Program
Students: What I Learned
Listen to students talk about what they learned during Glow’s financial education program.
“I would make a budget for myself and make my dad make one for my family.”
Glow solves financial barriers for college qualified and motivated, low income students with an integrated, scalable program solution consisting of: Financial Education, Mentoring/College Planning Advice, and “Unmet Need” Scholarships. It empowers students to proactively plan and acquire funding for their college education and obtain basic financial literacy skills that are often lacking in their communities. We are teaching our students to redefine finance from a barrier to a resource in achieving their dream of a college education - and the financial skills they gain will help them make informed financial decisions and succeed even beyond college.
Financial Education
Glow Scholars are required to complete a Financial Education course. Glow’s Financial Education curriculum focuses on both basic financial literacy skills and applying the skills to college-specific financial planning.
Students initially attend a series of Financial Education Workshops taught by Glow’s staff and trained volunteers or Financial Education partners. Students then complete individual College Financial Planning Analysis to develop detailed financial budget for college expenses and funding sources and analyze likely gap in their funding.
Step 1: Financial Education Workshops
- The classes cover both personal financial literacy (e.g., budgeting, saving, loans, credit management) and “how to finance college” (e.g., financial aids, scholarships, jobs, student loans) contents.
- They are taught by Glow staff and volunteers as well as our Financial Education partners including Wells Fargo, Silicon Valley Bank and Opportunity Fund.
Step 2: College Financial Planning Analysis
- Students then apply their classroom learning to develop detailed financial budget for college expenses, actively seek out potential funding sources (including applying for FAFSA and other scholarhsip opportunities), and analyze likely gap in their funding.
View: a typical Glow Financial Education workshop format and topics covered
College Planning Advice/Mentorship
Many students in our program are first in their family to go to college and do not have a strong support system around them to help them through the planning process. Students are matched to Volunteer College Planning Advisors/Mentors for individual support needed to navigate and evaluate various financial expenses and funding options for college.
“Unmet Need” Scholarship
Once students complete their Financial Education Workshops and College Financial Planning, they can apply for the Glow Scholarship for the amount they still need to be able to fully afford college after all other available funding sources. After a rigorous evaluation, Glow provides unmet need college scholarships to high potential students, who have demonstrated strong commitment to college, high probability to graduate, and motivation to succeed and contribute to the society. Scholarships are provided for 4 years for 4-year college students, and for 2 years for community college students. Community college students can re-apply for continued support if they decide to transfer to a 4-year school.
Other Resources
Individual Development Account
In addition to the above programs and services, Glow works with Opportunity Fund (www.opportunityfund.org) to provide Individual Development Account (IDA) program to qualified low income students. IDA allows students to save money toward college in a matching account in which students savings are matched by 1:2 up to $2,000 savings (= total $6,000 after matching fund).