Invest in Cougs
ABOUT INVEST IN COUGS
Invest in Cougs is an OAE initiative that supports students in persisting toward graduation through matched savings, peer mentoring, financial education, and individualized supports to alleviate financial barriers. Students have the opportunity to save $1000 and have their savings matched at 400%, to use toward their education at WSU. Along the way, we help students successfully navigate the institution, gain a sense of belonging, and engage in an academic experience unique to their passion and goals.
For more information on Invest in Cougs contact project director, Maja Gillespie.
Invest in Cougs is funded by Washington State University and BECU.
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FAQs
Invest in Cougs exists to alleviate financial barriers to student success by matching a student’s savings toward their education at a rate of $4 for every $1 saved, as well as providing professional guidance and peer mentoring regarding college finances. Invest in Cougs reduces unmet need and builds a student’s capacity to more fully engage academically and persist to graduation.
WSU undergraduates who have in-state residency and are Pell eligible are may apply for Invest in Cougs. Admission is based on highest need as determined by unmet financial need and expected family contribution.
Once enrolled in the program, all participants must complete certain requirements to receive matching funds. These include maintaining good academic standing (including a 2.0 GPA or higher), abiding by all WSU community standards, completing the FAFSA and all required documentation within institutional deadlines, completing financial education requirements, contributing earned income to a savings account, and meeting with peer advisors at least twice per semester.
Generally, we will have an enrollment period once a year. However, new students will be enrolled as space becomes available.
Invest in Cougs staff will work with you and monitor your funds closely, especially in the student’s final year, to ensure the funds are utilized to the fullest extent. In the event you are unable to use your matched funds, your remaining savings will be returned to you unmatched.
Funds can be used for Summer Session on any WSU campus. WSU Faculty-led study abroad programs that charge WSU tuition are the only approved study abroad programs that we fund.
This depends on your financial aid package and the amount of unmet need you have. In many instances, Invest in Cougs funds may decrease the amount of loans offered. Invest in Cougs funds should not affect grants. We will work with you and Student Financial Services to ensure there are no adverse effects or surprises on your overall aid package.
Yes, all money saved, including your own, must be used for educational costs. Invest in Cougs agrees to match a student’s savings at a 400 percent interest rate upon successful completion of the financial education program and a minimum of six months of saving. One of the requirements of the program is the willingness to save one’s own earned income and be willing to contribute to educational costs.
No. All funds must be applied toward current educational costs limited to tuition & fees, books, and educational technology. However, by receiving the funds, a participant may be able to lessen their loan debt.
CONTACT US
Maja Gillespie
Director, College Affordability Programs
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
PARTICIPANT STORIES
UGOCHUKWU NNADI
Ugochukwu Nnadi’s response after reading about WSU’s Invest in Cougs program was typical for students. The opportunity to receive $4,000 toward educational expenses while learning how to save their own earnings is indeed an unbelievable opportunity. But Nnadi is one of 85 students in the initial cohort, and he’s on his way to earning the funds, and his degree.
Invest in Cougs helped keep Nnadi’s college dream afloat. Halfway through his sophomore year, Nnadi wasn’t sure he’d be able to continue at WSU.
“I was worried about next year, honestly,” Nnadi says. “I had scholarships, but if they fell through, next year was really iffy. “
Nnadi is more than halfway toward saving the $1,000 required to receive the maximum $4,000 in matching funds. He displayed his commitment to the program by taking the $500 from his rent deposit and putting it into his savings account.
With a major payoff in sight and solid financial planning for the future, Nnadi can focus on his goal of earning his degree and building his career in cloud systems, or data analytics.
“It’s definitely a struggle and sometimes you second-guess yourself when you’re putting away money and you feel like you really need it,” says Nnadi. “But in the long run, it’s going to help you way more than it is now.”
SHANNON EMMONS
“I was questioning if I could support myself,” Emmons says. “When I heard from Kelly (Demand – program coordinator for Invest in Cougs), I said, ‘You’re a savior.’ This program really helps me invest in my future, and that’s what drove me to apply.”
The freshman from Deer Park is thankful for the Invest in Cougs program. She applied and was accepted into the program in early 2016, and her future at WSU is much brighter.
“Now I feel a lot more independent,” she says. “In high school, we didn’t learn how to budget, how to pay bills, or how to do taxes, and those are all things this program teaches us.”
Without the Invest in Cougs program, Emmons says her college career would be in doubt.
“Honestly, I don’t think I’d be able to go here without it,” she says. “But now I’ve signed a lease for the next few years, I have a job for the summer. I’m able to look at the future and not freak out. I have a fallback.”
BRANDON WAUGH
And for Brandon Waugh, that meant no more Netflix binge sessions.
Waugh received an email about the Invest in Cougs program late last year and couldn’t believe what he was reading. The program, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, offers students the chance to save up to $1,000 and receive as much as $4,000 in matching funds. They also receive financial literacy tools and additional program support.
Waugh applied and was thrilled to gain acceptance into the inaugural cohort this spring. Then he laid out his budget. In order to reach his goal of saving $100 per month, non-essentials like Netflix and Hulu had to go.
“It was OK, I didn’t really have the time anyway,” Waugh says. “I had to cut out a lot of little things.”
The sacrifices are poised to pay off before the end of 2016 as Waugh plans to be eligible for $4,000 in matching funds through Invest in Cougs.
In addition to the carrot of cash for educational expenses, Waugh and the 84 other students in the cohort receive financial literacy training and support from program coordinator Kelly Demand.
When students check in with Demand, she’s able to show them their earnings, with the compounded interest, which always results in wide smiles. Waugh works as a cashier at the Dollar Tree, and saves as much as he can each month. It’s adding up, and the prospect of $4,000 in matching funds is plenty of motivation.
“All these things fell into place so that I would be able to continue on at Washington State, so that’s really exciting,” Waugh says.
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BECU is a proud partner of Washington State University and Invest in Cougs