May 2018

6 in-depth
May 11
extra
effort
pays
With students panicking over higher education expenses and receiving
financial aid award letters, obtaining enough money to pay for
college has become a common concern for almost every student
and family. In order to reduce the financial pressure for students, outside
organizations and colleges provide scholarships -- free money that does
not have to be repaid -- for students that meet certain requirements.
Certain scholarships may be awarded through the admissions office
when a student is accepted into the university. “A merit scholarship is a
specific type of scholarship that colleges give automatically to students
based on factors in their application,” college and career resource counselor
Gilit Abraham said. “Most often it’s the GPA, or the SAT/ACT
student score; sometimes it might also be based on high school participation
and leadership roles.”
For most students, a merit scholarship from their college is a great
chance to receive a lot money without the hassle of filling out a special
application. “I was awarded the Père Marquette Award program from
Marquette University which covers a quarter of my tuition,” senior Prachi
Patel said.
More competitive, generous scholarships are also given by universities,
such as “Presidential” or “Deans” scholarships. “The more competitive
scholarships will be based on academic achievement; students should
have a certain GPA and SAT/ACT score to even apply. Students might
also be required to write an essay, gather a transcript, or perhaps have an
interview if they’re one of the finalists,” Abraham said.
Though nationwide organizations have huge pools of people who
apply after finding their scholarships listed on fastweb.org or collegegreenlight.com,
scholarships that are offered by local organizations have
smaller pools of students and therefore increase a student’s chances of
winning. Senior Vrutik Patel applied to an independent foundation in
Palatine, the A. Franklin Pilchard Foundation, and received the $32,000
scholarship. “It was a paper application with some short answer questions
about the career that I wanted to study in college, in my case mechanical
engineering,” said Vrutik. “All I had to do was answer the questions and
mail it to the address that was indicated.”
The more competitive that a scholarship is, the longer the application
will be; some have “rounds” where the pool of students reduces down to
semi-finalists and finalists. “When I was the semi-finalist for the scholarship
that I was awarded, I had to do an over-the-phone interview, which
made me nervous,” senior Katelyn Aragon said. “It was scary because I
couldn’t see the person’s expressions or hand motions, so I didn’t know
how they were reacting.”
While applying to college and scholarships in general
can be time-consuming and difficult, Patel explained
how, in the end, effort is key. “It is competitive.
Scholarships make students work harder and
colleges and organizations expect students
to work hard for money,” Vrutik said.
“Do some extracurricular activities
to make your application
stand out and prove you are
a well-rounded student. If
you want money, there’s an
abundance of money available.
You just have to work
hard for it.”
COMMITMENT TO
ESSAYS AND
APPLICATIONS
RESULTS IN MORE
MONEY FOR STUDENTS
BY IVONNE SANCHEZ
asst. in-depth editor
11%* OF
SENIORS PLAN TO TAKE
OUT COLLEGE LOANS
COSTING
$15,000+
FINANCING
YOUR FUTURE
BY DANIEL DAOOD
in-depth editor
Most high school seniors find themselves facing
the same dilemma -- paying for escalating
college costs. Since 1980, the average
price of college has grown 260%, according
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This leaves
students questioning how they are going to come
up with the money to pay for higher education,
including taking out student loans.
American students are taking out more loans
than ever to be able to afford the increasing prices
of higher education. Currently, “the U.S
has roughly $1.31 trillion in student loan
debt, spread amongst about 44 million
SAVE YOUR BANK BY BE
WITH COLLEGE FINANCIAL
student aid, loans re
borrowers,” according to Forbes Magazine,
“with the average student having
$37,172 in student loan debt.”
In a survey conducted of Maine
West seniors, nearly a third are planning
on taking out student loans for
college, with another 30% unsure on
whether or not they will be. The amount
of money one takes out in loans can have
a drastic impact later in life, since loans are
generally very hard to pay back. Among West seniors,
32% will be taking o
student loans, and 11% p
than $15,000. Whether t
or not, the price of college
for 83% of seniors in dete
go to school.
There are many other
ing for college such as
one earns through fi
includes Pell grants
repaid and loans that do ha
are necessary -- whether t
or a private lender, “you sh
minimal amount of stude
out subsidized loans, whic
back until you graduate,
loans, which you start payi
out Federal loans instead o
stitutions, and figure out
have once you graduate so
back as quickly as possible,
Allyson Adams said.
Whether or not yo
from the federal g
your college depe
sets and income. Th
Federal Student Aid (FAFS