Minority Scholarships

From a young age, accomplishment is associated first with monetary gain and then with going to a good college. While my peers and I are currently fixated on the latter, Outliers has shown us there is no need to be. With Nobel prize winners coming from anywhere from MIT to Holy Cross and Stanford to Rollins (Gladwell, 81-82), success is not determined by the higher learning institution one chooses to go to, although it certainly does not hurt to attend a prestigious one. As I look to the application process I am deterred by many things that should send me towards success. Being a Caucasian, upper-middle class citizen, I am perhaps the most replaceable student in the world with thousands just like me, hoping for the same chance I look forward too. However, I feel it is what I have done in the summers that will set me apart. Karl Alexander realized that privileged students tend to ‘outlearn’ underprivileged children over the summer, something I am beginning to see more clearly. This past summer, I was fortunate enough to be part of the 6-percent accepted to the Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes for Business and Entrepreneurship. It took only a few days to realize that I was the only true ‘white kid’. With the majority coming from Asian descent, the only other kid at the camp who may have been Caucasian came from a Panamanian family. As I noticed this, I realized

I came from the public schools district in Philadelphia, where they didn’t have enough money for books and computers to prepare student for the competitive world. That made me realize there is more to this world than Philadelphia. I know there are more opportunities for minorities. When I reach my dream goal in life I will return to my city to give back. Many college graduates want an education, to support them after graduation. They want to enjoy the profession they have chosen. This scholarship will impact my perception on organizations that help young minorities grow to their full potential. Understanding that organizations does seek out students that work hard and want it for themselves, is something that inspires me to want to do the same. I want students to know that as long as you work hard in school, get excellent grades, and want more in life for yourself, that you can achieve any goal that they

Imagine a student-athlete gets accepted to Greenville University with a 3.5 grade point average and 30 on the ACT. The student is planning on playing soccer and has worked incredibly hard in the classroom and on the field to make this dream happen. However, the school can only offer 5,000 dollars per year in scholarships because they must offer the same 5,000 dollars to the student athlete who got a 2.0 grade point average and 16 ACT. Does this sound fair? Fair or not, this is the definition of equality. Greenville University operates on the idea of equity. Greenville University is focused on making it possible for every student to attend the university, no matter their grades, ethnicity, parent’s income or any other obstacle that may arise.

As upcoming high school seniors, many such as myself, desire scholarships in order to alleviate the financial burden that attending a university can bring. Though this considerable and generous scholarship prize money will be used to further my education at Texas A&M University, my main wish is to bring pride and satisfaction to my family. As a first generation student, I am humbled by the opportunity of obtaining an education in America. Since my parents were migrants from Vietnam and Hong Kong, a successful life here was unheard of many years before. Financial strains do occasionally plague our lives, however, we have not forgotten the strenuous hard work and sacrifice that my parents have conquered in order to put their two daughters through

Only four students went straight to the workforce, when a century ago, this was not the case. With students now consistently going straight to college after high school, state universities should be free to state residents since we have public high schools. In Kalamazoo, Michigan, students who attend high school in Kalamazoo starting in ninth grade, can have from sixty-five to one hundred percent of their tuition covered (Teicher). This is known as “The Promise.” The Promise guarantees any student from Kalamazoo a scholarship that pays either a majority or all of their tuition (Teicher). This scholarship can be used for any state school, fifteen private schools, and other state schools around the United States that are less than the highest tuition in Michigan (Teicher). Since The Promise’s first wave of scholarships, there has been definite improvements in college attendance. For black students, there has been a three percent rise in college attendance and overall forty-eight percent of scholarship recipients graduate college (Teicher). While this has shown an impact, there certainly are other factors that lead to the fifty-two percent that do not graduate, such as not being taught time management, academic skills, or how to take advantage of their sources (Teicher). Despite this fallback, “The Promise” has definitely started an era of higher college graduation rates and those who lack financial support a method of

Student loans disproportionately affects individuals from households with fewer financial resources, furthering economic inequality between different groups. Although the price of college has sharply increased, the average earnings for many people remain the same, which Hillman, a professor at Univ. of Wisconsin notes to be the one of the major reasons as to why student debt has risen in the recent years, data from the US Census Bureau shows that median family incomes have fallen each year since 2005. Due to this, there is a huge dependence on borrowing to cover the high costs of college since most can’t rely on such work income or savings. Existing structural inequalities in the labor market and great racial disparities in wealth distribution has led to minority students especially Blacks and Latinos needing more financial assistance to cover college. A recent Center for American Progress analysis on the impact of student debt on communities of

Through this recent recession the gap for financial aid has become increasingly large due to the fact that colleges are basing some of their applications by their financial situation. This in turn creates widening on lower to middle class families who cannot send their children to school because the cost are too great to bear with large amounts of financial aid. The wealthy students are not only being accepted to these pricy private universities but are being given grant and aid so that they can make it through. The poorer students are not even given the chance to attend those school not because of their brain but because of their lack of funding. In today’s society were the upper class has become very distant to the middle and

However, college education not only delivers a degree or diploma, but also intellectual growth and a more promising future of financial stability and happiness. With things like fees, financial aid, housing and transportation, it is understandable for any individual to be frustrated with the many obstacles college may throw. However, college is only as difficult as one may approach it. It is an overwhelming statistic that “student debt has increased significantly,” within the past few decades (Leonhardt). With plenty of opportunities for financial aid, students can ease the tension of their wallets by taking advantage of the convenience scholarships provide.

Just as Affirmative Action can be utilized within the admission process for college institutions, it can be used in the financial aid decisions for student’s funding of their education. And, while the decisions for college admissions can be based in part of affirmative action pending the institution’s election of voluntary, race-neutral, or race-conscious admissions – Federal financial aid must have specific boundaries as well. Chace (2012) states a structure of financial aid and admissions systems within a higher education institution give clear indications to incoming students what a school’s value and mission may be, without having to say it distinctly word for word.

It was Monday, August 22, 2010, my Sophomore year of high school that I first stepped foot in the classroom of Mr. Telsee’s Principles of Accounting course. I was overwhelmed with thoughts of intimidation, which blinded me from understanding my full potential. Mr. Telsee distinctively educated students on how to connect realistic situations to complex problems. After finally grasping the basic accounting concepts and cycles, I knew accounting was for me. I am a living testimony that success happens the moment you step out of your comfort zone.

Alternatively, some may argue that universities offer scholarships that allow theses increasing tuition rates to be affordable to all classes of the economy. However, everyone is not fortunate enough to be granted a scholarship, so many students are left without help. Many people do not possess the needed skills, grades, or social standards that these scholarships require. Everyone is not born with the talent to score touch downs or earn a high ACT score. Correspondingly, there are only a certain amount of scholarships that can be granted, and there are millions of people that are applying for that same

Often, students find that the debt that comes with a college education is too much to bear and have to alter their choice of schools based on the tuition. If one were to get into a very well regarded school but was not eligible for scholarships at that institution, it may be too much to afford and they must make a decision between going into heavy student loan debt or switching their school choice. This sad truth is the reality for many college bound students searching for the right place for them. When kids on their college search must alter their decision based on affordability, they could be missing their full

In today 's world where the population, especially of the United States, is growing gloriously diverse, institutions of higher education must also reflect this aspect in their student body. The purpose of colleges and universities is to provide students with the education and experience they need to succeed after graduating as well as expand their thoughts and perspectives. Thus, they must create and maintain a similar environment in which students will live and work in the future. Although diversity has been emphasized as a priority for many schools, socioeconomic diversity is often disregarded. However, socioeconomic diversity plays an important role in developing the perspectives and minds of students. Thus, it is essential for the admission offices, especially of prestigious universities like the University of Pennsylvania, to recruit and admit more economically disadvantaged students as well as for the schools to meet the needs of and maintain those students.

There is no denial of merit based aid due to estimated family contribution, or family income; families are eligible for merit awards regardless of which income bracket they belong. As a supplement to need-based aid, merit- aid can dramatically lessen the financial bludgeoning that college costs can incur. Furthermore, the implementation of aid based on student achievement has been a tool of encouragement. Students can receive aid for their excellence in athletics, academics, the arts, and for high scores on college entrance exams. High school students work hard to receive financial aid of this kind, many of them taking on the most rigorous coursework offered such as AP classes. Bright, high achieving students are desirable to colleges because they are seen as less likely to be a part of the retention population: students who leave college before completing a degree. The amount of offered merit based aid is a motivator that often attracts students to certain colleges and universities. Why wouldn’t we want to offer the brightest and the best the money that they desire; they reciprocate, they are a benefit to society when they graduate and become successful lawyers, doctors and educators. The problem however, is that the above benefits of merit-aid disproportionately favor middle and upper classes. Many families don’t have the money to pay for necessary utilities from month to month, and certainly not enough to even think of saving for college tuition. When

Equality, which is the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities, is now taking hold in our college admissions, but not enough. Just within the time people have used it, half a million more African-Americans have gotten into and earned degrees, colleges are now taking most of their focus to IQ, and there are now more African-American people with money in America.