Cornell College works to help Iowa Wesleyan University students find a new educational home

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (KCRG) - With a nearly $15,000 difference between tuition at Cornell College and Iowa Wesleyan University, one big question that many potential transfer students are asking is how they might be able to make up the difference. That’s why academic Leaders at Cornell are working with those students to try and keep them in Iowa.

“We’ve had students come up to our table with tears in their eyes... it’s even impacted me a little bit,” said Transfer Coordinator, Sharon Grice. She’s worked at Cornell for nearly 30 years and this week, , she’s sharing what the Mount Vernon liberal arts college can offer to hundreds of Iowa Wesleyan students.

“The first concern is always transfer credit. ‘Will the work I’ve already done, can I hang onto that?’ And at Cornell we are very transfer friendly so I can reassure them about that,” said Grice.

She says the second biggest concern is financial.

While the gap in cost is wide between the two schools, VP for Enrollment Management, Wendy Beckemeyer says their scholarship opportunities could even it out for some.

“The scholarship that we offer for Iowa students, the Iowa Promise Scholarship at $31,000 for anyone who is an admitted student, would be a comparable award,” said Beckemeyer.

There’s only one specific scholarship they can’t accommodate; they don’t offer athletic scholarships.

Beyond that, they are working to find every other avenue to make these potential new students a right fit.

“The right major, whether it’s an athletic fit, a fine arts fit, the fit is really important,” said Grice. “And if Cornell is not the right fit, my role is to talk about other colleges, great colleges in Iowa.”

Copyright 2023 KCRG. All rights reserved.