Dream School Fund

Hello! My name is Francesca Velasquez and I am currently a senior in high school in San Francisco.  This fundraiser is to help pay for my college tuition.

I have been blessed enough to be granted admission into the 2014 freshmen class of my dream school and I hope to be attending there this fall studying bioengineering. Unfortunately, it is a very expensive school to attend though.  Even with a generous financial aid package there is still a large gap between what my family can pay and what we are expected to pay. Attending this school right now may mean graduating with an $80,000-$100,000 student debt.  Even though I wish nothing more to be attending classes there in the fall, taking on a sacrifice of that magnitude would be completely  irresponsible of me.  I hope to raise $10,000 by April 30 this year because I must decide where I am going for college on May 1st.  Hopefully, through your generous donations, I will be able to reach this goal so that I can attend my dream school.

In my four years in high school I have participated in Women in the Arts and Women in Medicine program, theatre productions, and my school’s choir.  I have received high honors with distinction all four years, have a cummulative GPA of 4.4, and have been taking multiple AP classes in my junior and senior year.  Outside of school I have been attending martial arts classes for the past 8 years and am currently testing for my brown belt.  I’ve also participated in Technovation, a program focused on introducing girls to computer science.  I enjoy playing instruments (piano and ukulele), baking, and occasionally going rock climbing in my free time.  

The reason I strongly believe that I should go to this school is because I feel that I truly ‘fit’ there.  Now, I know its silly to be considering such an expensive school simply because I feel better there, but I believe that the reasons I feel I fit in well at there will also provide me with countless opportunities I could not receive at any other school.  This is a school that excels in all of its fields.  In addition to having a strong engineering department, it also has a strong theater, music, and arts department. They stress the importance of having a well rounded and full education, encouraging students to take up double majors and additional minors.  This is important to me because, while I do love math and science and believe that bioengineering is a good field for me to be in, I also want to continue pursuing my other passions in life.  Instead of graduating simply with a degree in bioengineering, I hope to graduate with one degree in bioengineering, and possibly another in accounting, or a minor in stage managing.  This school provides me with these opportunities and so much more.

Here’s the breakdown of things.  

• The cost of attending  is $65,113.
• Tuition: $47,562
• Mandatory Fees: $1,068
• Housing: $8,038
• Dining: $5,302
• Books and Supplies: $1,500
• Transportation: $576
• Personal & Misc. : $1000
• Other Educational Costs: $67

Even with financial aid, outside scholarships, student loans, and family contribution would amount to approximately there is still about a $20,000 gap between what I can afford and what I must pay.  I’ve chosen $10,000 as my goal by April 30 because though it is still a very large amount of money to raise in such little time, it is more reasonable than $20,000.  It may seem impossible to raise so much money simply from the kindness of strangers, but at this point, I have to do everything I can to achieve my dream.

Thank you so much for visiting this page and even just considering on helping me out.

Fight on!

Francesca Velasquez