by Bria Over
Yes, a college degree is still worth it — graduates are less likely to be unemployed than those with only a high school diploma, earning about $1.2 million more throughout their lifetime. But with higher education costs continuing to rise — they’re up a staggering 169% since 1980 — college can be financially out of reach for many.
A recent Lumina Foundation-Gallup 2022 State of Higher Education Study found just 9% of Americans “believe quality, affordable higher education is available to all Americans who want it.” According to the Education Data Initiative, attending a four-year public school costs over $26,000 per year on average, and a four-year private college will set you back nearly $55,000 on average.
Students can turn to student loans to fill college financing gaps — despite the potential long-term consequences. Or, they can use scholarships, some of which may grant them a full-ride through their college experience.
It’s possible, especially for Black students, as proven by these three Black scholarship recipients who turned their experience landing scholarships into businesses, lighting the path for others who want to do the same.
Million Dollar Scholar
Derrius Lamar Okiro Quarles knows scholarships. When pursuing his bachelor’s degree as a first-generation college student, he secured over $1 million in scholarships. Quarles didn’t want to be the only one with this know-how.
While attending Morehouse College, he hosted free workshops for low-income families in his hometown of Chicago. In 2013, Quarles and classmate Ras Asan founded Million Dollar Scholar, a platform providing guidance, mentorship, coaching, and access to scholarship pathways for a fee.
The New York Times called him a “financial prodigy” because of his efforts and success in co-creating a Million Dollar Scholar and investment company BREAUX Capital.
Growing with Gabby
Princeton University graduate Gabriella Carter earned more than $2 million in scholarships to help her pursue higher education. As an entrepreneur and content creator, the “Free Money Maven” assists others in finding and winning scholarships.
“I decided to look to social media as like the great equalizer so that I could just disseminate information whenever I found it,” she told CNBC in 2023. “And people from all across the world can really benefit from my expertise.”
So far, Carter claims to have assisted over 450 students in getting $500,000 in scholarships and plans to keep it going. Along with offering scholarships of her own, Free Money Maven has resources for high school, undergraduate, graduate, and international students.
Beyond a list of scholarships, students can pay for résumé reviews, tips on negotiating financial aid packages, and college essay editing.
Scholly
You may recognize Christopher Gray and Scholly, a scholarship search platform, from his feature in Shark Tank, where he left with a $40,000 investment from Daymond John and Lori Greiner. Last year, Sallie Mae acquired the company, making the platform free for all users.
Gray’s success story began years before when he secured $1.3 million in scholarships to attend Drexel University. Now, the platform known as Scholly by Sallie offers access to over $100 million in scholarship opportunities.
“Our goal is to reduce student debt, an issue really key to people of color,” he told EBONY Magazine in August 2023.
