anyone else frustrated about scholarships??

[mermaid]

I just got a letter that out of every single scholarship I applied for I recieved none! It gets harder every year to apply when I just get rejected. It's not like I'm not qualified, 3.7 GPA, volunteer experience, extracurricular activities...
I know I'm not outstanding, but I also know I'm not that terrible!
It just gets so frustrating...anybody having the same problem?

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[ryanpj]

I hate to say it but if you are not a minority or a member of the Kiwanas or your parents not a veteran, law officer, then you are probably **** out of luck. And the best part is that the harder that you and your parents work then that means that you get less money, but the lazy asses get all the cash. I love this country!

 

[Smile]

ryanpj,

You just set yourself up for a major reeming from other people on this board.

 

[ryanpj]

I know that I did, but those who are honest with themselves know that I speak some truth. I have quite a few minority (African American) friends who agree with me. Besides I have a right to have an opinion no matter how distorted it may be.

 

[dugan]

mermaid,

I know it's frustrating, but just try not to worry about it. Trust me, you'll be able to pay off your loans! Everyone does it, and it's terrifying, but you'll get used to it.

ryanpj,

I see you partake of the popular capitalist myth that the harder you work, the more money you have. Does it help dissipate some of the guilt you feel about having financial advantages?

 

[Tanya]

I really find it hard to believe that undeserving people are receiving free money.

Would you give a cent from your pocket to a "lazy ass"??? Then why would foundations pass out hundreds and thousand of dollars to these people?

The fact that you qualify your statement with "my African American friends agree with me" implies to me that these lazy asses = minority students.

Your statement, Dear ryanpj, is blatantly racist.


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"Just like moons and like suns...With the certainty of tides...Just like hopes springing high...Still I'll rise" -Maya Angelou "Still I Rise"

 

[Pebbles]

Let the games Begin!

 

[ryanpj]

lazy people are the ones who feed off the system, and here is another one to piss everyone off, those who are "welfare junkies". Actually I consider myself quite generous. Look at it this way, my parents do not support me, but if I want to take out certain types of loans there is no way in hell I will ever get them because my parents make too much. My parents both have a 40+ jobs, and each run there own business on top of there regular jobs. How much did they pay out in taxes last year? $45,000. Now tell me how that is fair, they are busting their ass. So call me what you like, I do believe in the myth that many times the harder that you work the more you are punished.

 

[dugan]

ryanpj,

There are plenty of people who work at least as hard as your parents and make much less money--even after taxes. Working hard won't automatically make you successful, no matter what the Protestant Ethic whispers slyly in your ear. And high-paying jobs aren't necessarily harder than low-paying jobs.

I'm sorry you're feeling strapped, but don't lash out at everyone else because of it. Your complaints are typical ones of people who don't understand the power of socioeconomic class structure--sometimes because they've spent a lot of time perched at the top.

 

[ryanpj]

I am not mad at anyone, I have accepted the way things are. I do love this country and I would not leave it for anything. I am not going all over these boards saying how furious I am, but you cannot honestly tell me that it is not easier to get a scholarship if you are a minority, you are economically disadvantaged, or if you or you parents are a member of some type of orginization. I think that my choice of words were poor. When I say lazy people I am not refering to minorities, and when I said African American I did not mean to say that those were the minorities that I was referring to. I agree that success has a component of luck in it, but it seems that you people are telling me that you do not have to work hard to be successful? I am sorry, but I was raised to believe that if you work hard and stay true to Christ then you will lead a happy and comfortable life, even though life will deal you a few bad cards. I do not know, maybe myself and a few million other people have been raised to believe a fallacy.

 

[bobo]

"you cannot honestly tell me that it is not easier to get a scholarship if you are a minority, you are economically disadvantaged"

Um.......Duh?

This is why they give out scholarships!

 

[EricCSU]

I definitely have to agree with the original poster of this thread. I'm a sophomore in my undergrad and I applied for 9 scholarships this year (4 department and 5 college). I have a 3.92 gpa in Sports Medicine, one of the more competitive campus majors. I'm a resident assistant, I work for student orientation, I'm an honors student, I teach an honors freshman seminar, ref intramural sports, and I've never taken less than 18 credits in a semester.
I was rejected for every scholarship I applied for. My advisor is even on the commitee, and that didn't pull enough weight for me to get any money. My advisor personally told me that no other applicant had a higher gpa. She also said that there was only one scholarship recepient who had a better personal statement than I wrote. Also, even for the merit scholarships, they examined my financial need. Once they saw my financial report, they all but dismissed my application.

Here's my two biggest problems. First, My parents pay for my education. Automatically, people assume that my parents are loaded when they hear this. Actually, they spent the last 8 years saving up for this and have taken significant cuts since I started school. Second, I am a white male. I am all for financial need based scholarships, but giving money to a specific ethnicity is by definition, racist. To give money to a specific group is to keep it from another group.

I believe there should only be two types of scholarships: financial need and merit. Give money to those who work hard and those who can't go to school without the money.

Isn't there something wrong with a society who doesn't reward those who work hardest? I was passed over to fund mediocre out-of-state students with large school loan debt. I'm not asking for a full ride. I would just like a little money here and there. How many other people who are reading this have applied for literally hundreds of scholarships and come up short because you don't look like you need money??

Please feel free to respond to this. I've written numerous essays and research on affirmative action and California's Proposition 209. Have a great day.

Eric

[This message has been edited by EricCSU (edited 05-10-2000).]

 

[ryanpj]

Good job Eric, you said what I said, but in a much more elegant way. I would like to add and expand that they are called scholar-ships, so that means that scholastic achievements should be one if not the most heavily weighed factor in determining who is awarded. They (scholarships) are based on merit.

 

[dugan]

ryanpj,

Yes; I'm sorry. The idea that "if you work hard and stay true to Christ then you will lead a happy and comfortable life, even though life will deal you a few bad cards" is indeed a fallacy. Don't you realize that there are a lot of people who follow just this path and yet get dealt a hand made entirely of bad cards? (Think for example, of Christianity's role in American slavery.) Your family is lucky. Honest, hardworking, and ethical, perhaps, but also lucky.

I know you weren't referring to minorities, necessarily, when you described people who benefit (more than you do) from financial aid as "lazy asses." However, you should accept that the *vast* majority of the people who receive it, no matter their race, are not lazy. Many are just as hardworking as you and your parents are, but they haven't been rewarded as richly. Why begrudge them the reward now? It seems to me that, if you're interested in staying "true to Christ," then maybe you should go re-read the NT and think about what he would have done in this position.

Another little piece of this puzzle is something called "cultural capital." As someone who comes from a comparatively privileged segment of society, you have a whole bunch of tools for success you're not even aware of. They helped you graduate from high school, helped you get decent numbers, and furnished you with knowledge about how to present yourself on paper and in person.

I'm not saying this process is perfect; it has a lot of flaws. But please be careful in making sweeping judgements about the people who end up benefiting from this money. Many of them deserve it.

[This message has been edited by dugan (edited 05-11-2000).]

 

[dlbruch]

"if you work hard and stay true to Christ then you will lead a happy and comfortable life, even though life will deal you a few bad cards"

I don't mean to be harsh, but does being true to Christ include reading the Bible? If it did then you would know that being true to Christ does not deliver us from the struggles of life, but actually will cause us to encounter and endure more adversity and persucution than others face!

As for scholarships- I am also a white male who doesn't qualify for need-based funds. I accept that I will either take the loans and repay them or accept a scholarship that requires some form of repayment (ie NHSC, military) It is sometimes frustrating, but compared to the daily struggles of many, my life has been "comfortable". I am glad that those that really do need the money to get higher education will often get it.

 

[Sheon]

To play devil's advocate here.

With the restructured Stafford Loan program, how many people are in true financial NEED? They allow one to borrow up to $38,500/year for medical school. I know some schools have budgets beyond this, but most schools don't. I don't think any state schools do.

How many people really NEED more than that?

 

[dugan]

I think the issue is that not everyone is eligible for the Staffords, subsidized or unsubsidized. is this correct?

 

[mermaid]

well, one of the things that makes me sick is how unevenly the scholarships are distributed. One of my friends little sister is graduating from high school this year and won the largest scholarship in the state. I'm very proud of her and know she was the most deserving, but I can't help but get just a little jealous. In addition to this $40 some thousand scholarship, she has also received a few 2 or 3 thousand dollar scholarships. She will be attending the same university as me... tuition here for 15 hours per semester plus 3 hours in the summer is around $3200 per year. Anyone here smart enough to figure that out? She's trying to decide what new car to buy. Of course I must say again that she is extremely smart and hard working, but that seems a little extreme when I have received a grand total of $1500.