University of Mount Union Joins SAGE Tuition Rewards® Enrollment Consortium

PHILADELPHIA - Jan. 26, 2016 - PRLog -- The University of Mount Union, which offers its 2,100 undergraduates a choice of 59 majors as well as minors and pre-professional programs, has become the 28th Ohio member of the SAGE Scholars Private College & University Enrollment Consortium.

Located 70 miles from Cleveland and 80 miles from Pittsburgh, Mount Union draws students from 29 states and 17 countries.  Founded in 1846, the University combines a liberal arts tradition with small classes, a 13-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio and hands-on, experiential learning opportunities.

Mount Union’s graduating Class of 2014 reported 99% success at either finding a job (in an average of 38 days) or gaining acceptance to graduate school.  Popular majors include biology, early childhood education, exercise science and psychology.  In the past decade, $120 million has been invested in the Mount Union campus, which includes a nature preserve.

In December, the Purple Raiders completed a perfect, 15-0 season with a 49-35 victory over the University of St. Thomas (MN) for a record 12th NCAA Division III football championship.  Students have a choice of 21 varsity athletic teams.  Mount Union is the 44th Methodist-affiliated member of the SAGE college consortium.

The Tuition Rewards program strongly encourages families to save for college – and attend a private college.  Financial organizations (529 Plans, banks, credit unions, employers, insurance firms, mutual funds, etc.) use the program as a value-added benefit, enabling clients and employees to earn rewards points that students can redeem for guaranteed minimum scholarships – tuition discounts – at any member college in the consortium.  Rewards points are similar to frequent flyer miles and are submitted at time of application.  (1 point = $1.00)

Participation in Tuition Rewards is free to colleges and to families.  The 350 member colleges benefit by free marketing access to participating students (once they reach 9^th grade).  Colleges find the demographics attractive – families who have expressed interest in private higher education.  Students typically are well-qualified academically and financially.

SAGE strongly promotes its member colleges – and the benefits of private higher education – to participating families.  57,250 new students were enrolled in the SAGE program in 2015.  SAGE high school seniors submitted Tuition Rewards® points valued at $57.2 million to consortium colleges in 2015, a 30% increase.  Drexel University was the leading destination, receiving 216 rewards statements, correlated with applications, followed by Duquesne (162).

University of Dayton was Ohio’s most popular destination with participating students in 2015.  Other colleges popular with SAGE seniors included Arcadia University, Bradley University, DePaul University, La Salle University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University (PA), Susquehanna University, University of San Diego, University of Tampa, Valparaiso University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Member colleges absorb the scholarships, which are "capped" at one full year’s tuition (spread evenly over four years) and can be included with other aid, as a marketing cost to effectively reach out to a wider audience than an individual college could on its own.

For more information, contact Robert Savett, 1-888-222-0550, ext 14.
For a list of participating colleges, visit www.tuitionrewards.com.