College Grants & Sponsored Programs
The William Randolph Hearst Foundation has awarded Union College $100,000 toward William Randolph Hearst Scholarships for students in the Academic Opportunity Program (AOP). Union’s AOP, established in 1969, is designed to admit students with great potential who might not otherwise have the opportunity to attend Union due to academic and economic reasons, and to actively support those students through to graduation. The three-year grant will help support and better prepare the most promising AOP students who are poised for success after graduation — in graduate studies, professional endeavors, and as contributors to their local communities and society more broadly.
Specifically, grant funds will be used to augment scholarships and provide academic assistance to existing AOP students thereby decreasing their loan debt while increasing their ability to engage more deeply in their studies. We aim to better enable AOP students to: 1) participate in high-impact educational enrichment activities; 2) navigate the pathway to academic and personal excellence, and 3) develop their passions and the abilities needed to become contributors to society. In addition to bolstering scholarships, the grant will also provide academic support for AOP students, including GRE, MCAT, and LSAT study materials; graduate school application fees; travel expenses for job interviews; and costs to participate in professional conferences.
To learn more about Union’s AOP program, please visit their website.