A great amount of seniors who are attending college next year have applied for various scholarships with nearly 200 of them receiving money in return.
Senior Rachel Feldman, who is attending Bowling Green State University next year, has been granted the Award of High Distinction, which was given to her by the university and is a full tuition scholarship.
Feldman fit the criteria of being accepted into the Bowling Green Honors College, having a GPA above 3.8 and an ACT score of 30 or higher. Following that, she was invited to an interview for the scholarship at Bowling Green, where there was a dinner and a presentation the night before. The interview was about 15 minutes long in front of a three-person panel and Feldman was notified a week later that she had won the scholarship.
Since this scholarship covers her tuition in whole for all four years, Feldman expressed that this will help her because “a lot of the money that had been put aside for my college expenses had been lost in the recession.” The scholarship will cut her total college costs in half, which will allow Feldman to graduate with little-to-no debt.
“I was really excited and relieved when I got the scholarship. I was honored to have been chosen from such a competitive group. It also took a lot of stress off my parents and me, as we no longer have to worry about going into debt to pay for college,” she said.
This will allow her to focus on academics and other fun activities. While at Bowling Green, Feldman will be studying integrated mathematics and history. Feldman shared that she will still work in college to gain some extra money but will not have to stress about having to pay for her tuition costs. The scholarship will also give her access to special job counseling and opportunities, which could increase her chances of being hired right out of college.
Senior Cameron Hays will be attending the University of Alabama next year on the Presidential Scholarship, which is a full-tuition scholarship solely based on his academics in high school.
Students with an ACT score of a 32 or higher and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA qualify for the scholarship. Hays did not initially meet all of the requirements: “My ACT was two points too low so I did an intensive tutoring program for a month before the test and got the 32 I needed to get the scholarship,” he stated.
“Opening the link to [check] my score and seeing it was what I needed was a big feeling of pride and excitement. Plus I was saving a lot of money, so that felt really good too,” Hays shared. The scholarship covers all four years of tuition.
Hays expressed that he thinks the scholarship will help him a lot in college: “I need to maintain a minimum GPA or I lose the scholarship, which is a pretty big incentive to make sure I keep up with my grades and not get distracted from all the fun things going on in college.”
While at Alabama, Hays will be studying business management and administration.
Kelsey Kraft, who will be heading to Xavier University in the fall and majoring in social work, received the Chancellor’s Scholarship. To qualify for this, she had to have at least a 3.75 GPA and a score of 31 or higher on her ACT. Kraft was considered for the scholarship from her admission but also had to write an extra essay.
“I actually cried when I got [the scholarship] because I knew that Xavier was my top choice and I was relieved to know I could afford the school I wanted to go to,” Kraft stated. She also shared that this will really helpful to her family because she has two younger sisters who are going to college in the next few years.
Kraft expressed that the extra money will aid her in many ways: “I know I won’t have to take out any student loans for my bachelor’s degree. I can also start saving money for my master’s degree somewhere down the road.”
