Money For Tuition: High School Student Opts To Panhandle To Raise College Funds

A high school student came up with a unique way to raise college funds after her appeals to get financial aid were rejected. She opted to panhandle on the street of Lowell, Massachusetts to accumulate money needed for her college education.

Emily Stutz, 18, told ABC News that she decided to think of ways to raise college funds after her requests to get more financial aid were denied. She revealed that she has applied scholarships and juggled two jobs, however, these are not enough to support her college education.

Raising College Funds Through Panhandling

Stutz, who claimed that she maintained a solid high school GPA of 4.0-4.5, said that it would be difficult for her parents to support her college education because they had immense financial struggles. As the college commitment deadline draws nearer, she shared that she had to resort to desperate measures to raise college funds.

Stutz narrated that she came up with the idea of panhandling outside a Target store to raise her college funds. Over the weekend, she stood on the street near the store carrying a sign that said: "H.S. Senior. No $ for college. Anything helps."

"I figured I'd do a social experiment to see how much money I would actually make if people knew their money was going to a needy student," Stutz said. She added that after panhandling for two days for three hours each day, she was able to accumulate over $600 for her college funds.

Aside from panhandling, Stutz also revealed that she created a fundraising campaign online to raise college funds. As of press time, her GoFundMe page has already accumulated over $23,000.

Beyond Raising College Funds

In an interview with Today, Stutz disclosed that her decision to panhandle is more than just raising college funds. She said that she wanted to be a public voice for other students who share the same educational dilemma.

"I want people to realize that even those who work extremely hard and have big dreams aren't able to complete them because of finances," Stutz stated. "People take out these huge loans and have to pay back like a mortgage on their education. It's not fair."