I Won A Scholarship, but Not Really

Well, it turns out that although I did win the Zdenka Munzer scholarship, no extra cash is coming my way.

A nice lady at the financial aid office explained to me that because I had previously received a Simmons need-based grant, that once I got the Munzer scholarship, they decided I didn’t “need” $2000 of Simmons money. The Munzer scholarship simply replaced $2000 I had been rewarded earlier. So then the Munzer money slid in and Simmons took back some of their cash. I’m not really angry about that; I know the college will pool my money with other funds so more people can get a better education. I am disappointed in the person who sent me the scholarship award notification, because it really did make me think I was going to get all that extra dough.

Things I would have done with an extra two grand: I would have less to worry about as I graduate with no full time job. I would have enjoyed a greater variety in my diet, because I could have eaten out a little. But mostly, I would have used $500 to fly my 14-year-old sister to Boston, and to show her around Harvard, and the beautiful city.

I’ve thought about that last one a lot. And I talked to my sister and my parents a bit about it. It would take $300 to fly Sara here round trip, and she would miss a day of her final exams. So tomorrow Sara is going to ask if she can move her exams around, and then try to figure out how to save up $150. I told her that if she’d find a way to save up half the money on her own, I would buy the ticket and she would pay me back. The problem there is that she’s 14, and even though her High School is across the street from a mall desperate for fast food workers, she would have to be a year older to make their standards. We talked about it, and she said she’d look into bagging groceries at a local supermarket – she heard they might take 14 year olds.

I think a job outside the house would do Sara some good anyway. Getting to go on the trip aside, a Saturday shift bagging groceries would put money in her pocket of her very own, an important thing to a teen dependant on mom and dad for everything. Working for your parents can be tough for anybody.

So – my sister is coming, if she can find a way to make half the ticket. I’ll eat a little more peanut butter and tuna for a few weeks and pay for the other half. I hope this works out; the whole idea is terribly exciting.

Oh, and I found this cool site.