Investing in Our Students (Scholarships)

Over the years, UW-L has been able to attract talented students, generations of men and women who have become standard bearers of our communities, decision makers in our government and the capable professionals in our workforce. The accomplishments of our alumni speak highly of their time at UW-L. Many would not have been able to attend without financial aid. Currently, more than 61% of our students receive some form of financial aid.

Scholarships, in particular, are the form of financial aid that best open the doors of educational opportunity. By doubling our endowment for scholarships, UW-L can ensure that every qualified student, regardless of a family’s capacity to pay the rising costs of a college education, has access to our university. At UW-L, it must always be about a student’s ability to succeed, not ability to pay.

Today, resident tuition and fees at UW-L total $5,500 per year and room and board another $5,000. Despite the fact that UW-L’s tuition is among the lowest of any comprehensive public university in the Midwest, our students have been asked year after year to absorb an increasingly high proportion of the cost of their education. In 1996 students paid 35% of that cost and the state 65%. By 2005 the student share had grown to 51% as the state’s shrunk to 49%. Increasing our commitment to scholarships is the best solution to counter the rising pressure on students and their families and allow greater access to UW-L. Nothing more and nothing less than the future itself depends on our efforts to meet this challenge.