Micro-Scholarship Partnership with Raise.me, the First of Its Kind in New Jersey

By: Alicia Cook     alicia_cook@bloomfield.edu

Bloomfield College is excited to announce a new scholarship program aimed at motivating students to do better in high school and prepare themselves for college. The College is the first in New Jersey to launch this progressive initiative.

Through an online platform called Raise.me, students can now earn ‘micro-scholarships’ from Bloomfield College starting in 9th grade for a wide range of individual achievements.  For example, students can earn:

• $100 each year of perfect attendance
• $300 for each extracurricular activity
• $700 for each A in a core or fine arts course

“This partnership with Raise.me is exciting because it is one of those rare ventures that truly benefits all parties involved – the College, Raise.me, School Counselors and, especially, prospective students and their families,” said Adam Castro, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Bloomfield College.

In addition to improving cost transparency and access to vital financial aid, the new program allows students to track specific goals they want to accomplish throughout high school, helping them become more competitive college applicants and more successful college students.

Raise.me is a social enterprise focused on expanding access to higher education, especially among low-income and first-generation students.  Raise.me was developed in response to the fact that most scholarships and grants today are awarded by colleges at the very end of high school - after a student has already done well or not, applied to a college or not, and been accepted or not - which is often too late to impact a student’s college ambitions or choices.

“It’s a perfect fit for Bloomfield College. Our mission is one of access and affordability and it is driven by motivated students that want to become proud Bloomfield College Bears,” said Castro. “This partnership allows us to identify those talented students earlier and they, in turn, are rewarded for their commitment to being the best student they can be.”

Raise.me has partnered with a diverse set of nearly 150 schools including University of Rochester, Carnegie Mellon, Franklin and Marshall College, Georgia Tech, Penn State, Tulane, and Rollins College.  Raise.me is free for students and also provides a free portal for high school counselors to help students track their progress.

Students, educators, and parents can learn more at www.raise.me/join/bloomfield.