Scholarship Appeal

For over four decades the Wright State University Alumni Association has been committed to supporting student scholarships. In today’s economy, as state and federal funding continue to decrease, private dollars for scholarships are needed now more than ever before. It’s estimated that at least two-thirds of college students now graduate with loans—even the average debt for Wright State graduates is nearly $27,000.  Approximately 83 percent of our Wright State graduates have taken at least one loan during their college careers.

Wright State faces another hard reality: we have a very large population of students who do not qualify for either merit-based or need-based scholarships. These students are caught between two buckets of scholarship and grant funds—the brightest and the neediest. They don’t qualify for either category. In 2011, 56 percent of the Wright State undergraduate population was not eligible for grants or scholarships. Raising private funds was never more important than now.

State funding has decreased drastically over the last 25 years. In that period, our state funding has decreased by 47 percent. Wright State currently receives only about 18 percent of its annual budget from the state. Scholarship dollars are more important than ever for all our students—our merit-based students, need-based students, and the 56 percent of students “caught in the middle.”

Please consider supporting today’s Wright State students by giving to one of the Alumni Association's scholarships or one of Wright State’s other hundreds of scholarship funds. Learn more about the Alumni Association’s scholarships and the university scholarship funds.

Every gift, regardless of size, will change the lives of students in the Miami Valley. Please help us continue this rich legacy for future generations!  You can show your commitment to helping Wright State students achieve their dream of a college education.