Overview
Description
The program known as ITA (in Spanish, the acronym stands for "promotion of academic talent") seeks to identify the poorest, most highly qualified, and most motivated students and to make it possible for them to earn an undergraduate degree from Universidad Francisco Marroquín. The scholarship covers full tuition and fees, room and board, medical insurance, and a stipend for public transportation, books and basic personal expenses.
It is the poorest of families, or those located in remote areas, who are condemned to send their children to state-run schools where levels of instruction are notoriously poor and access to information, even for the most self-motivated student, minimal. Most of these families cannot even afford to let their children finish high school since this represents a sacrifice of potential lost income to the family budget. This is especially true for those living in Guatemala's rural areas, for whom sending a child to an urban center to study implies the added cost of lodging. Even the most talented who manage to finish high school have little hope of going on to university, since contributing to the family income takes priority. For those who must work by day, their only option is the bloated and chaotic state university, where the potential of talented students is short changed. It was for such students that the ITA scholarship was designed: it covers all tuition and fees for the full program, as well as a stipend for living expenses, transportation and books.
The ITA participants themselves have become zealous recruiters, acutely aware of the significance of the opportunity. Today the program has expanded to include students who study law and political science.
For the academic year beginning in January 2009, there were nineteen applicants who qualified for admission to the ITA program. Because of funding restrictions, only three were granted scholarships.
Beginnings
The founders of Universidad Francisco Marroquín were clear: they sought to attract as students the most brilliant minds and those most likely to become future leaders in all walks of life. From the beginning they have been emphatic that student selection be based solely on academic criteria. To this end, in 1972 they established a loan program based on deferred tuition, so that no qualified student would be left out.
Ability to pay is deliberately excluded from the admissions process to guard against the possibility of economic discrimination. Once admitted, a student may request a UFM loan, open to all students at the licenciatura level. No UFM student demonstrating financial need has ever been turned down. This program has helped hundreds.
However, trustees and deans are aware that a large sector of the population, even with deferred tuition, cannot afford to study at UFM. This is Guatemala’s very poor majority, for whom staying in school and out of the work force long enough to graduate from high school is already a sacrifice most families can’t afford.
In Guatemala’s state-run school system, even the best students come to believe that they cannot compete academically. The tendency of these students is automatically to disqualify themselves for admission to a university where studies are known to be rigorous.
In 1996 the School of Economic Sciences acted to confront this problem head-on.
To break the self-condemning perception "I could never make it there,” the School of Economic Sciences sent its best teachers into the public schools to talk to the directors and the students. After meeting with skepticism, they were able to gain the trust of the directors who began to guide them to their best students.
Mónica de Zelaya, ITA program director for the School of Economic Sciences, recalls the program's beginning. "When we started the ITA program in 1996, we had many concerns about how these students would adapt at UFM. How would they be received by fellow students, and vice-versa? Could they tailor their study habits to a rigorous academic regime?"
The answer has left no doubt. ITA participants not only have an excellent relationship with fellow students, they often drive discussion in the classroom, contributing to creating an atmosphere of maturity and heightened awareness. In an academic atmosphere that rewards achievement, they are respected and sought out for friendship.
The program had an auspicious beginning in 1996 with the first two students, Andrés Marroquín (San Marcos) and Luis Fernando Ramírez (Guatemala City). During their studies, they headed the honor roll for the entire School of Economic Sciences. Both graduated with honors. Both have gone on to the U.S. for graduate studies. Andrés has finished his doctorate in economics, and Luis Fernando has a Fulbright scholarship to get a master's degree in applied economics. They were followed in 1997 by Hugo Us (Uspantán), who went on to complete a master degree in social sciences at State University of Florida. Their inspiring performance turned out to be the norm. ITA students tend to be high achievers and among the top in their class.
Costs
For the academic year beginning January 2009: US$16,300 per year
Includes:
- tuition and fees (computer lab, library, etc.)
- room and board
- books
- medical insurance
- stipend for personal expenses and transportation
Program goal
Universidad Francisco Marroquín is seeking to engage financial partners in the program to expand the number of active ITA scholars to 100 by 2010.
