By SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD
Staff Writer
Need-based scholarships are money for students who come from a family with low incomes. By being a low-income family they qualify for a need-based scholarship which would help them pay for college. So, when need-based scholarships are given, academics and extracurricular accomplishments aren’t taken into consideration.
An interesting thing to think about is when you look at ivy league schools and other private institutions their rate of acceptance is extremely lower than public colleges. If ivy league schools, which can have acceptance rates as low as 4 percent, only give need-based scholarships then it shouldn’t be that hard for other colleges to prioritize need-based scholarships for possible incoming students.
Now more than ever lots of students will choose to not attend school because they cannot afford it, even if they do have good grades or work ethic. So financial need should be the only thing that college looks at when determining scholarship. Many people apply for financial aid through FAFSA hoping to get a bit of money that would help. However, even after having that aid, almost 70% of those who come from low-income families still aren’t able to afford college. Every student’s story is different, but the financial gap in paying for college is still apparent today.
By providing sufficient scholarship assistance, we can enable greater success in college, by providing deserving students a chance at higher education. The support that students receive from colleges and their community will ultimately give them the motivation and drive to continue and do well in school and in their future. When we allow students to receive financial scholarships we give them an opportunity and time to focus on their own school work. Need-based aid is still also the most common type of financial aid given to students, so it should be more openly available for everyone who may need it.