Over the course of my extensive and exhaustive college search during the past two weeks, there was one thing that stood out at every school.
They cost money.
And they don't like giving it back.
Unless, of course, an applicant has a strange or unique talent, like playing the ukelele or underwater basket-weaving. I personally would make the argument that surviving high school is a talent in itself, but I don't make the rules (yet).
And other scholarships are reserved for certain religions, races, financial levels,etc. If only those scholarships applied to MY religion, race, or financial level. But there really aren't many scholarships out there for Caucasian middle-class folks. Of course there are some, but since there are so many kids who fit that description, those scholarships are reserved for Caucasion middle-class kids who also happen to have won the world foosball championship.
Unfortunately, my talents are quite mundane. I take piano lessons (who hasn't?), I'm in choir (along with 80+ other people), I'm in too many clubs (which actually was discouraged by every. single. college admissions person), my grades tend to come out on the higher rather than the lower (but I don't have a perfect SAT score) etc... My most unique 'talent' would be my rather large family. I have been told by numerous people to write essays about my family. But wait, isn't the college accepting me, not my family? What an ego-booster.
But, as my dad says, might as well apply to 8 or 10 schools and see if any of them like me enough to give me something other than junk mail. I hope one does because otherwise my ass has been worked off for absolutely no reason.
I would go cultivate a new talent right now (you know, fill up the tires in my mom's old unicycle and join the circus), but I have to study for a physics test. Story of my sad, sad life.
DISCLAIMER: I do not resent scholarship winners. I appreciate your cheese-grating talent or mad dog training skills and am insanely jealous.
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