{"id":110700,"date":"2020-02-09T05:45:16","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T15:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=110700"},"modified":"2020-02-07T16:53:10","modified_gmt":"2020-02-08T02:53:10","slug":"hawaii-promise-testimonies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/02\/09\/hawaii-promise-testimonies\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Dreams do come true’ What UH<\/abbr> students say about Hawai\u2018i Promise"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 6<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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From left: Alejandra Ramirez, Nevaeh Arruda-Kapu, Parker Coloma<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2018–19, the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise program supported 1,378 University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> community college<\/a> students who were eligible for resident tuition and had financial need. The program provides scholarships to all qualifying community college students.<\/p>\n

The average family income of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise scholarship recipients was $54,098 (Adjusted Gross Income), well below the state\u2019s median income of $77,765 (2017). Nearly half of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise recipients (46 percent) did not receive federal Pell grants, indicating that Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise supported many students in a “gap” group who had financial need but did not qualify for a Pell grant. More than half of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise scholarships were awarded to students who are identified as underrepresented at UH<\/abbr>: Native Hawaiians, Filipinos, Pacific Islanders, American Indian or Alaskan Native, African American or Black and Hispanic. These underrepresented students, who made up 52 percent of overall UH<\/abbr> Community Colleges enrollment in fall 2018, received 60 percent of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise scholarships.<\/p>\n

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Promise students earned more credits and got better grades than other UH<\/abbr> community college students. Here are what some recipients have to say about the difference the scholarship has made.<\/p>\n