YOU need more than just good marks to successfully transition from high school to university in the city.
For Shepparton school leavers, a move will likely involve finding an over-priced rental and working too many hours in a low-paying job just to get by. And that’s before you start to focus on full-time university study.
Addressing these problems is part of the motivation behind the Greater Shepparton Foundation awarding $106,000 in Lift Off education and medical scholarships to 19 recipients who are about to embark on their higher education journey.
The scholarships, awarded to young people aged 16–25, are for approved higher education courses including Diplomas and Bachelor programs and range from $2,000 for one year and up to $10,000 over three years.
Greater Shepparton Foundation chief executive officer, Cheryl Hammer, said the scholarships are a response to the increasing number of our young people not able to afford the transition from secondary education to post-secondary education.
Over the past five years the scholarships have increased the number of students from the region who are able to pursue their education dreams.
A study has shown that young people from non-metropolitan regions in Victoria, such as Shepparton, defer university studies at twice the rate of their metropolitan counterparts, and currently only half of our young people finish secondary school and a quarter go on to tertiary education.
Ms Hammer said, “motivated by these results, we introduced the Lift Off scholarships to break down some of the financial barriers our students faced.”
