The Question of Awarding Scholarships - Research Paper Example

? Do Merit-Based Scholarships Make Sense? Schools Number and of (e.g., July 24,2012) Do Merit-Based Scholarships Make Sense? Merit based scholarships are scholarships awarded to meritorious students without financial considerations. The merit could be on the basis of accomplishments such as those in music, sports, or simply in qualifying tests taken during university or college admissions. While such scholarships appear to be favorable as they encourage merit and hard work, they do sometimes infringe on the rights of other students who are actually in need of financial aid. This essay discusses why merit-based scholarships do not actually make sense and why they are unfavorable and unfair for financially needy students. Because of their vested interests, university and college managements seek to attract meritorious students through merit-based scholarships to enhance the public image and fame of their institutions. Merit-based scholarships are provided irrespective of the beneficiary’s financial status, often resulting in the provision of scholarships to those who can already afford their education, and may also result in the disproportionate distribution of financial aid at the expense of need-based scholarships. These scholarships are usually based on admission tests that are not designed for this purpose, and therefore, they are unfair and damage the educational system. In fact, it appears that merit-based scholarships are designed to satiate the interests of college managements and often violate the rights of those actually in need of financial aid. These scholarships do not really make sense because financial assistance is provided to the student irrespective of whether he/she needs it or not. As will be discussed further on, merit-based scholarships do more harm than good to the education system. Universities and colleges provide merit-based scholarships on the basis of outstanding academic achievements or achievements in fields like music and sports. They lure high achieving students to enhance the public image of their institutions through the students’ artistic, academic or athletic achievements as these students would also make the college more desirable for prospective students. A look at Lewis & Clark College scholarships shows that meritorious students in fields such as music and forensics, and those with leadership qualities and other such traits are more favored. Peter Schmidt (2007), in his article, “At the elite colleges - dim white kids”, argues that the admission policies of most colleges are not usually fair and that more preference is often given to whites from affluent families or those with connections. According to him, students with “connections” or are from wealthy families obtain entry into colleges and universities selectively through recommendations from wealthy alumni and donors who grant endowments to those educational institutions. Schmidt further argues that the endowments received by educational institutions are also disproportionately distributed. According to him, only 40% of the money from financial aid is being distributed to students having financial need. The remaining is being used for merit-based scholarships to “potential recruits who can enhance a college's reputation, or appear likely to cover the rest of their tuition tab and to donate down the road”. As Grossman puts it, “colleges are like any business for whom “quality” customers enhance the reputation of the product and attract other customers” (1995). Educational institutions must move on from being mere “businesses” with vested interests to being cradles of quality education with equal educational opportunities for all. It is seen that merit based scholarships are provided irrespective of the beneficiary’s financial status. Even if a student is wealthy enough to afford his fee, he avails merit-based scholarships based on his exceptional achievements. Other needy students who cannot afford their education are left out. The financial aid that would have otherwise gone into need-based scholarships is also sometimes diverted to merit-based scholarships, resulting in an unfair privilege to meritorious students. According to an article by the Associated Press (2007), “Colleges have been criticized for using their resources to lure high-achieving students -- many of whom don’t need the money to attend college, thereby improving a school’s academic standing at the expense of its economic diversity”. Mendelson (2008) argues that educational institutes should reframe their policies to be more inclusive of middle class families and provide equal opportunities for all. The financial endowments of educational institutions are often limited and by taking out a portion of this to provide for meritorious students not in need of financial assistance would do gross injustice to students in need of financial assistance for their education. A look at Lewis & Clark College scholarship programs shows that more focus is given on achievements and less on financial need. Merit scholarships should not be given at the expense of need-based scholarships, and should be provided to meritorious students who are actually in need of financial assistance. Some merit-based scholarships are given to students on the basis of their SAT and other scores that are not designed for this purpose. These exams are not enough for testing the scholastic aptitude of a student. Students who are wealthy enough to undergo coaching for such exams have an unfair advantage over those who cannot train for such examinations. This trend is also damaging the educational system. Staples (2008) argues “the pressures that are driving colleges — and the country as a whole — to give college entry exams more weight than they were ever intended to have would clearly work against [Financially needy students who do not perform well in such exams]. Those same pressures are distorting the admissions process, corrupting education generally and slanting the field toward students whose families can afford test preparation classes”. A look at the scholarships provided by Lewis & Clarke College shows that most scholarships specify GPA, SAT scores etc rather than financial need or family income for providing scholarship. A commission set by the National Association for College Admission Counseling argues that “that tests like the SAT and ACT were never meant to be viewed in isolation but considered as one in a range of factors that include grades, essays and so on” (Staples, 2008). The commission also argues that these tests are not validated for the purpose of offering merit scholarships. Staples (2008) argues based on a report by Patrick Hayashi, a former president of The University of California, that students gaining such scholarships have often been outshone by others. The definition of “merit” needs to be re-defined for merit based scholarships in order to make it fair for all and to save the educational system from further damage. Some may argue that merit-based scholarships encourage talented students to work hard in creative and educational fields. As long as it is not taxing on the funds for need-based scholarships, merit scholarships should be awarded to deserving students. The struggles of famous people such as William H. "Bill" Gates, who was awarded the National Merit Scholarship, Stephenie Meyer, who was awarded the Brigham Young University Merit Scholarship, and Manoj "M. Night" Shyamalan, who was awarded the New York University Merit Scholarship, encourage students to work hard and achieve scholarships based on merit, to study without relying on parents or guardians for undertaking their financial expenses (Roel, n.d). Moreover, as Schmidt (2007) points out, some may also argue that by offering admissions to those having connections with donors of educational institutions, the institute is ensuring that endowments from donors keep coming in so that they may help financially needy students. Thus, the main counterargument is that merit-based scholarships should be promoted in order to encourage students to work hard and excel in their domains, However, in refutation of the previous argument, it can be stated that college managements use endowments and funds to provide merit-scholarships to high achievers not in need of financial assistance at the expense of the needy students. While the fact that many famous personalities utilized merit scholarships for their education does encourage students to work hard on the one hand, it also further fuels the colleges’ greed in providing scholarships to high students at the expense of needy students. As Schmidt (2007) argues, most of the endowment money is disproportionately distributed to provide for merit-based scholarships and tuition discounts at the expense of need-based scholarships. Those who argue that the best students should be rewarded through financial aid fail to realize that considering the limitations of financial aid, it is difficult to provide for students from financially underprivileged and middle-income families themselves. Most colleges have limited financial aid and by taking out a portion of it to provide for those who can already afford their tuition rather than those who are actually in need of financial assistance seems unfair. It is impossible to monitor the interests of college managements and while pilfering funds from need-based scholarships to merit-based scholarships is highly possible, the opposite will never happen. Several educational institutions have however taken the initiative to do away with merit-based scholarships and use the money to provide for financially needy students instead. For instance, as reported by the Associated Press (2007), Hamilton College has stopped merit-based scholarships and is instead using the money for those from low and middle-income families who cannot afford their tuition. The college is believed to be the first to “entirely abandon its merit scholarship program” (Associated Press, 2007). However, the colleges of the Ivy group had long ago agreed not to provide merit scholarships for undergraduate students and to instead offer tuition discounts and scholarships solely on the basis of financial need (Grossman, 1995). Merit-based scholarships do not really make sense. They thwart the very idea of financial assistance to the needy, as is demonstrated by the arguments presented above. Educational institutions have become more businesslike, and managements are more interested in the reputation of the institution rather than provision of equal opportunities for all. The criteria based on which merit-scholarships are given need to be redefined. Funds endowed for financial assistance to needy students should be used only for that purpose. Although initiated with the motive of rewarding meritorious students and encouraging them in academics, merit-based scholarships have rather become a reputation-enhancing tool for college managements. These are not only damaging the educational system but are against the notion of equal educational opportunities for all. References Associated Press. (2007, March 16). Hamilton College To End Merit Scholarships In Favor of Need-Based Aid. Diverse. Retrieved July 15, 2012 from http://diverseeducation.com/article/7116/ Grossman, H. (1995). Scholarships: Need or merit. Cato Journal, 14 (3), 519-525. Retrieved July 15, 2012 from http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj14n3-9.html Lewis & Clark. (2012). Financial Aid- Merit-Based Scholarships. Retrieved July 15, 2012 from http://www.lclark.edu/offices/financial_aid/merit_scholarships/ Mendelson, Z. (2008, August 24). Paying for college. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 15, 2012 from http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-mendelson24-2008aug24,0,5262616.story Roell, K. 6 Famous Faces That Belong To People Who Have Won a Merit Scholarship. About.com. Retrieved July 15, 2012 from http://testprep.about.com/od/psat/tp/Famous_Merit_Winners.htm Schmidt, P. (2007, September 28). At the elite colleges - dim white kids. The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 15, 2012 from http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/09/28/at_the_elite_colleges___dim_white_kids/?page=full Staples, B. (2008, October 1). A Broader Definition of Merit: The Trouble With College Entry Exams. The New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/opinion/02thu4.html?_r=2 Read More