Hello India!!!

Hello India!!!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

The Power of Scholarships


I’ve always known the power of scholarships but I didn’t really understand the power of scholarships, and I believe a lot my peers are with me on this. I took for granted the ability to get free money to go to college. It was a no-brainer for me then. I knew I wanted to go to college à my single-mother can’t afford it à I need scholarships à apply for scholarships à get the money and go to college à get a college degree and become someone big.

But a scholarship is more than just the money. Beyond the money is the power one has with their scholarship. Before coming to India I thought of my scholarships as some special gift I’d received for being a good student.

Studying here in India I’ve come to realize that scholarships are not rewarded to good students; scholarships motivate youth to become good students. The education system in America really emphasizes on quality student work, positive teacher-student feedback and developing analytical skills. Because there an organized system in place it really allows students in America to compete healthily amongst each other: i.e. class rank, GPA status, etc. The idea of giving out scholarships to students adds on to this healthy competition. Scholarships push students to strive to be at the top of their education, to attend classes (and not ditch, or as they call it here BUNK), to get good grades/marks and to pursue higher education.   

I just think of it this way: If you spend 2 hours working on a $1000 scholarship you would have been paid $500 per hour. What sort of job pays that well? I spent 1 month working the Gates Millennium Scholarship and in return got 6 years worth of education paid for. That’s the power of scholarships.

So for all of you out there, especially the seniors in high school right now, do not feel burden by scholarships. Apply for all the scholarships you qualify for; gotta catch ‘em all. You’ll thank me later. 

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