Paying for college sucks. Sorry to be so frank but really, if you are paying for college, are a parent helping your kid out, or know anything about how much it costs to got to college these days you know it is ridiculous. Since I've been in school tuition's gone up around $2,000. I definitely work as much as I can to help pay for college and haven't stopped applying for scholarships that go towards tuition. It's super frustrating though to write essay upon essay upon essay and get recommendation letters time and time again just to find out you didn't get a scholarship. I would definitely say that applying for scholarships is a pretty humbling experience--you get to find out time and time again that there are many more kids out there who are just as awesome as you are. In high school, it was so frustrating for me to apply for scholarships because so many scholarships committees "weed" your application out if you don't have a high ACT score. I am a terrible test taker and have super bad test anxiety and my ACT score was right in the mediocre range--it didn't compliment anything I did in high school really. My college actually told me not to apply for a certain scholarship because they won't even consider my application without a certain ACT score. So going into college a lot of your opportunities are based upon two numbers--your class rank and ACT/SAT score--awesome right?
When I got to St. Ed's my scholarship opportunities were based on my performance inside and outside of the classroom. I applied for scholarships to study abroad from different programs and the agency I went with but didn't receive any. I'm taking a whole semester and not working so of course when I return to the US I will be under more financial pressure to make what I need to live on for the next semester. More than anything while I am here I am trying to spend conservatively. Last night I found out that I have been awarded a scholarship from my honors program back home--it was a breath of fresh air. Admissions to the honors program at SEU has been one of the best things to happen to me in college. The classes I have taken through the program are some of the best courses I've been through in college and I really can't say enough good things about the professors in the program. The best thing about this scholarship was that I didn't even have to apply for anything. I just emailed the dean of the college and asked her if there was a scholarship I would be able to apply for in the program (months ago) and yesterday she told me I'd be receiving funds for my experience abroad. I know there are pros and cons for going to big and little colleges but this is definitely one of the reasons I appreciate my small university--your professors know you and care about what you are doing. St. Ed's new slogan is "Take on your world" it definitely fits the university and what I have been inspired to do during my college experience.
Just for the record, last night I ate zucchini as my main dish and liked it--yes I like zucchini, but if you know me you know this is a big accomplishment! I also eat a salad with almost every meal--my plate actually has color for probably the first time in ten years. You know how most of the time you don't like many foods when you are little and as you grow up you learn to like different foods? Yeah, well my eating cycle is pretty much in reverse. I'm getting better though--Chile helps with that.
Sunday I register for classes back home--I have a decent amount of hours so hopefully that will go well but registration is always stressful so I'm not counting any chickens. Sunday, is also April 1st which means that I only have three months left here--time flies. I'm definitely trying to make the most of what little time I have left in this beautiful country.
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