Drexel University is offering tuition at half the cost for students who have earned an associate degree from any accredited community college in the U.S.
“Our experiential education model has proven to be one of the best ways for students to prepare to be leaders in their careers, so it's incumbent on us provide opportunities for more students to earn a Drexel degree,” said Dr. Dawn Medley, senior vice president for enrollment management at Drexel.
The Drexel Promise Program began, in the fall of 2023, offering 50% renewable scholarships for the cost of tuition to eligible graduates of Pennsylvania and New Jersey community colleges — 120 students among the 350 applicants took advantage of the program. Now, the university is expanding the program to benefit community college graduates across the country.
Promise scholarship recipients must maintain full-time enrollment (up to 12 academic quarters during class terms) and a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA.
The program was inspired by Drexel’s Liberty Scholars Program, which has offered full scholarships to local high school graduates for more than a decade.
“If a program like ours can provide additional motivation for students to earn their associate degree and lower the financial barrier to invest in themselves by pursuing a 4-year degree, it’s not just a win for Drexel and those students who earn a Drexel degree, it’s also helping to move society in the right direction,” said Michael Harrington, assistant vice president for strategic enrollment services at Drexel. “And that should be the goal of every institution of higher learning.”