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November 20, 2017

Promise to Graduate in Four Years Guaranteed to Incoming Roberts Wesleyan College Students

Four-Year Promise Will Launch for Fall 2018 Class Alongside $32,000 Opportunity Grant

Starting in the fall of 2018, Roberts Wesleyan College will offer a Four-Year Promise. This promise, launched in August for the incoming fall 2018 class, combined with the existing Roberts Opportunity Grant, provides a guarantee of both graduation and student aid to all students.

“We wholeheartedly believe students are worth investing in,” said Deana L. Porterfield, president of Roberts Wesleyan College. “Students are why we are here and the reason we do what we do. The new Four-Year Promise begins with the fall 2018 incoming freshmen. This assurance, combined with the Roberts Opportunity Grant, will help our students save money through not only this existing grant, but also a promise to graduate in four years. We are committed to providing the resources, education and mentors our students need to start the next chapter of their life.”

Four-Year Promise

Sixty percent of college students do not graduate in four years. That can cost as much as $300,000 in tuition, interest on loans, and lost income and retirement savings. Taking a single extra year to finish college could cost nearly $47,000 in lost income and over $82,000 in lost lifetime retirement savings.

With that, Roberts will begin offering the Four-Year Promise in the fall of 2018. The promise will guarantee students will be kept on a path to complete their undergraduate degree in four years and also have four years of career preparation, including mentoring, internships and mock job interviews with business professionals.

With the Four-Year Promise, students are expected to:

  • Meet major-specific requirements, including GPA

  • Be in good standing academically and behaviorally

  • Meet with an adviser each semester

  • Maintain a full-time enrollment status

  • Complete at least 30 credits in the first year and 32 credits each following year
    (average 16 per semester of continuous full-time enrollment)

If a student fulfills their commitment but is not able to graduate in four years, they will receive the needed courses in the next semester for no additional tuition. Through this offering at Roberts Wesleyan, students will earn a Christ-centered education with real-world learning, all in four years.

Roberts Opportunity Grant

The Roberts Opportunity Grant is a value-added grant for the students who don’t receive any academic scholarships — which is about 20 percent of students. For incoming first-time, full-time freshmen, Roberts Wesleyan will guarantee students who don’t already receive an academic scholarship will receive a $32,000 grant over four years — a minimum of $8,000 each year. This grant is available to first-time, full-time freshmen from New York and all other states.

The goal is to make a Roberts Wesleyan College education affordable and accessible for students from all economic backgrounds and states. Roberts awards academic scholarships from $12,000 to $18,000 per year ($48,000-$72,000 over four years) to students who excel academically, based on a combination of their high school GPA and SAT or ACT scores, which is about 80 percent of Roberts students. The college also awards three full-tuition B.T. Roberts Scholarships determined by an interview, essay, SAT/ACT scores and high school academic performance.

Roberts alumni believe in a transformational education at Roberts Wesleyan; therefore, they give sacrificially to the scholarship fund so today’s students can have the same opportunity they once had.  

Roberts Wesleyan College admissions has extended its deadline; students who apply before Dec. 1 will receive a priority admissions decision.

The Greater Rochester community voted Roberts Wesleyan College the Best Undergraduate Program in the 2017 Rochester Business Journal Reader Rankings.


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