TAMPA, FLA. (WSVN) - A recent Florida high school graduate with big dreams of an Ivy League education is Princeton bound, and thanks to her dedication, cost is no longer a concern.
Adeola Adeyemo is headed to the presitigious Ivy League university in New Jersey, but there was a time when the Tampa-area resident thought she wouldn’t be able to afford any private school.
“Price was my number one constraint, period. When youre picking colleges, they tell you to rank the categories that’s important to you, and price and affordability was my all-time number one priority,” said Adeyemo.
According to Education Data Initiative, tuition from private universities is almost four times the cost of in-state tuition at a public university.
Only about 10% of students are able to land private scholarships.
Stephen Kubasek is vice president of university advancement at Saint Leo University in Pasco County.
“Families often rule out private universities because they think the cost is out of reach,” he said.
Part of Kubasek’s job is to reach out to donors and get scholarship money for students to attend.
“We’ve definitely seen the need grow and, as an institution, we’re offering more aid to our students to help them bridge that gap,” said Kubasek.
Adeyemo spent months attempting to bridge the gap for Princeton. Online, she created her own database and applied for over 200 outside scholarships.
“Like, if I had any free time during trips, at my friends’ house, in between classes, at lunch, I’d be applying to scholarships, for sure,” said Adeyemo.
Her dedication paid off, as she was awarded about 40 of those scholarships, including one from the DeBartolo Family Foundation.
The scholarships helped to offset the tuition cost, which made the decision to go to a private school easier.
“If I don’t claim it, the money is going to go somewhere else, so I just have to get my affairs in order,” said Adeyemo.
At Saint Leo, all of their scholarships are listed online.
Kubasek said the secret is for students to start searching well before their senior year, check out the requirements to know what they need and reach out to target schools to see what money is available.
Adeyemo said that once she gets to Princeton, she plans to apply for even more scholarships for the next school year.
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