Senior Reflection Blog #1: Scholarships

When it comes to scholarships, I noticed everyone tells you, as a senior in high school, to “Apply! Apply! Apply!” So you do. You fill out 6-9 pages (or more) worth of personal information and possibly another 2 pages for essays on some of the dumbest topics like “what this scholarship means to me” or “the value of education.” It doesn’t seem so bad the first couple of times; but then when you’ve reached about like 50 or 60 scholarships, every question seems so discouraging—especially when you’ve been rejected for about 59 of those scholarships.

There are advertisements everywhere for scholarships: in school, fast food restaurants, grocery stores, etc. There are even advertisements from people on the decision board of these scholarships complaining about how much trouble they’re having with giving away money. But the thing is they don’t want to give away the money. They want to give the money and “all the help they can” to the low income students, no offense, who usually don’t even met the educational standards of an average high school student. Or they want to give the money away to no-life geniuses that are the presidents/leaders of 10 out of the 20 clubs they’re in and have over a 4.0 (and usually are part of a pretty well-to-do family). When you’re neither, like I am, you get nothing. Even when you wasted every Thursday afternoon since school started staying after for clubs like Math Honor Society when you could have been home sitting in front of the TV like a normal teenager, you immediately lose all chances you may have had when they see your “financial state.” You could have the perfect application, but when they ask for your parents’ income, you should stop right there. I even wrote separate essays explaining my “financial circumstances” (for instance, living in one of the richest and most expensive counties America has to offer), but who knew people could be so indifferent.

So this rant could probably go on for quite some time, but it’s really frustrating. For students that need the money don’t get it; and people that could use the money don’t really care about it or don’t really need it. So what’s left for the struggling middle class? That annoying 8 to 5 retail job where you stand for more than 8 hours a day, putting up with people that have no life and no brains? Really!?

Sorry.

Ok. I’m done :)

Thank you for shopping at Target! Have a nice day!!