Senioritis hits about this time of year at VVHS, and being a “slacker” can be costly. March 31 is the date when an application for local scholarships must be completed. A number of local organizations offer our high school seniors scholarships of $1000 or more. Most can be spent on either trade school or college classes, giving opportunity for training in hundreds of careers.
Our local residents are very interested in seeing our hometown kids succeed. Hundreds give generously to scholarship funds created by local businesses and the Elks, Rotary, Mesquite Toes, PEO and several other organizations. These folks understand the high cost of education and are hoping to reduce the burden of student loan debt by working together to offer scholarships to graduating seniors who want advance education to secure a good-paying job and career.
A scholarship is free money. When a senior decides he or she won’t bother to apply for that free money, it is a big mistake that can impact their family and future. When a senior fails to complete that application as a part of his or her graduation plan, a window closes on the prime time for literally turning a little effort into big cash.
Let’s say a student spends five hours carefully completing a scholarship application that can be used by several organizations that each award a $1000 scholarship. Let’s say the student who completes the application wins one of those scholarships. That student has just earned $200 an hour for that effort. How does that compare to working at McDonald’s or at a student job where the pay is minimum wage?
In 2019, only 21 VVHS seniors, out of a graduating class of 160, submitted applications for local awards that totaled over $100,000. Mesquite Community Education Foundation awarded $21,000 in scholarship to those seniors. MCEF wants to help more 2020 grads with their education expenses. But the seniors who win scholarships are the ones who ASK for them. Senioritis is no excuse. The reward for going that last mile and completing a scholarship app by March 31 can be so great.
Parents can help their students by understanding the process and remembering the March 31 deadline for submitting the all-important application and online forms. Call the counselors at VVHS to talk about it: 702-346-2780.
