Another reason not to like small towns...

We all know college is expensive. The logical solution, therefore, would be to get good grades, do a good job in your studies, and apply for scholarships to reward your good work. Makes sense, right? Apparently in Adams County, this is most definitely not the case.

Last year I was not able to apply for any of the scholarships available from the Adams County Community Foundation, even though I graduated from high school with honors and was accepted to the Jacobs School of Music. Why? Because Interlochen Arts Academy is not in Adams County (well duh!), and to be eligible for these scholarships, graduation from an Adams County high school was required. It doesn't matter that Interlochen turns down 2/3 of the applicants and is regarded as one of the nation's finest fine arts schools, it isn't in Adams County. OK fine. I knew I could apply for at least one scholarship this year, which required the applicant to have either graduated from an Adams County high school or have been a resident in the county for at least 5 years; I'm 19 and have lived here all my life, so I assumed everything would be ok. Wrong again.

I filled out the application in May, explaining why I wanted to go to college, what classes I had taken, why I deserved to receive this scholarship, yadda, yadda, yadda. I took 19 credit hours both semesters, got close to a 4.00 gpa, and took very difficult classes, so I figured that I could get at least $500 out of these people. After all, I've known others who have less fatiguing schedules and worse grades who have gotten more.

Yesterday, however, I received a letter saying that I got...nothing. Not a dime. My first thought was, "What the #%$*?!" I remained calm enough to call the Foundation and ask why I had not received anything. The reason basically was this; I had never applied before. Priority for the scholarship was given in this order: 1. students commuting state school students (basically, a local public college, of which we have the IU and Purdue local campus and some community colleges who take basically everybody), commuting private school students (only about two of those in the area), state school students (my category), and private school students (usually harder to get into and cost more money).

Now for the actual students: the "non-traditional" students also get first priority. These are people who have been out of high school for 5 years without going to college. Then they look at students who have gotten the scholarship before, and finally, the newbies. The person I talked to said that most of the students going to local schools often did because of a lack of money, which I think is only partly true. I have known so many kids who go to the local colleges because they simply lack the courage or desire to see life beyond what they know, or challenge themselves to a school like IU. Many have little ambition or motivation, and some in this category did not have the grades to get into a challenging university. So, these students are rewarded for their lack of achievement. Of course, there are those who do stay at home because of lack of money, but generally this is not the case. I remember that during the three years I spent at the local high school, going away to school was generally not encouraged, and the local schools, which offer often less-then-great programs.

So by the time my pile is reached, most of the money is gone. My brother got some money, but he is a returning applicant. I would be, but the Interlochen issue kind of screwed me over.

This is what is wrong with this community; there is no reward from the community for trying to better yourself academically. I did some theater with a girl some years ago who went to a college prep high school not in the county and went on to Harvard. Her mother was disabled and her step-father's job didn't have a huge income. But, since she chose to go to a good high school and then one of the world's most prestigious universities, she was ineligible for any scholarship from the community. This community does not encourage this level of achievement, and often doesn't really talk about people who do great things outside of the county, such as Don Neuen, who is from Bern and currently the choir director of the Crystal Cathedral and formerly taught at the Eastman School of Music, or David Anspaugh of Decatur, director of such movies as Rudy and Hoosiers. But are these people ever spoken of as role modals for reaching your dreams. Instead, high school football players from thirty years ago are still on a pedestal. This backwards thinking is ruining this county.

In other words, if I had messed up in high school, or if I chose a lesser music program and stayed at home, I would have a better chance of getting scholarship from this county. Some programs, such as architecture, are only offered at one university, in this case Ball State University. What, then, is the reward for wanting to pursue architecture if the community doesn't support going away? It would seem sensible to promote going away to college as a way to promote the county and show the rest of the state, or the country, what we're made of. But this is Adams County, Indiana, where most things make little or no sense...