The topic of scholarships is often tied to large-scale economic problems and all of that complicated, serious mess. But this discussion of scholarships will not be attempting to slip Marx and Engels into your ideology like a sugar cube into a cup of tea.
I am studying abroad in Paris this summer, an expense that will run me about $10,000 after all the nights at the Parisian equivalent of Midtown and the subsequent mornings where baguettes will act as a hangover cure. That’s on top of tuition and housing. I don’t want to just complain about money though. If I wasn’t comfortable falling into a bit of debt and working to pay it off over the next year, I wouldn’t be going. No, I would simply like to reap the benefits of the life-altering experience of study abroad without having to toil over steakburgers for a semester to finance it; not out of necessity, but out of a very logical sense of “why would I pay if there’s another way.” Luckily for me, and for any of you in my position, there is another way: scholarships.
Scholarships are one of the few resources left on our planet, other than perhaps solar and wind energy that seems to be renewable. Seriously, the mountain of available scholarships is a staggering sight. However, it has a unique property that renders it invisible among the chain of education-financing summits that surround it unless you actively seek it out. Once you do, you realize there are scholarships about New Year’s resolutions, textbook websites, a plethora of safe driver ones, a handful of major-specific ones and probably one relating to that impossibly edgy niche that you’re thinking about. Yes, you. Look it up if you don’t believe me.
This doesn’t even scratch the surface of the money you can rake in by searching for scholarships. A huge and often under-tapped well of financial assistance can be found right at home, in our very own swamp. UF offers scholarships based on need and merit, so even if you don’t qualify for direct financial aid you can still be considered to have your education partially subsidized. These scholarships can be broad, with requirements that put almost no limitations on the applicant pool, or very narrow, focusing in on specific students within specific majors.
These opportunities can be very competitive, so applying is not a guaranteed check. Many times the applicant pool is not as large as one might believe it to be based on the generosity of the offer. It helps to remember this: Our school wants us to succeed, so when it extends a helping hand, odds are reaching out for it won’t hurt.
The main takeaway from my pretty exhaustive search for scholarships this semester is that the opportunities exist in truly astonishing numbers. Be it at our own school, outside it or both, finding money and scholarships is within the grasp of anyone willing to look. While there is no guarantee of success with any one of them or really any at all, it stands to reason that if one were to apply to enough with their full intellectual capability behind their submission, the stars would align in at least a few instances.
Of course, it is entirely possible that none of the scholarships go your way. I would rather try every option I have to generate some income before accepting defeat by a costly study abroad program and the manual labor that seems to be the last resort method of financing it. As a parting thought, I’ll leave you all with a quote from Tim Heidecker that I think really sums up the sentiment of this piece. When it comes to scholarships, “It’s free real estate."
Kyle Cunningham is a UF English freshman. His column normally appears on Mondays.
