Why so many requirements?

Earning a college scholarship can seem like a breath of fresh air for a college student. Students can use scholarships to make life a bit easier, but keeping the scholarship can be a struggle.

Students are awarded every day with some type of scholarship, whether it be Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Scholarship or any other major scholarship. 

Students with a high GPA might be eligible to receive funds towards their education through these scholarships. After students receive the scholarship, they are often required to maintain a high GPA, as well as take a certain number of hours. 

For example, the PTK Scholarship requires students to take 15 credit hours per semester and maintain a 3.0 GPA. If those requirements are not met there is a possibility that the student might lose their scholarship. 

Some scholarships look beyond academics and expect students to stay committed in order to receive funds. They require things such as a student working on campus a certain amount of hours per week, participating in an internship or attending religious services regularly while enrolled in college. 

Other scholarships include restrictions, such as being required to live on campus during the amount of time that the student is being funded. 

Students risk losing their scholarships when they are not able to fulfill these requirements. This becomes a problem when students rely heavily on scholarships, not only for educational needs but for help with room and board. 

DSU senior Liz Howell says some of the struggles she has with maintaining her scholarships include “keeping up with all of my classes while working a full-time and part-time job.” 

“I’m currently on the PTK scholarship, but I still have to take out loans because it doesn’t cover room and board,” Howell adds. 

Howell believes “The problems [with the scholarship system] aren’t in the requirements themselves, but because the way America perpetuates the idea that everyone has to go to college no matter what they are good at.” 

“It makes things harder because they have to push themselves harder because of the requirements,” Howell says. “Then, the requirements have to be raised because colleges can’t afford to give everyone a scholarship.” 

Wherever the problem may lie, one thing is for sure: after a student forfeits their scholarships, they are left paying for their education on their own. 

The requirements are what make it a struggle because most students are juggling six classes during their first semester. This can be a lot to handle for one student. 

Even though scholarships have a lot of requirements, they are still beneficial towards a college education.

College can be expensive and with the help of scholarships, it can help students in a huge financial way. Scholarships will always have some type of requirements that might be difficult in some ways, but it’s all in how students manage it. 

Regardless of the requirements, scholarships are still beneficial and can make college life easier for all students. There is no harm in students wanting to earn a scholarship because having those extra funds can go a long way when it’s towards their college education.