HS Graduation Scholarship Awards Ceremony

[Kath]

We attended a scholarship award ceremony the day before the actual graduation. It's the craziest thing I ever saw. It went on for just over two hours - anybody with $100 could present a scholarship to 1-x number of students.

Last night, during graduation, they announced that a total of $3.6 million was handed out on Tuesday, for 160 kids.

My nephew came away with full tuition and fees for year 1, with the other three paid, contingent on grades. That's $7,000/year - he also got $1,000 for being Italian, $350 for helping out at the pool during summers and another $250 for (I don't remember why.) He also got a laptop, but his parents are making him give it back, since that particular award was intended for students who would not otherwise be able to afford one.

3.6 million.... crazy.

He's going to UF for aeronautical engineering.

[DBTrek]

Last night, during graduation, they announced that a total of $3.6 million was handed out on Tuesday, for 160 kids.

Damn! That’s a better haul than the Seattle homeless receive;

$17,000 vs $22,500 apiece.

[Kath]

Last night, during graduation, they announced that a total of $3.6 million was handed out on Tuesday, for 160 kids.

Damn! That’s a better haul than the Seattle homeless receive;

$17,000 vs $22,500 apiece.

It felt like it was the same 10 kids getting most of the loot. Many kids got nada and a whole bunch only got called up only once.

[MilSpecs]

It felt like it was the same 10 kids getting most of the loot. Many kids got nada and a whole bunch only got called up only once.

I remember thinking that awards night sounded like an auction.

Nowhere near that amount actually gets handed out, though. If a kid gets accepted to three schools and all three give her $10K it reads as though she got $30K.

[Kath]

Nowhere near that amount actually gets handed out, though. If a kid gets accepted to three schools and all three give her $10K it reads as though she got $30K.

True, but direct-from-the-school scholarships were not included in the total. Bright Futures was the biggest contributor to the tally, so that's where the loss will come from. The Bright Futures scholarships that are for all 4-years have a GPA requirements to qualify for next year's payouts.

[MilSpecs]

Nowhere near that amount actually gets handed out, though. If a kid gets accepted to three schools and all three give her $10K it reads as though she got $30K.

True, but direct-from-the-school scholarships were not included in the total. Bright Futures was the biggest contributor to the tally, so that's where the loss will come from. The Bright Futures scholarships that are for all 4-years have a GPA requirements to qualify for next year's payouts.

I'm impressed they didn't include the school money. We were all asked to fill out a form and put down anything our kids were granted. Then the kids were paraded up on awards night and they announced the total amount for each kid. It very much felt like an ad for the school ("look how much money this awesome school is getting for your kids!")

It never occurred to me that they might be reporting grants for all 4 years.

[Kath]

I'm impressed they didn't include the school money. We were all asked to fill out a form and put down anything our kids were granted. Then the kids were paraded up on awards night and they announced the total amount for each kid. It very much felt like an ad for the school ("look how much money this awesome school is getting for your kids!")

It never occurred to me that they might be reporting grants for all 4 years.

I don't know nearly enough to make any claims, I just can go on what was told to me. We were given a printed list of all the scholarships being awarded, and they announced the only one missing from the list was Bright Futures. It's entirely possible they did something to fudge the numbers by excluding that information, though. I have no way of knowing.

[Zlaxer]

It felt like it was the same 10 kids getting most of the loot. Many kids got nada and a whole bunch only got called up only once.

Cream sorting itself from the curd......

[Kath]

Cream sorting itself from the curd......

Absolutely, for most of it. There are awards for being German, Italian, etc., and awards for being the kid of a member of the rotary club, stuff like that.

What's weird is there was one kid who get getting called up, over and over, and the next day, he had no designations on his gown - no cum laude designation, nor participation or achievement sashes. Most kids who kept getting called were loaded down with sashes and cum laude designations. I wonder how that happened.

[MilSpecs]

Sports? If they don’t get a free ride they can still get some serious money.