Today we share Ellie’s story.

“I always knew I wanted to go to college, but I could only go if I found scholarships. My high school guidance counselor sent me a scholarship application for basketball players and another for Catholic students. I’m neither! It made me feel like I wasn’t what colleges were looking for, and I worried that there wouldn’t be scholarships that applied to me.”

55% of students struggle to find financial support for their studies.

Ellie, now a freshman at the School of Visual Arts, turned to Urban Arts’s Student Success Manager, Joelle Blackstock.

“Joelle went to work for me! She found a whole bunch of scholarships she knew I could get. She knows what I’m good at and what I’m passionate about and she presented me with all these scholarship options I never would have found on my own. There was even a scholarship for kids that crochet! (I got that one).” Not only did Joelle ensure that Ellie had a wide array of personalized options, she also helped Ellie and other students avoid dangerous pitfalls. “There are fraudulent scholarships out there, and some applications that want too much of your personal information. It can be sketchy and exploitative. Joelle knew how to sniff those out. I ran everything by her.” At Urban Arts, it’s personal. Each student feels like their individual talents are recognized and that those talents have a direct impact on their success. For our donors, it’s personal too. If the college application or the scholarship process has ever caused you a sleepless night, • support systems that make it better. • support systems that support students. • support Urban Arts’s effort to make it accessible and equitable.

The impact of your support:

• $10,000 allows us to roll out our award-winning computer science course in a Title 1 public school for hundreds of students
• $5,000 covers a student’s cost to attend Urban Arts’ Mastery Level programming throughout high school
• $2,000 covers a student’s enrollment in our AP Computer Science course
• $1,000 covers extensive scholarship research and application support for a student
• $500 covers a student’s attendance in Urban Arts’ College Exploration and Access Course
• $250 covers college application fees for one student
• $100 covers 3 hours of 1:1 college essay support for one student
• $50 covers a masterclass at our learning hub or in our virtual classrooms

Invest in our students here.