Norwich and VSAC team up on science and technology scholarships for Vermont students

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Norwich University is partnering with the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) to offer science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) scholarships for qualified Vermont students beginning this fall.

Students identified by school representatives, including VSAC GEAR UP and Talent Search representatives within each high school, will be eligible to apply for this premier scholarship, which ranges from $25,000-$30,000 a year for each of four years.

Norwich University will award up to 30 STEM scholarships annually to qualified students. Students will also have access to need-based financial aid that can supplement scholarship awards.

The program and partnership with VSAC is designed to increase college enrollment for Vermont students. While Vermont has one of the highest high school graduation rates at 87.8 percent, postsecondary enrollment is reported as some of the lowest in the country at approximately 60 percent.

“The statistics show that the students who do not attain postsecondary education fall heavily into the lower-income, first-generation group,” Norwich University Vice President for Enrollment Management Greg Matthews said. “I think the reason these students do not attain is that colleges and universities haven’t provided the guidance and financial support required.

“VSAC as a partner is in all of the high schools with GEAR UP and Talent Search counselors. They are serving to introduce Norwich, assist with students visiting Norwich, and helping those students to access other resources afterward, while they are competing for STEM scholarships. Ideally, these students will go to Norwich, receive funding to afford Norwich, and get good-paying jobs in the high tech industries in Vermont so that Vermont is better positioned to retain its young talent.”

“Norwich University is really stepping up to address not only the issue of making a university education accessible to Vermonters but also of creating the paths to keeping highly technical and educated Vermonters in state,” VSAC President and CEO Scott Giles said.

In order to qualify, students must apply and be accepted to Norwich University in one of the following majors: Engineering (Civil, Construction Management, Electrical and Computer or Mechanical); Architecture (with a Master’s option that leads to licensure); Computer Security and Information Assurance; Computer Science; Biological Sciences (Biology, Exercise Science, Biochemistry); Chemistry; Physics or Mathematics.

Ninety-six percent of recent graduates from these majors have gone onto graduate school, employment or military service within eight months of graduation.

“Our graduates from these programs are leading satisfying and successful careers,” Matthews said.

Norwich was one of the first colleges in the country to teach engineering and boasts a world-class cybersecurity education program. The Norwich School of Architecture + Art is the only accredited architecture school in northern New England, and undergraduate research in the sciences and across disciplines has grown rapidly in the past 10 years.

In addition to being admitted to Norwich University, students will need to:

• Complete the Norwich/VSAC scholarship application.

• Visit Norwich University as part of a VSAC organized visit or by arrangement with the Norwich University Admission office.

• Interview with a Norwich STEM Scholarship Representative.

GPA requirements for these scholarships begin at 3.3 on a 4.0 point scale, but exceptions may be made for students who are on an upward trend and are recommended by their Guidance Counselors, VSAC Counselors, Gear Up Counselors, or Talent Search Counselors.

“We are especially interested in students who like to learn while doing because of Norwich University’s highly interactive and experiential learning environment,” Matthews said.

For more information contact: VP for Enrollment Management Greg Matthews at 802-485-2741 or gmatthe2@norwich.edu or Director of Student Financial Planning Martin Daniels at mdaniel2@norwich.edu.

˜Norwich University is a diversified academic institution that educates traditional-age students and adults in a Corps of Cadets and as civilians. Norwich offers a broad selection of traditional and distance-learning programs culminating in Baccalaureate and Graduate Degrees. Norwich University was founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge of the U.S. Army and is the oldest private military college in the United States of America. Norwich is one of our nation’s six senior military colleges and the birthplace of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).

In fulfillment of Norwich’s mission to train and educate today’s students to be tomorrow’s global leaders and captains of industry, the Forging the Future campaign is committed to creating the best possible learning environment through state-of-the-art academics and world-class facilities. Norwich University will celebrate its bicentennial in 2019. Learn more about the campaign.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 4th, 2016 at 10:37 am and is filed under News & Views, Recommended Reading, VSAC News Releases. Both comments and pings are currently closed.