St. Mary’s University has awarded almost 300 scholarships worth a total of $4.5 million to promising high school students who recently completed their third year of the San Antonio Pre-freshman Engineering Program (PREP).

The top 25 graduates of the program were awarded scholarships of $10,000 a year, renewable for four years, with an additional year available for engineering students. Another 262 students were awarded scholarships of $2,500 a year and renewable for four years, with an additional year available for engineering students.

Students in the seven-week PREP summer program took a variety of courses, including statistics, technical writing and math problem solving. They participated in hands-on engineering projects and learned about career possibilities in math, engineering and science. About 99 percent of the students who participate in the San Antonio PREP program graduate from high school and 90 percent go on to college.

Rafael Moras, Ph.D., director of the St. Mary’s graduate engineering program and PREP site director, said that even though students in the program are motivated and high-achieving students, they still get a boost from the intense summer program.

“They are keeping busy through the summer, and when they get back to school, they are ready,” Moras said.

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