With approximately 70 percent of TCU students receiving financial aid, raising $100 million for the Scholarship Initiative is a priority of the university’s fundraising campaign, Chancellor Victor Boschini said.

The Campaign for TCU is the university’s fundraising campaign, which aims to raise $375 million by May 31, 2012, according to the campaign’s website. Boschini said funding from the overall campaign will fund everything from construction to student organizations.

The Scholarship Initiative portion of that campaign has raised $76.6 million of its goal, according to the website. Boschini said the initiative funds scholarships such as the Chancellor’s Scholarship, and makes TCU accessible to all students.

Although this scholarship is the most costly for the university, it is worth the price, he said.

“[The Chancellor’s Scholarship] helps us attract some really amazing students, and then they make the student body better for everybody,” Boschini said.

The Chancellor’s Scholarship awards full-tuition to students like junior business major Jeff Parent, who said the scholarship highly influenced him to attend TCU after applying.

“They sent me the scholarship voucher a month later, and my dad said ‘Okay, well I think you are going to TCU,'” Parent said.

Being able to eliminate the financial complication for students will not only help future Frogs, but will also benefit the university, Boschini said.

“It will help us enrich all of our students if money is not a barrier for anyone coming to TCU,” Boschini said.

Recent graduate and TCU employee Miguel Ortega said scholarships and grants at TCU gave him the ability to stay and give back to the university.

Donating is not just something for adults, but students can also help the initiative by donating or writing a thank you note to a donor. Boschini said he wanted students to be thankful to current donors who made this initiative possible.

“I want you to remember that you are here because somebody else helped you be here,” Boschini said. “Don’t forget that.”

According to the Campaign for TCU website, graduates carry an average debt of about $40,000. However, Boschini said the Scholarship Initiative will help to ensure that current and future students can get the financial aid and scholarships needed to receive a private school education without money being a barrier.

Ortega, like many other alumni, is already excited to return the favor of giving.

“I mean, this was my school, and I love this school, so I definitely want to give back for other kids to have the same opportunity that I had,” he said.