Et cetera : Iowa High School Seniors Awarded Scholarships by Nonprofit

50 Students Receive $1,000 After Learning About College Financing
Fifty Iowa high school seniors each earned a $1,000 scholarship for college through the 2022-2023 Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship. The program is sponsored by ISL Education Lending, the name under which the nonprofit Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation provides college funding programs. Students qualified for the scholarship by completing online tools to understand financial planning for college expenses.Nearly 4,000 Iowa high school seniors registered for the scholarship from November 2022 through March 31, 2023. Of those, more than 1,000 completed two online financial literacy tools to be included in monthly drawings for the 50 college scholarships."This program has allowed us to help Iowa students directly with more than $500,000 in college costs over the past decade," said Christine Hensley, board chair for ISL. "But, more importantly, the knowledge gained through qualifying for the scholarship has helped thousands of high school seniors understand how they can reduce the need to take on student loan debt to pay for their college educations."Henry, a participant in this year's program, left a comment on the Trustpilot review site that said, "I really like how informative it was. I love how much the company cares about teaching the youth about student loans."Another participant, Maggie Vonnahme, left a Trustpilot review that stated, "My experience was great because I learned more about what my college funds will look like. It puts into perspective the long-term money management that goes into college."Participating students completed Student Loan Game Plan and the Return on College Investment tool, both of which are always available to the public at www.IowaStudentLoan.org. The tools help students create strategies to reduce college debt and maximize the financial returns of an investment in higher education.Between 8% and 12% of Iowa's high school seniors annually participate in the program, which was introduced in 2014. Registered students represent high schools in all of Iowa's 99 counties. The scholarship has no requirements for GPA, test scores or income but is open to any Iowa high school senior who is a legal U.S. resident and intends to attend an eligible college, university or program the following fall."This program brings our free online tools to the attention of many high school seniors," said Steve McCullough, president and CEO of ISL. "The students can use them to develop a financially sound plan to pay for college, with an amount of debt that can be reasonably repaid."Scholarship funds are sent directly to each recipient's college in time for fall expenses.Families interested in future award programs from ISL Education Lending should watch for details at www.IowaStudentLoan.org/Scholarships.
One Benton County student received one of the $1,000 scholarships for college through the 2022-2023 program:

• Olivia Schanbacher, Belle Plaine High Schoo

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About Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation
Established in 1979 as a private, nonprofit organization, Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation helps Iowa students and families obtain the resources necessary to succeed in postsecondary education. ISL has helped nearly 400,000 students pay for college, offering educational loans and other products under the name ISL Education Lending. The organization, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, also provides an array of borrower benefits, financial literacy tools and community reinvestment programs, including support for free college planning services for students and their families. For more information about Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation, visit www.IowaStudentLoan.org.