There are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. And while the media tends to focus on just a handful of schools, we at College Coach encourage students to think outside the box during their college selection process and explore a wide range of colleges, including this week’s School Spotlight, the William Jewell College. If you’ve never heard of William Jewell College but are serious about attending a small liberal arts school with some of the most innovative academic offerings around, read on! Feature #1: Students majoring in accounting, business, communication, economics, English, math, nursing, physics, political science, psychology, or Spanish can elect to save an entire year’s worth of tuition and graduate in three years. Feature #2: In an age where so many colleges talk about six-year graduation rates, Jewell guarantees that all students will graduate in four. And if for some reason you satisfy all of the necessary criteria and still aren’t able to graduate on time, Jewell will cover one more semester’s worth of classes for you – absolutely free of charge. Feature #3: Juniors and seniors can apply for Journey Grants, which give students a minimum of $2,000 to pursue a transformative domestic or international experience, such as an internship, research opportunity, or community service project. Past recipients have used their Journey Grants to fundraise for children with hearing impairments in Sri Lanka, gain hands-on experience working at an equestrian stable in Vermont, and study storytelling and design in Japan. Feature #4: William Jewell offers the only honors program in the US that includes tutorial-style seminar classes in addition to a full year of study at Oxford or Cambridge Universities in the junior year. With under 1,000 undergraduates and just 20 minutes from Kansas City (did someone say BBQ?), William Jewell could certainly be considered a hidden jewel among selective liberal arts colleges.

There are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. And while the media tends to focus on just a handful of schools, we at College Coach encourage students to think outside the box during their college selection process and explore a wide range of colleges. As such, we are highlighting a new college each week in our School Spotlight series. Check out the college below, along with the other posts in our series, and you may just stumble upon your dream school!

School Spotlight: William Jewell College
Liberty, MO

While the social distancing measures necessitated by the COVID-19 outbreak—cancelled events, school closures, and forced remote work—have inconvenienced nearly all of us, for some, coronavirus has meant economic catastrophe. Workers who become ill without access to paid sick leave, small business owners forced to close up shop, and hourly and/or tip-dependent employees dealing with either closed—or simply empty—workplaces can quickly find themselves teetering on the edge of financial solvency.

In recognition of this dilemma faced by many working families—and, specifically, many student loan borrowers—President Trump announced on Friday afternoon that his administration will be temporarily waiving interest charges on federal student loans.