The day a senior’s college acceptance letter arrives in the mail, excitement can quickly turn into stress. They earned their spot at a university, but may not know how to pay for their further education. Scholarships do not just help students to attend college; they make it possible. College days are the time many students look forward to. Students look forward to the freedom that college allows them to have. They look forward to starting to study the career they have dreamed about; however, with that excitement comes anxiety as well. The question of how to pay for college is a common concern of many young people as they prepare for their futures.
Thankfully, there is a solution to help navigate the heavy financial burden college brings – scholarships. There are many scholarships students can earn, from academic to athletics to extracurricular scholarships. When students excel in school, they can also be awarded merit-based scholarships based on their GPA or test scores, such as the SAT or ACT. Katie Hurst, a senior at Lewis Cass, was asked what scholarships she applied for and said, “I have applied for the Howard County Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship, the Mensa Foundation Scholarship, the Burger King Foundation Scholarship, and the KOP Scholarship. I am currently working on applying for the Cass County Community Foundation Scholarships and the Howard County Community Foundation Scholarships.” Because of her dedication to finding a way to help pay for her college education, Katie hopes to be able to enjoy her college experience even more without the heavy financial burden. Katie was asked what she is looking forward to most next year in college and stated, “These scholarships will lighten the load of college by relieving some of the financial stress and allowing me to focus on my education without the fear of debt. I am looking forward to meeting new people, being in a new environment, and having the ability to take classes that interest me and impact my future.”
On the other hand, athletics can open many doors full of opportunities for students, whether that is going to college on an athletic scholarship, or getting athletic scholarships from their high school or local community. There are many opportunities for scholarships on the athletic side of things. Senior, Aftin Griffin, a three-sport athlete here at Lewis Cass, will continue her track and cross country career through college. Aftin was asked what scholarships she has received and said, “I received the highest athletic scholarship I could receive. The college I am going to attend, IU Indy, does not give full-ride scholarships for track or cross country, but I did get a good chunk of money to run. My athletic and academic scholarship will help take a lot of money off together.” Because of Aftin’s commitment to not only being an outstanding athlete in high school but also in her future in college, she will have some financial freedom and the opportunity to enjoy college. Aftin was asked if she encourages others to work for these scholarships, Griffin said, “Definitely. If you want to play a sport in college, there is a good chance you will receive some sort of athletic scholarship. How much money you receive depends on how good you are, of course, but athletes get a good sum of money from scholarships, so I highly encourage someone to play college sports if they’re interested in it. A lot of colleges might give more money academically, too, rather than athletically, so make sure to fill out as many scholarships as possible so you don’t owe as much.”
All in all, there can be financial freedom when it comes to paying for college. From athletic to academic opportunities, there are multiple ways to help pay for college. College should be the best days of one’s life, not the most stressful time, because of financial stress. Sure, scholarships may not take away the entire financial burden college can bring, but with hard work and dedication, students can enjoy college while staying out of debt. So, take the scholarship process seriously and work hard for the opportunities ahead!
