Confessions of a Scholarship Winner

Let’s face it, college is expensive. You’ve got tuition, room & Board, books, and for the average American 18 year old, throw in stereos, laptops, iPads, and eating out. It’s like being a high school kid with total freedom and no supervision. But how do you pay for it?

Kristina Ellis has written this book about paying for college on her own. She lost her father at an early age, but also started working at an early age. When she was 14 her mother told her “I can’t pay for you to go to college, you’ll have to pay for it yourself.” At least she had the warning four years in advance. She outlines the different ways to pay-financial aid, scholarships, loans. The problem is that the big ticket colleges like NYU and Ivy League have high costs and low aid. Smaller ones have lower cost and higher aid. As for grades, Ellis wasn’t top-drawer, so getting a $100,000 scholarship was unlikely. But there were lots of small ones. The schools also want to see motivation, so extra-curricular activities are important for the resume.

There are some faults with this book. First off, I don’t know for sure how much of this is true. Her mother may have given her some money, because unless you’re on full scholarship, you’ll have to pay a few things out of pocket. Secondly, if this book were written by an economist, then the advice would probably be to attend a local junior college and commute from home. Perhaps you’d be advised to get a two year degree in nursing or paralegal studies, work for a year, then complete the four year degree. It’s certainly cheaper than taking out a loan. As for the loans, too many students are dazzled by big, prestigious colleges, and with their huge price tags, there’s no choice but to borrow. You get tempted by big dreams, and when it’s all over you wake up with a hangover. Getting a two year nursing degree and going straight to work might be the better option. It’s not cool, but you won’t spend your life paying back a debt.

Maybe it’s like Josephine Baker once said, “the only way to make your dream come true is to wake up from it.”