25 Recent Star Scholar Grads Receive Transfer Scholarships From CME Group

Twenty-five recent City Colleges of Chicago graduates are taking the next step towards their bachelor’s degrees with added support: a $5,000 scholarship from CME Group.

The 25 students, all of whom were Star Scholars that graduated from City Colleges in May 2023, have received the CME Group Star Partnership Mayoral Award, a partnership between CME Group, the Chicago Mayor’s Office, and City Colleges that provides $2,500 per year to recipients for two years. The award is an additional financial benefit for the recipients, who were able to earn their associate degrees—equivalent to their first two years of college—at no cost through the Star Scholarship. It will assist them as they transfer to one of 24 four-year partner colleges or universities to pursue a bachelor’s degree in accounting, business management, computer science (IT), economics, finance, or math.

Approximately 900 Star Scholars earned their associate degrees from City Colleges during the 2022-2023 academic year—our largest group of graduating Star Scholars to-date. The students made up about one-fourth of the Class of 2023.

Around half of all City Colleges graduates transfer to four-year institutions after earning their associate degrees, and the 25 CME Group Star Partnership Mayoral Awardees join dozens of classmates who have earned transfer scholarships to continue their journeys, including the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship and TheDream.US’ National Scholarship Award.