CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When it comes to getting into college, what a person knows is only half the battle.
For many students, the cost is a major barrier and, over the years, analysts say it's only become more expensive.
Aria Lane is a freshman at Hampton University now, but before the Charlottean started studying biochemistry, she had to make it past the cost of tuition and fees.
"Highschoolers do have a lot of stress on them, because they have to apply for college, then they have to worry where they’re going to get the money," Lane said. "So, being able to focus on academics with little worry of money is also important.”
According to the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of college in the United States is more than $36,000 a year. It's a price tag that's more than doubled in the 21st century, the group says.
Working to help cut down costs are scholarships through organizations like the Psi Mu Zeta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
"We have been awarding scholarship recipients since 2012," Chapter President Ta-Tianna Nealy-McFadden said. "To be able to award someone that is in need and that can use our support is just gratifying.”
This year, they'll award $1,500 to five Mecklenburg County students through their yearly sneaker ball scholarship gala, happening March 9 at the Harvey B. Gantt center.
“There will be three academic scholarships, one character-based scholarship," Shellisa Multrie, who leads the organization's charity arm, said. "We’re also offering a $1500 scholarship for a current undergraduate student who is from Charlotte.”
For Lane, who was a recipient last year, the sorority is making a difference by taking away some of the financial burden.
"I love the organization for doing this," Lane said.
Mecklenburg County students interested in applying to the Pearl Scholarship can do so through March 15 at PsiMuZeta.org.
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