The University of Connecticut has announced plans to award an additional $5,000 annually to students from Hartford public schools who meet certain academic and attendance goals.
The initiative is similar to a program the school announced for New Haven students last month.
The money will go to incoming UConn students who are already receiving $5,000 annual scholarships as part of the Hartford Promise program.
That program is for students who have been enrolled in Hartford Public Schools since at least ninth grade, will graduate with a cumulative 3.0 grade point average, and have good attendance.
UConn President Susan Herbst said the twin scholarships will make a big difference for eligible students.
"Along with other opportunities for scholarships and grants from the university, from the federal government, that brings the cost down extremely low," Herbst said. "So we talk a lot about the high cost of going to college, that's not true at UConn generally -- it's certainly not true for the scholars in the Hartford Promise program."
#HartfordPromise offers $20,000 at 4 yr. college. @UConn Promise Scholars get matching funds, adding up to $40,000. pic.twitter.com/NjVcag9EhD
— Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez (@HartfordSuper) January 12, 2016
Hartford Schools Superintendent Beth Schiavino-Narvaez said she was grateful for the new scholarship opportunities presented to Hartford students.
“We are reshaping the narrative of what education can be and we believe that an education in a city is about being, and creating, an urban center for excellence,” Schiavino-Narvaez said.
Jeanfranco Vega, a junior at Hartford High School, is in the Hartford Promise program.
“They’re going to give us so many opportunities. It's great. It’s amazing how they’re trying to help us,” said Vega.
Listen below to Hartford Promise Executive Director Richard Sugarman describe the program on WNPR's Where We Live a few months ago:
About 150 college-bound seniors are on track to become Hartford Promise's first scholars in the fall.
This report contains information from the Associated Press. Heather Brandon and Ryan Caron King contributed to this report.
