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CU Boulder students can help pay for their tuition by taking sustainable, positive actions

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BOULDER, Colo. — Students at a popular Colorado university can earn scholarships to help them pay for school by biking, refilling reusable water bottles, volunteering and other positive behaviors.

Students enrolled at the University of Colorado at Boulder have the option to get involved with PIPs for School, a program offered by the app PIPs Rewards.

The app rewards users for actions that benefit their wellness, the environment and community good. Students can earn “positive impact points” (PIPs) for things like bicycling, recycling, taking a bus for transportation, refilling a reusable water bottle and volunteering, among other activities. These points add up, and can be used for prizes including gift cards and free passes.

And starting this spring, students at CU Boulder can use those points for a PIPs for School scholarship toward the next semester’s school expenses.

They can earn up to 50,000 points — an equivalent of $500 in scholarships toward tuition and fees — each semester. If a student redeems 10,000 or more points, they can become eligible for matching funds through CU PIPs Student Education Fund.

In total, with both semesters, a CU Boulder student could earn up to $1,000 in scholarship funds each school year.

“This is a new way for students to convert their routine sustainability actions into $500 cash against their fees and tuition,” said Director of the CU Environmental Center Dave Newport.

All submitted activities must be verifiable.

The PIPs Rewards app started as a pilot at CU Boulder in the fall of 2017 and is funded on campus by the Office of the Chancellor.

Staff and faculty can also use the app to redeem campus-specific opportunities.

For more information, visit the PIPs for School Scholarships web page on CU Boulder’s Scholarship website.