University of Delaware Office of Public Relations The Messenger Vol. 6, No. 1/1996 Recognition: A Special Report Scholarships make all the difference She's a 52-year-old Newark resident with nine grandchildren. Shortly after high school, she married the wrong man and wound up raising two children on her own. "I was left without any support," says the woman, who wishes to remain anonymous. "I had to find a job and support my children. When you're a mom and you're working 40 hours a week, there's no time for college." In 1992, the woman finally received an opportunity to pursue an advanced degree in the University's College of Education. Thanks to a partial scholarship awarded to married, returning adult students, she expects to graduate by 1996. She plans to become a teacher, and hopes to help other students some day, by donating money to a scholarship fund. More than 50 percent of all freshmen accepted for the 1995- 96 school year are receiving undergraduate scholarship aid, according to Andrew B. Kirkpatrick Jr., chairman of the University's Board of Trustees. To attract and retain a talented and diverse student body, University Provost Melvin Schiavelli notes, scholarships, fellowships and other forms of financial aid are more important now than ever. The competition for bright, talented student-athletes is especially tough, reports women's lacrosse coach Denise Wescott. But the lacrosse team has been steadily improving as a result of increased scholarships, she says. Since 1993, Wescott says, scholarship support for her team has almost tripled. Although the team wasn't ranked among the top 15 in 1993, she points out, it made the top 10 list this year. University and private funds for undergraduate scholarships have jumped by 93 percent, from $10.5 million in F.Y. 1990 to a projected $20.3 million for F.Y. 1996.