High School Seniors Win $14million in Scholarships -- true or false?
June 18, 2020Did Hough High school students really receive $14,000,000 in scholarships?
That is how the headline read in the blog "Cornelius Today."
"How come my student didn't get that kind of money?" you may painfully wonder.
"I'm going to find those scholarships for my child!" you may resolve.
Take a deep breath and let's dig into the numbers.
Click this link and see the table breaking down all high schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg's system.
$13,953,220 awarded in 287 scholarships. I could go on all day, but I will refrain and make just four, simple points.
- There were approximately 700 seniors in Hough's Class of 2020, and 287 scholarship winners reported. +/- 400 students (apparently) were awarded $0.00.
- Do the math and the average scholarship is $48,618, yet the cost-of-attendance at most UNC System universities is under $26,000
- At the bottom of the report critical data is noted: over $23,000,000 were athletic grants-in-aid. That is NOT "Scholarships." Athletic-grants-in-aid are awarded to athletes for athletic prowess. Some athletes report only modest academic achievements.
- Finally, the $48,618 average scholarship is an aggregate number. In other words, as students heard back from 4, 6, 8, 10 (or more?) colleges, and as each college tendered an offer of, let's say $3,000 per year, or $4,000 per year, maybe even $10,000, all of the numbers were added together for that student to aggregate at $48,000+
Let me tell you about Michael. He was awarded (rounding off) $30,000 by Rose-Hulman, $28,000 by Rennselaer Polytechnic, $3,000 by the University of Maryland**, and $22,000 by Virginia Tech. Using the criteria above, I could have reported that my student, Michael, was awarded $83,000 in scholarships. Instead, my report is that Michael is at Virginia Tech paying in-state tuition as an out-of-state student. An excellent deal for his family!
As the saying goes, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.
Before I go, here's a final, encouraging note. Michael will pay around $100,000 - $110,000 for his bachelor's degree in engineering. Do you want to guess how Michael is spending his summer, between college junior and senior years? As I write this (June 18) he is starting an internship with General Motors in Detroit, working in the autonomous, electric vehicle research division.** I expect him to be amply rewarded for his excellence in academics, and to recoup that $100-G's quickly.
** University of Maryland and General Motors will not hyperlink. Copy and paste the URLs here:
https://umd.edu
https://www.gm.com/masthead-story/electric-vehicles-AV-EV.html
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