Photo: Julie Leopo

Zarai Saldana expected to kick off her senior year at the University of California Merced from a brand-new apartment where she’d already signed a lease. Instead, the transfer student spent the first two weeks of the school year shuttling from hotel to hotel. 

At least four UC campuses have resorted to hotels to house students this fall. But the financial support that goes along with them varies from campus to campus. And for many students, finding more permanent, affordable housing remains elusive.

Black students, on average, owe thousands more than their white peers when they graduate. That disparity prompted Robert F. Smith, a billionaire tech investor, to start the Student Freedom Initiative with corporate partners—and help from Family Feud‘s Steve Harvey.  

The nonprofit gives flexible loans and grants to juniors and seniors who are in good academic standing and majoring in STEM fields. Recipients pay money back based on their post-graduation earnings.