Five Celebrities Who Will Help You Pay for College

By Ian Donnelly

College is getting more and more expensive and finding funds to pay for higher education can require a bit of creativity.  When you don’t want to worry about the burden of student loans or the competitive nature of scholarship programs, you must find alternative methods to ease the burdens of the rising cost of tuition, textbooks, and other tools you need to succeed. You may have considered driving for a rideshare service, pet sitting, or taking online surveys for extra cash, but have you ever thought of asking your favorite celebrity for help?

If you haven’t, then maybe you it’s time you should! Several celebrities have spoken out with concern over the price of education, and many of them are putting their money where their mouth is. Here’s a list of a few celebs who are willing to help students cover the exponential costs of their college fee bills.

Nicki Minaj

Last May, rapper Nicki Minaj tweeted that she would help pay off the student debt of her followers if they were earning As. A week later, Minaj shared a list of the debt payments she helped relieve, which included funding for summer courses, paying off student loans, and purchasing expensive textbooks for her studious fan base. Minaj’s donations aligned themselves with her feminist ideologies that women can do anything with the proper motivation.

Beyoncé

To mark the one-year anniversary of her award-winning album “Lemonade,” Beyoncé launched the Formation Scholars, a scholarship program, which provides $25,000 in scholarships to four female students studying creative arts, music, literature, or African-American studies. Each of the college-bound scholars in 2017 held a 3.5 GPA or above in high school and are currently attending the Berklee College of Music, Howard University, Parsons School of Design, and Spelman College.

Jay Z

Beyoncé’s husband, Shawn Carter— also known as Jay Z— started the Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund in 2003. Developed by the rapper and his mother, the program offers grants to students with a 2.0 GPA or higher so they may attend any accredited academic institution. Today, Shawn Carter Scholars attend 100 schools across the country and can also apply for additional funding to study abroad.

LeBron James

Basketball superstar, LeBron James, helps pay for over 1,000 students to attend the University of Akron, located in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, through the LeBron James Family Foundation (LJFF). The LJFF begins working with students as early as the third grade and gives those who have maintained a 3.0 GPA by their senior year of high school a full scholarship to the Ohio University.

Rihanna

In May 2016, Rihanna launched a Global Scholarship Program through her educational initiative, the Clara Lionel Foundation. The singer’s scholarship aims to offer financial assistance to aspiring college students of Rihanna’s native Barbados as well as students from Cuba, Haiti, Grenada, Guyana, and Jamaica, who plan to come to the United States to study. The awards range from $5,000 to $50,000 and can be renewed for up to three years.

With approximately 70 percent of graduates leaving college with student debt, the cost of higher education fails to show college students any sign of relief. Thankfully, these superstars are stepping in to ease the burden, solidifying the success of the future U.S. workforce. So, if you’re struggling to pay off all your fees in the 2017 Fall or Spring semesters, it never hurts to ask!

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