Students First

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A 50% match is available for new undergraduate or graduate scholarship endowments!

Great students are the lifeblood of our program.

At the undergraduate level, scholarships ensure that a UW CSE education remains accessible to Washington's strongest students, regardless of their means. Washington's "innovation economy" companies should be created and staffed by Washington's brightest kids. This is our commitment, which we are able to fulfill because of your generosity.

At the graduate level, UW CSE competes with a handful of other top programs to attract the finest graduate students in the nation and the world. Our success depends on many factors: the renown of our faculty, the track record of our recent students, the "atmosphere" of our program, our facilities, and the financial support that we are able to offer incoming students.

Recognizing the importance of increased student support, the University of Washington has announced Students First as the final thrust of Campaign UW. Under Students First:

• New undergraduate or graduate scholarship endowments will be matched 50% by UW.
  • For example, a donor commitment of $100,000 will be matched with $50,000 in UW funds, yielding a total endowment of $150,000.

• In order to be eligible, the donor commitment must be at least $100,000.
  • There is no upper limit.

• The commitment can extend for as many as 5 years.
  • In other words, a donor commitment of $20,000/year for 5 years would qualify for a $50,000 match.

• Corporate matches "count."
  • A Microsoft employee could commit $10,000/year for 5 years, apply $10,000/year in Microsoft matching funds, and obtain a $50,000 UW match. The donor would triple his or her money!

• "Consortia" are allowed.
  • Four Google employees could band together and each commit $2,500/year for 5 years, matched by $2,500 from Google. At the end of 5 years, the result would be $50,000 in donor funds ($12,500 per donor), $50,000 in Google matching funds, and $50,000 from UW.

Students First is a great opportunity to help future generations of UW students -- undergraduate or graduate!

A word about endowments: An endowment is forever. The funds are invested in the UW Consolidated Endowment Fund, one of the best performing university endowments in the nation. Each year, 5% is available for expenditure (for example, $7,500 on a $150,000 endowment), with the remaining appreciation re-invested to grow the principal to keep pace with inflation. Endowments can be named by the donor.

What do undergraduate scholarships "cost"? UW tuition, while still a bargain, is rising. The "standard" undergraduate scholarship today is $7,500. That corresponds to an endowment of $150,000 -- $100,000 in donor funds and $50,000 in UW matching funds.

How about graduate student support? The cost of supporting a graduate student is approximately $10,000 for an academic quarter. That corresponds to an endowment of $200,000. Nine months of support (a full academic year) would require an endowment of $600,000 ($400,000 in donor funds and $200,000 in UW matching funds under Students First).

The fine print: The only stipulation of this new program is that financial need must be a selection criterion for scholarship recipients. At the undergraduate level, there are plenty of superb students who have financial need: 1/3 of UW's students are first-generation college attendees, and UW ranks 3rd in the nation among major universities in the proportion of students holding Pell Grants. At the graduate level, essentially all of students are independent of their parents and satisfy a financial need test.