As our high school careers were coming to a close, all of us shared a somewhat similar experience of selecting what school would become our new home a few short months after our impending graduation. There were a large number of factors that went into our final decision, from academic prestige, to location and to the social life. Each university offered a different array of opportunities, some more enticing than the others.
Just like most other new college prospects from across the nation, many of us put the financial impact of attending college as one of, if not the most, important aspects of our final decision. In many cases this meant applying for any and every scholarship we could get our hands on, as well as taking into account what each of our prospective schools were willing to offer us to select them over the rest of our choices. I think that we can all agree from each of our college searches, the more money the better. This was especially true if that meant being offered extra money on top of the most basic costs like tuition.
From GPA, to ACT/SAT scores, to a student’s desired major, there are many aspects that go into the distribution of our university’s scholarship money. For students who are the most deserving based on awards, test scores and financial need, “full ride” scholarships are awarded. While these scholarships are intended to cover all costs of a student’s needs as far as the university is concerned, this amount of money is still sometimes not enough.
There are students on our campus who were initially attracted and in the end decided to attend Alabama based on the offer to attend for free due to scholarships, only to realize after getting here that the scholarship money only covered their costs to a certain extent. Some of these students then had to make the decision to take out loans or work multiple jobs to cover their extra expenses, which includes needs outside the scope of what the University helps cover. Costs such as dorm room necessities, clothes and money to live off campus during the summer to participate in opportunities like university funded research are not covered by the normal full ride scholarships.
It’s not that there’s anything wrong with taking out a loan or working a job to cover such costs, but as the University continues to recruit top-level students from around the world, it makes sense to offer the incentive of not having to take such actions to cover your costs of attending school. If the act of “stacking” gives the University the ability to continue to pull in these types of students, it’s a great move from both a business and academic standpoint.
It seems though that in deciding who should be allowed to be awarded this extra scholarship money, the University should be more fair in their decision making. While stipends in the engineering department have helped the department’s recruitment of some of the best and brightest, why are these students given such an opportunity that a student of the same caliber might not receive as a biology major? It may make sense from the business standpoint of the University but not as much in their consideration of us as a student population.
Obviously, a large amount of discretion is needed in making such monetary decisions for something as complex as a university, which must balance both the business and personal aspects of running a school. Despite such concerns though, the University’s decision to allow for stacking to occur is a great opportunity for continued growth and recruitment of the best students worldwide.
Brad Tipper is a junior majoring in political science and economics. His column runs biweekly on Mondays.
