Avoiding college debt - SCC students spread the word

Shoreline Community College students are finding help from a new, free, web-based scholarship clearinghouse. Launched in January 2010, theWashBoard.org matches Washington scholarship seekers with Washington scholarship providers.

In one stop, students search and apply for multiple scholarships specific to their academic interests, college or university, or by other criteria. This saves time, and makes sure scholarships do not go unused. The Washington Scholarship Coalition (WSC), a public/private partnership, created theWashBoard.org after five years of research and feasibility and business planning.

“Most community college students don’t have large amounts of money for school. TheWashBoard.org is a great site for students to find scholarships to help them get through school quicker and easier,” says Shane Freund, a 32 year-old Shoreline student.

SCC students thought the website was a useful tool for students, and they incorporated theWashBoard.org project into their Drama and Film Program. Freund and his classmates thought theWashBoard.org was such a useful tool for students that they offered to create 30 and 60 second TV spots as part of their classroom work in “Acting, Writing, and Directing for the Camera,” a class taught by Tony Doupe, Chair of Shoreline’s Drama and Film Program.

Doupe says, “The students are excited to work on theWashBoard.org project because most of them can relate with how difficult it is to pay for college. And none of them want to take on more debt than they have to.”

Over 31,000 scholarship seekers and 130 scholarship providers are registered on theWashBoard.org. At the spring 2010 peak, over $14 million in scholarship funds was available.