Compensating for College

As the seniors begin to wrap up their college application process, the rest of UAIS students can’t help but share the excitement of the endless amounts of acceptance letters coming in from various schools around the globe. While the college application process is definitely an exciting one, there is still a lot UAIS students don’t know about. In today’s society, it’s been made pretty clear that college is not cheap and is something that needs to be thought of in advance. As Freshman Jai Mann stated, “You should start thinking about it now.”

Without a doubt the majority of the student body has heard things about ‘scholarships’ and ‘financial aid,’ but how much do students really know? Something that is allowing students to inquire on this process is in Ms. Wlodarczyk’s speech class. Freshman Jennifer Holdstock stated that “what [she] knows about financial aid, [she] learned in speech class.” Though this is a resourceful tool, some students, such as Sophomore Thomas Eridon, are still unclear about what exactly it is: ” I haven’t heard much about it, but I know it helps pay for college.”

Financial aid is money given to you from the government, based on family income and other factors that may impact your family’s financial state. Financial aid is something all students should apply for, whether they think they will qualify or not. As Junior Ian McKinnon explained, financial aid is a “application process that looks at your family income and current situation.”

 

Financial aid is not the only option for assistance in paying for college, though. As several students such as Sophomore Gabrielle Buscemi reported, “[She] is hoping for scholarships, and doesn’t see any other options other than student loans.” While several students are depending on scholarships, not many know how to find them. Senior Martin Smoger stated that “some scholarships were offered to [him] based off [his] academics and interests.”  It’s true that many colleges, such as Oakland University and Wayne State University, give out scholarships dependent on standardized test scores, but it is also important to seek out scholarships on your own. Martin explained to me the “Microsoft Scholarship, which [he] applied for because of [his] interest in robotics and coding.” Scholarships are given for various reasons and catered to various interests. If you can’t find a scholarship specific to your interests, there are a variety of scholarships aside from those offered for academics. Common scholarships are those offered for athletics and writing, which is why Senior Candy Dialogo “plans to compete in writing competitions” to receive additional money for college. These scholarships won’t always be presented to you, which is why Junior Sarah Almi “[looks] on Naviance for scholarship options.”