SCHOLARSHIPS
Keeping a St. Ambrose education as affordable as possible is one of the university's highest priorities, so that every student – regardless of their ability to pay – can benefit from the life-changing experience at SAU.
By starting or funding a scholarship, your gift empowers a student to begin or continue their education, allowing a student to focus on fields of study and valuable extracurriculars. YOU can be the difference and help a first-generation college student become a Fighting Bee. That's the transformative power of giving.
Annual Scholarship
You can support student scholarships with an annual contribution of any size to our scholarship fund. Unrestricted annual scholarships are the backbone of our giving program, and help provide over $35 million in financial assistance every year.
Make a gift in support of Annual Scholarships
Endowed Scholarship
Our endowment empowers the most talented students to choose SAU based on their ability to excel, not their ability to pay.
Endowed scholarships allow donors to establish a source of scholarship support for students in perpetuity and to solidify their personal connection to St. Ambrose. Our endowment pool includes 115 need-based scholarship funds that benefit students, and we hope to build on this foundational support to increase access to a St. Ambrose education.
$35.3M in Financial Aid
Last year SAU provided over $35 million in undergraduate scholarships and financial aid. These scholarships attract and support a talented and economically diverse student body.
Named Annual Scholarships
A large number of SAU students rely on scholarships to cover the costs of their education, which allows them to take part in the full spectrum of the campus experience.
Honoring Their Time Together
Barbara Cassidy Frommelt '55 was inspired to create a nursing scholarship in honor of her nursing classmates and her life-long friendships with them. Barb grew up in Dubuque, Iowa and graduated from high school at Visitation Academy. She and six of her classmates were recruited to attend St. Ambrose's nursing program. "I have wonderful memories of St. Ambrose and going through the nursing program. We spent a lot of time together, studying and working in the hospital. The classes weren't always easy, but we relied on each other to get through those tough subjects," Barb shared.
The many hours together helped build a bond with Barb's nursing classmates that would never be broken. "There was 26 of us who graduated in 1955 with a degree in Nursing from SAU. After graduation many of us would get together once a year. As the years went by, we even found time for an annual week-long vacation. We still get together once a year, typically in the Quad Cities," Barb said.
Barb decided to give back because of her amazing education and lifelong friendships. "Today's world economics are terrible. It is a shame when anyone wants to pursue an education in the health field, but can't afford it. I want to be able to help make that possible for a nursing student."
Barb chose to use her IRA charitable gift rollover plan to fund the scholarship. She will also be giving a supplemental annual gift so that the scholarship may be awarded as the endowed portion grows to become fully funded. The Barbara (Cassidy) Frommelt '55 Nursing Endowed Scholarship will help SAU nursing students pursue an education for years to come.