As a current senior who is nearing the end of high school, much of my time has been spent reflecting on the scholarship application process.
Most people are aware of the financial struggles attending college can bring to a student and their family. However, there is a remaining question: Are resources about the different options for financial assistance projected enough to seniors?
While Danvers High School does a good job pushing out available scholarships, there could be more engagement with the students in the form of assemblies explaining the benefits of applying to as many scholarships, as well as how to go about the process. Although Ms. Saggese (our guidance department’s administrative assistant) does a great job sending out weekly emails with scholarships that have approaching deadlines, more could be done in general to help students access scholarships.
Although this year’s senior class did have an assembly regarding where to send scholarship applications through, it was pretty brief and didn’t provide information or any clarity on writing the essays themselves. As a way to assist future seniors, there should be a senior community block, if not multiple community blocks, dedicated to laying the foundation for seniors who’re applying for scholarships.
Additionally, DHS’ guidance department doesn’t provide seniors with information around alternative possibilities for accessing money for school. For instance, with the help of the recent Commonwealth Commitment program, students in Massachusetts are able to attend a community college, such as North Shore Community College in Danvers for free! And for those who’d like to, they may then transfer to a state university, such as the University of Massachusetts, for specific programs at a reduced cost. This is an incredible opportunity for those who are unable to afford the initial amount of money for college. Lastly, students have the ability to reach out to a school and appeal for more money after the college has sent out the financial information.
Many may be unaware that students apply to college first, and then receive their financial aid package from schools. Once schools send out the amount of money they will be providing to a student, the student then has the ability to appeal for more aid. In fact, Lily Patterson, a present senior at Danvers High School, shares her personal experience when appealing for more money. Lily explains “At first, Providence College gave me no money, which means I couldn’t afford it because of the price. I reached out to my admissions counselor to see if I could submit an appeal. I then submitted my full semester one quarter grades, and I also wrote an appeal letter explaining it was my first choice and how it would be irresponsible for me to attend a school that would leave me with so much debt after the four years. This then allowed them to reach back out to me and they then offered a merit scholarship, which would help significantly.”
Overall, there are a variety of opportunities that allow for students and their families to save money on further schooling, hopefully DHS can provide greater assistance to students in the future for these opportunities.