times.

Also, to qualify for the New Haven Promise program, students have to have a minimum of a 3.0 grade point average and have at least a 90 percent rate of attendance.

Yale University created this program to help students have an opportunity to attend college if the meet the criteria of the program. The program also hopes to increase the high school graduation rate in New Haven, Connecticut. Currently New Haven has a high school drop out rate of 38 percent, notes the NY Times.

Students who participate in the New Haven Promise program will have to earn at least a 2.5 grade point average in college to continue in the program.

Kalamazoo Promise, Kalamazoo, Michigan

The town of Kalamazoo, Michigan also offers students who attend public schools in town a program to receive free college tuition at public colleges in Michigan. The program is called the Kalamazoo Promise.

Students in Kalamazoo are eligible for the program if they have lived in the town and attended the public schools for at least four continuous years. If a family has been in town for less than four years they will receive less than 100 percent of the college tuition.

Once accepted into the Kalamazoo Promise program, college students must maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average to remain in the program. Students must also take at least 12 hours of college credits per semester while participating in the program.

For more information about the Kalamazoo Promise program in Kalamazoo, Michigan go to https://www.kalamazoopromise.com/

Say Yes to Education Program in Syracuse, New York

In Syracuse, New York, the Say Yes to Education provides free college tuition to a total of 80 colleges to students who attended grades 10-12 in the public schools in town. This program was created by George A. Weiss in 1987. He had a career as a Wall Street financier.

Over a thousand students in Syracuse have already received free college tuition through this program, notes the New York Times. The program has also provided college tuition for students in numerous other towns too.

For more information about the Say Yes to Education program go HERE.

It is wonderful to see private individuals and universities giving the gift of education to the younger generation. And with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook donating $100 million dollars to the public schools in Newark, NJ, philanthropy has reached a new level of generous. So who knows what kind of amazing programs will continue to be developed?

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/education/10yale.html?_r=1&hp

https://www.kalamazoopromise.com/