Maryland Raises $80,000 to Help Students Stay

The University of Maryland has raised $80,000 for students who need aid to stay in school, the student newspaper, the Diamondback, reports. The Keep Me Maryland campaign started last month in response to the increasing number of students requesting financial aid, and the money raised will go specifically to returning students. This campaign is part of a larger initiative to raise $350 million toward scholarship funds and $1 billion overall by 2011.

Already the financial aid office has seen a 37 percent increase in the number of requests, and it expects $3 million worth of requests this year. Last year, the school was able to fund only $500,000 of such requests.