St. John Paul II High School in Avondale, Ariz., was abuzz with energy and excitement on Monday (Sept. 21) as students and faculty gathered for a scholarship celebration. Through a new partnership with VU Scholarships, the first of its kind in the diocese, JPII juniors and seniors were able to discover early scholarship opportunities from colleges and universities before submitting a single application.

“VU feeds our students’ GPA and standardized test scores into their database, and at our launch event we share with each of the students the amount they would be awarded based on merit,” said Sr. Rita Marie Campa, assistant principal of academics.

VU Scholarships (pronounced “View”) is an education technology platform that flips the traditional college admissions process by having colleges proactively offer merit-based scholarships to high school juniors and seniors before they even apply. The underlying concept was originally conceived in 2014 by Kansas City education innovator Edward Márquez — who wanted to replicate the proactive recruitment model used for student-athletes and apply it to academics. The formal platform and company were launched and incorporated in 2021 by Dan Poblete and Andrew Marquez.

According to their website, VU Scholarships partners with schools serving as a portal to match students to colleges and universities to “showcase college scholarship possibilities early, allowing students to dream bigger.” It also helps students find opportunities they may not otherwise have known about.

“It gives them confidence in what they are capable of.” Sr. Rita Marie added. “Our ultimate hope, of course, is that they discover their God-given potential and become the men and women God is calling them to be.”