Epilogos has developed a program: awarding scholarships to the highly regarded Jesuit university known as the University of Central America ("UCA"), located in San Salvador, and other fine Salvadoran colleges. Under the program, scholarship students from SJV receive a full tuition for five years (standard time to earn a degree in El Salvador) plus a stipend for other expenses. Our scholarship program is designed to offer hope to young students who have the interest and academic qualifications to obtain a college degree, and hope to the community as it creates a path to send educated young adults back to SJV and other Salvadoran communities where they can use their education to better their world.
To qualify for the scholarship, applicants are required to commit to remain in El Salvador following graduation for at least five years. El Salvador, including SJV, is plagued by the problems of gang violence and lack of work opportunity, which cause many residents to flee to the United States in the hopes of finding a better life – a well-known, dangerous and risky path for all. By requiring scholarship recipients to commit to staying in SJV for at least five years, Epilogos is advancing its goal of facilitating and supporting the people of SJV to actualize the community that they desire.
One of the remarkable aspects of this program is the modest cost of a first-class education at the UCA and other fine Salvadoran colleges. Annual tuition and travel stipend costs range between $2000 and about $4,000. Because college programs in El Salvador are five years, the total cost of a bachelor’s degree program is about $20,000 or less.