Two thousand and ninety undergraduate students received a total of $2,543,022 in institutional scholarships and aid in 2003. Graduate students received $111,975 divided among 107 people that same year.

“The numbers aren’t in for 2004 yet,” said Tracy Hall, assistant director of financial aid. “We report to the Illinois Department of Higher Education after every year.”

Students receive financial help in many different ways. Federal and state loans; federal and state grants; and institutional grants and scholarships are some of the financial opportunities available to students.

Institutional scholarships provide students attending the university money to help further their education, Hall said.

Eastern can also offer tuition waivers to students.

“A waiver isn’t actually money,” Hall said. “We have tuition, or partial tuition, erased from their account.”

For example, children of Eastern employees receive a half-off tuition waiver, Hall said.

Each academic department decides which of its students should receive grant-in-aid scholarships and talented student awards. Grant-in-aid and talented student awards are earned by students who show talent or promise in their major.

The departments turn the names of student applicants into financial aid so the awards can be dispersed, Hall said.

Kennedy Allen, a senior special education major, received the Parents Club Scholarship this year worth $850, along with a special education tuition waiver from the state. The waiver covers all of Allen’s tuition, and even pays a few fees, she said.

“My family helps any way they can,” Allen said. “But if I wasn’t getting any scholarships, I don’t know that I would be going to school.”

She still has to take out loans to pay for housing, but Allen says the tuition waiver she has received for the past few years has been a great help.

Allen found out about the tuition waiver and other scholarships on the Illinois Board of Education Web site and from the special education department.

Each department handles its scholarships differently, said Rhonda Heath, assistant to the chair of the music department.

“Music students must pass an audition and get recommendations” to receive such an award, Heath said. There are over 20,000 Excellence in Fine Arts awards available through the College of Arts and Humanities, she said.

Some scholarships, depending on the department, require that a student audition or submit an essay.

Many scholarships are from people who have donated money to help future students get an education, Heath said.

There are scholarships available to students who exceed expectations in their field of study, are active in extracurricular activities, have parents or relatives working for a specific company or union and display financial need.

To learn about scholarship opportunities, Hall recommends students consult the financial aid Web site, the Eastern undergraduate catalog, the department that houses their major or Fastweb.com. An Eastern scholarship search is available on Eastern’s Web site under the link for current students.

“When the money is gone, the money is gone,” Hall said, so it is beneficial for a student to research scholarships in advance and make sure they meet each scholarship’s specific deadlines.