Sallie Mae fund, BET collaborate to promote college awareness

Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Jan 10, 2008

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"On average, college graduates earn $1 million more than high school graduates in the course of a lifetime" said Debra Lee, chairman and CEO of BET Networks. "Increased awareness is the key to helping more African-Americans realize their dream of going to college and, in turn, access that greater earning power."

To make college a reality for more students, BET and the Sallie Mae Fund are collaborating on two new initiatives to generate awareness of scholarships and other college-funding resources among Black students.

The "Next Level" scholarship competition will award $25,000 in Sallie Mae Fund scholarships to deserving students. For more information, visit www.BET.com/nextlevelscholar. Secondly, a new directory will provide Black students and their families easier access to hundreds of college scholarships and millions in scholarship dollars. Sponsored by the Sallie Mae fund and BET and produced by the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, "Black College Dollars," available at www.blackcollegedollars.org, offers a free, comprehensive listing of more than 300 scholarships designed for Black students.

According to research from the U.S. Department of Education, Whites are nearly twice as likely as Blacks to have earned a bachelor's by the age of 29.