A Blend of Big and Small

Samantha knew two things about her future education when she came to Future Stars...She wanted to earn a degree in nursing and she wanted to attend a university with big spirit and small classes. Samantha's parents wanted to support her goals, but knew that smaller, private universities usually come with big price tags. They’d saved enough to send her to a public university, but these schools wouldn’t offer Samantha the personal attention she desired. The last thing they wanted was for their daughter to graduate with a mountain of debt on her shoulders, just as she was beginning her adult life.

What Samantha and her parents didn’t know was that many nursing programs aren’t direct entry, meaning that students must prove themselves during the first two years of college and apply to be admitted into the nursing degree program beginning in junior year. In other words, there are no guarantees. However, her Future Stars counselor had a plan for getting Samantha all that she desired without graduating in debt.

Fortunately, Samantha was doing well in school and her Future Stars counselor knew of a university with a direct-entry nursing program where students packed the stadium each weekend in support of the football team. The counselor also knew that this smaller, private university was likely to provide Samantha with a generous scholarship based on her academic performance. On the suggestion of her Future Stars counselor, Samantha and her family visited Texas Christian University in the fall of her junior year — and she fell in love with the campus, the spirited student body and the nursing program.

Samantha's Future Stars counselor encouraged her to begin volunteering at the local hospital and register for advanced math and science classes in her senior year of high school. Together, they set a goal for her SAT test score and put together a solid test preparation plan.

All the hard work and planning paid off...Samantha’s now in her third year of the nursing program at TCU, where she received an $80,000 university scholarship and will graduate debt-free. Her professors know her by name and she spends each weekend cheering on the Horned Frogs.