The reality of economic hardship hitting families was highlighted during the pandemic. We know that scholarships and financial aid are vitally important, and periods of disruption can affect our students’ ability to continue their education at LMU, creating a financial burden that can impact students’ academic and mental health and a potential loss of talent for our community.
Endowed scholarships allow donors to target programs based on their interests, and provide those programs, colleges, schools and departments the ability to be strategic in their recruiting efforts. Scholarship support creates long-term impact on programs through sustainability of excellence.
Immediate use scholarships allow the university to respond to constantly changing demographics, especially in our prospective students. Of the big four universities in Los Angeles, (UCLA, USC, Pepperdine and LMU), LMU is the most diverse by percentages of underrepresented students. Our diversity enhances our creativity, strengthens our ability to problem solve, and prepares our students to contribute to our global society. Our demographics really speak to this need for immediate scholarship resources. It allows LMU the best flexibility to recruit outstanding students in a variety of disciplines and majors. Immediate use scholarships give us the opportunity to excel in the short-term, allowing us to make significant gains in quality and ranking. Overall, the mix of endowed scholarships and immediate use scholarships allows LMU to balance the short-term challenges and opportunities, while also securing our future as the destination of choice for students.