City Scholarships go to 51 for study at Phila. area colleges

Eleven members of the University's Class of 2002 will get a little extra financial assistance in paying for college, thanks to the City of Brotherly Love. Mayor Ed Rendell congratulated the 51 recipients of the 1998-1998 Philadelphia City Scholarships at a ceremony held last Tuesday. The program, in its 39th year of existence, awards $1,000 to graduating Philadelphia high school seniors who wish to attend college in the area. And the award -- renewable for up to four years -- can be used at colleges and universities in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. Although the merit-based scholarships only subsidize a small fraction of entire tuition bill, they may provide an incentive for students to attend college in the Philadelphia area, according to Deputy Mayor Emanuel Ortiz. "In itself, I don't think [the award] makes a huge difference, but combined with the universities' financial aid packages, it might have an impact for some students in their decisions," Ortiz said yesterday. "For many youngsters, $1,000 a year for four years makes a big difference." Of the 51 recipients of this year's awards, 16 are headed to Drexel University; 5 to LaSalle University; 5 to Temple University; 3 to St. Joseph's University; 3 to the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science; 2 to Penn State, Abington campus; 2 to Villanova University; and one each to Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, Haverford College, Widener University and Immaculata College. And eleven recipients are set to arrive on Penn's campus in the fall: Gabriella Albater, Caitlin Anderson, Christine Dailey, Bindu George, Reed Lyons, Michael Mattern, Emmett McGinn, Stephen Mykijewycz, Sapana Patel, Jocelyn Poruthur and Marina Serper. In order to qualify for the scholarship, applicants must be in their final year of secondary school at the time of application. And the parents or legal guardians of the students are required to be residents of the City of Philadelphia. The University also teams up with the city each year to present the Mayor's Scholarship awards to graduating high school seniors from Philadelphia who have been accepted to Penn. The recipients are selected by the Mayor's Scholarship Committee, whose members are appointed by Rendell. Last year, the University awarded a total of $722,501 to 34 incoming freshman -- amounting to an average annual award of $20,633 per student, almost entirely in grants. Application for the largely need-based gifts is open to any incoming freshman who graduates from a Philadelphia high school. This year's Mayor's Scholarship winners will be honored by Rendell and University President Judith Rodin in September at City Hall.