This fall, University of St. Thomas Houston will award a $500 scholarship to undergraduate students* – new, existing or transfer. The $500 award will be applied to fall tuition.

Fall $500, 60% off Summer Tuition, Free Fall Tuition

President Richard Ludwick views these Fall $500 tuition scholarships as essential to the success and retention of students. Ludwick credits the UST community for the difficult work they recently undertook restructuring the university, “Because of the challenges we faced together, we are now in a position to serve our students and our community. As others are raising tuition for the fall, this scholarship will have the effect of reducing it.”

UST has had a string of successful recent promotions. According to Ludwick, “We had an overwhelming response to our summer tuition discount, free fall tuition for our associates programs, and free fall tuition for our RN to MSN and our Master of Science in Nursing degree. That made us ask, ‘What can we do for all of our undergraduate students?’”

Student Discounts Ease Financial Burden

Cainan Alves, UST Senior Communications major, jumped with joy.

“In addition to all the previous support such as CeltCare and other initiatives provided to students, receiving this amount is something that makes me feel privileged and thankful,” Alves said. “We often hear in the news all the chaos and bad stories that this pandemic has brought. This help is something that has a huge impact on each student at the University of St. Thomas and it must be recognized.”

UST Cares about its Students and Houston

Curtis Huff, University of St. Thomas Board Chair, puts the Fall $500 scholarship offer in perspective and explains why it is an important gift.

“We know that many of our students and their families are struggling financially as a result of the COVID-19 crisis,” Huff said. “We also know that if a student takes a break from college because of financial or other challenges, the odds are that the student will not ultimately graduate. It is for these reasons that the University decided to provide $500 in additional financial aid to all of our undergraduate students this fall to help them stay in school and relieve the pressure.”

CeltCare Hardship Grants, Money for more than Tuition

When the pandemic closed down Houston, and students moved to an online learning environment, UST recognized that many students needed grants for basic needs like food and shelter and for online school needs like computers and Internet service. The University reinstated its CeltCare Program that was initiated to help faculty, staff and students get back on their feet after Hurricane Harvey.

“Our Financial Aid Department is also proactively working with our students who may be having greater difficulties to see what additional financial support can be provided, Huff said.” Like our CeltCare program, which is helping students with personal financial issues, this Fall $500 program is here to help the students with their schooling. We believe this is the right thing to do for our students and our community at this time.”

*This scholarship award does not apply to Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree students.