By Mehninehn Smith
Most students hope for a fully paid college tuition. But, in reality, it is more of a struggle as the date for payment comes closer.
Eastern New Mexico University is offering the Greyhound Guarantee, which will fill the gap between what the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship pays and what a student’s tuition actually costs.
The Greyhound Guarantee requires that the student must receive a New Mexico Lottery Scholarship. With the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship, a first-time college freshmen who attended high school in New Mexico is offered eight semesters of paid tuition at a state university.
However, funding for the Lottery Scholarship is limited, so it may only partially fulfill tuition needs.
If the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship gives a student 70 percent of his or her tuition, the Greyhound Guarantee will add an additional 30 percent so that a student’s tuition is fully paid.
The Greyhound Guarantee has the same requirements as the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship.
ENMU President Steven Gamble said that the Lottery Scholarship is “one of the most generous things I’ve seen a state do.”
With the Lottery Scholarship, freshmen have to complete their first semester of college full-time with 12 units and a 2.5 GPA. The Greyhound Guarantee will cover four of the eight semesters.
The Greyhound Guarantee is good for freshmen who began school in 2012 and 2013. However, the Greyhound Guarantee will no longer continue after this year.
Beginning in Fall 2014, only freshmen becoming sophomores may apply for the guarantee.
“We wish we could do it for more people, but the cost is prohibitive, and we have a limited amount of money,” Gamble said.
The intent, according to Gamble, is to focus on those students who have to least amount of time to adjust to college life.
“We believe if you can get a student to pass 64 hours [half of their degree program], they will graduate from college,” Gamble said. “That is our goal.”
Eastern New Mexico University is the only school that offers this type of guarantee.