Overview

Resources

A student will be eligible to receive scholarships if they meet all of the following criteria:

1. US citizen or permanent resident
2. Pursuing a B.A. or B.S. degree in biology or neuroscience
3. Demonstrates academic potential in these fields
4. Low-income, as defined by each institution
5. Has unmet need

Our Institutional Researchers worked with our Offices of Financial Aid to gather data on students who have met these criteria in previous years, to give us a sense of numbers of qualifying students, average unmet need, average GPAs, and retention and graduation rates in biology and neuroscience.

Aligned with NSF policy, each institution’s Office of Financial Aid will determine scholarship amounts and award scholarships based on their definitions of low-income status and students’ unmet financial need. Unmet need is calculated as Cost of Attendance (COA) less the Student Aid Index and any grants and scholarships. The COA for UCSB is $36,381, based on living in an undergraduate apartment and being a California resident.* The COA for UM is $37,612, based on an upper-level undergraduate qualifying as an in-state student.^

Based on our analysis of a potential Scholar pool at each university, we expect each institution will award scholarships around $13,000 per student, per year, until the student graduates. NSF policy states the maximum scholarship per student is $15,000 per year, and students cannot receive scholarships for longer than five years.

* UCSB. (n.d.). Cost of attendance. Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Retrieved February 6, 2024, from https://www.finaid.ucsb.edu/cost-of-attendance
^ U-M. (n.d.). Estimating costs. Financial Aid. Retrieved February 6, 2024, from https://finaid.umich.edu/getting-started/estimating-costs

Both UM and UCSB already have several structures in place designed to support low-income students. Some examples include:

• Basic needs / food pantry programs (e.g., Maize & Blue Pantry)
• STEM tutoring
• Writing centers
• Major-specific advising

Additionally, both UCSB and UM participate in minority-serving programs like MESA and LSAMP. These programs are dedicated to increasing the number of STEM degrees awarded to populations historically underrepresented in STEM fields. Both institutions also participate in TRIO programs, such as McNair and Educational Opportunities, that are designed to support and encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

To learn more about successfully implementing an S-STEM program that promotes success for its students, we interviewed 10 PIs about their own S-STEM programs to identify factors that make these programs more or less successful (see Past S-STEM Experiences Report & Key Findings From Data Sources). From these interviews, we identified three key insights:

1. Recruitment of students must be both a priority and a collaborative effort, working with those within the high schools, community colleges, and institutions
2. Identify your specific cohorts’ needs and budget money accordingly – How big of a commitment? What should students get out of it? Do they need more money themselves?
3. Forming a well-functioning S-STEM program requires the cooperation and collaboration of many different groups of people, including admissions offices, advisors, financial aid, administrative staff, faculty, and students. It is important to not underestimate the amount of work required.

Speaking with S-STEM program PIs also allowed us to learn about a variety of S-STEM activities. Activities consisted of required academic courses, support for these courses, professional development, and cohort-building opportunities.

We also spoke with three students who either planned on transferring or had already transferred to UM, UCSB, or UCI to learn more about their experiences and how we can best support students (see Community College & Transfer Student Interviews & Key Findings From Data Sources). From those interviews, we identified three key insights:

1. Transfer students need awareness of and access to resources and experiences that support them before and after the application process
2. Students appreciate having a “home base” on campus, whether in the form of a Transfer Student Center, a club based around a common identity, or a different resource
3. Interactions with four-year institutions motivate students to apply and transfer to those institutions

In addition to these insights, we also gathered examples of helpful resources for students before and after transferring. Some resources students told us were helpful were email lists, live chats on websites, peer tutoring, and transfer student centers.

Finally, we invited faculty and staff associated with resource centers from UCSB, UM, UCI, and other higher education institutions to complete our survey on creating supportive structures and opportunities for low-income transfer students (see Programs to Invite for Survey). The survey had seven questions total, asking participants to share/recommend activities and topics they felt a program geared at helping low-income transfer students should have. We had 16 total responses and were able to identify multiple key findings (see SEISMIC Scholars S-STEM Insights Report & Key Findings From Data Sources):

1. Programs should have many opportunities for students to connect with faculty and peers
2. Programs should include professional development and build skills such as resume creation and interviewing
3. Programs should ensure that workshops and other events are accessible for commuting and non-traditional students

In addition to this, many participants stressed that transfer students must be explicitly made aware of available resources. Respondents also noted that it is important to address and respond to both hidden curriculum and imposter syndrome and that frequent communication is necessary for success. This increases access to opportunities, including undergraduate research.

Appendix

The button below leads to a Google Folder with all items in our Appendix.

APPENDIX FILES