Kent State University tries to recruit and retain students by offering a range of scholarships to help them achieve their academic goals.

Melissa McKenney, the director of scholarships at Kent State, said that the university maintains competitive standards when offering scholarships.

“Kent tries to be as competitive as possible to recruit great students that will ultimately lead to retention,” McKenney said. “We recruit great students, and we’re gonna keep great students.”

One program in particular that has garnered attention and support is the Flashes Go Further program.

“Flashes Go Further has been a big deal ever since it was first implemented in 2021 and 2022,” McKenney said. “We have continued to develop and grow the program by putting a lot of resources and support behind it.”

The program is need-based and intended to bridge the gap between students’ merit awards and any grant they receive.

Kent State also utilizes partnerships to offer institutional scholarships for high-achieving students.

“I think that institutional scholarships are going to continue to expand,” McKenney said. “Our Kent State Foundation works closely with those donors and gets people to invest back into Kent through their students.”

For the future of the scholarship program at Kent State, McKenney said she believes that this addition will offer more opportunities to prospective students and go beyond the conventional ways of awarding scholarships.

“We want those who are high-achieving academically to feel like they are being rewarded for the hard work they are doing,” McKenney said. “That’s our goal to make Kent accessible to as many students as possible.”

Alex Zito is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].