CHICAGO – City Colleges of Chicago STAR Scholars have received more than $1 million in scholarship offers from four-year colleges and universities. The 15-member network of STAR Partner institutions provide financial, academic and advising supports to STAR scholars who have earned an associate degree from City Colleges and plan to transfer to a four-year college or university to earn a bachelor’s degree.

“In offering more than $1 million in scholarships to STAR Scholars, four-year colleges and universities throughout the state are recognizing and rewarding the talent and achievements of Chicago’s best and brightest,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “The 15 STAR Partners recognize that by removing financial barriers to quality college education, the road is paved for Chicago’s hardworking students to become a skilled workforce that attracts high-paying jobs to the region.”  

To ensure more students can access a viable pathway to college regardless of financial means, Mayor Emanuel created the STAR Scholarship in 2014, rewarding high-achieving Chicago Public Schools graduates with an opportunity to earn a degree or certificate at City Colleges at no cost.

2017 marked the first graduation ceremony for Star Scholars, with more than 175 students expected to earn their associate degrees from City Colleges. The scholarship program currently serves 2,167 students.

Since its launch, the STAR program has grown to include partnerships between 15 Chicago-area colleges and universities to provide transfer scholarships for eligible STAR Scholars. Packages range in monetary value between $2,500 and more than $50,000 each year, and include advising and transition supports.

“We are grateful to our Star Partners not only for their generosity in scholarship dollars offered, but also their faith and confidence in our students’ ability to succeed at the highest levels as they pursue their bachelor’s degrees and other academic goals,” said City Colleges Chancellor Juan Salgado. “The Star Scholarship ensures that hard-working students have a path to success no matter their income level – and STAR partners are helping to pave that path with valuable academic opportunities.”

Seven partner institutions have so far reported offers to STAR graduates totaling $1,071,000 in scholarship dollars – an amount expected to increase as colleges process applications and students finalize decisions.    

Three STAR Partners’ offers have each surpassed $200,000: Loyola University has offered the highest dollar amount at $425,000 in transfer scholarships; Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) has offered $250,000; and Northwestern University has offered $215,960. The offer at Northwestern covers full tuition costs for four STAR Scholar graduates. Other offers include those made by DePaul University ($88,000), North Park University ($58,000), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) ($35,000) and Governor’s State University ($15,000).

The 15 STAR Transfer Partners are: Columbia College, DePaul University, Dominican University, Governors State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Loyola University, National Louis University, North Park University, Northeastern Illinois University, Northwestern University, Robert Morris University, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Roosevelt University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.    

Twelve of the 15 STAR Transfer Partner institutions have admitted at least one City Colleges STAR Scholar as of May and 176 individual STAR Scholars have been accepted overall.

Students in the STAR Scholarship program demonstrate a high aptitude for completion success that far outpaces the national average. The percentage of City Colleges STAR Scholars from the first 2015 cohort graduating in three years is expected to be double the national average of 22.6 percent. For first-time, full-time students at two-year public institutions nationwide who complete in three years (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, March 2017), and the percentage of Star Scholars graduating in two years has already nearly matched the national three-year rate.   

Of those STAR Scholars projected to graduate this year, more than 70 percent are in the first-generation of their family to attend college.   

To become a STAR Scholar, CPS students must meet specific criteria to be selected for the STAR Scholarship at City Colleges of Chicago. These students must graduate with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, they must demonstrate “completion ready” ability with an ACT math and English score of 17, and they must enroll in one of CCC’s structured, relevant pathways. Students meeting these criteria will be offered waivers for all tuition and books for up to three years at City Colleges of Chicago.    

For more information about the Chicago STAR Scholarship at City Colleges of Chicago, visit: www.ccc.edu/starscholarship. For more information about enrolling in classes at City Colleges of Chicago, call 773-COLLEGE or visit www.ccc.edu.

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About City Colleges of Chicago
The City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) is the largest community college system in Illinois and one of the largest in the nation, with 5,500 faculty and staff serving 90,000 students annually at seven colleges and six satellite sites city-wide. The City Colleges of Chicago includes seven colleges:  Richard J. Daley College, Kennedy-King College, Malcolm X College, Olive-Harvey College, Harry S Truman College, Harold Washington College and Wilbur Wright College.