After volunteering at school blood drives, cleaning emergency rooms for free at a local hospital, and being by her mother’s side when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, Edinburgh Community High School student Mariah Brown found her passion: nursing.
Brown narrowed her college choices to University of Indianapolis and Indiana University, but UIndy’s nursing program had more options and a bigger financial aid package.
“UIndy is a private college, and I’ve known people who have gone there, and it’s pretty expensive. So I didn’t want to really spend the rest of my life paying off debt, so that was a major factor,” Brown said.
“The financial aid package kind of sealed the deal.”
One year of tuition is more than $25,000, but Brown was able to cut her cost by about $18,500 per year, due in large part to good grades.
When she was in seventh grade, she found out about the 21st Century Scholars program. Students sign a document that says they’ll stay above a 2.5 GPA, and stay drug- and alcohol-free during high school. If she did that, she would receive a chunk of money to help pay her tuition to one of many colleges in Indiana.
The program guarantees the state average for one year’s tuition at college: about $7,500 per year. Brown surpassed the 21st Century Scholar requirements and ending up as the salutatorian for her class with a 3.9962 GPA.
Another $11,000 is taken off her tuition costs every year through the university’s Richard G. Lugar academic recognition award, which is a renewable scholarship. Brown also received a one-time $1,000 scholarship, which was given only to children of breast cancer survivors.
“I kind of took initiative to (fill out scholarships) myself because I knew that I didn’t want (my mom) to spend a lot of money on college, and I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on it,” Brown said.
Brown also plans to save money by living off-campus. Instead of spending about $10,000 in room and board, she will live in an apartment with a high school friend.
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Name: Mariah Brown
High School: Edinburgh Community High School
Parents: Andy Brown and Torrie Brown
College: University of Indianapolis
Major: Nursing
GPA: 3.9962
Total cost of tuition for one year at University of Indianapolis: $25,910
How she’ll pay:
- Richard G. Lugar academic recognition award from University of Indianapolis: $11,000 per year
- 21st Century Scholar program: $7,500 per year
- Scholarship: $1,000
- Summer job: $1,000
- The rest: Student loans
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