With the cost of a higher education rising every year, students are finding it more difficult than ever to afford college.
For most students, their education is primarily paid for through money out of their own pockets and from student loans. Student loans lead to debt, which follows people around long after graduation, sometimes even for the rest of their lives.
This is why scholarship money is so convenient and important.
Around this time of year, students have the opportunity to thank the people who donate their money as scholarship funds so students can pay for their education.
Many of the financial aid packages awarded to University of Idaho students include money from scholarships.
Whether it is $100 per semester or an all-out full-ride, the impact scholarships have cannot be understated. Sometimes $100 may not seem like much when looking at the total cost of every semester, but it if it suddenly wasn”t offered any more, it would be missed. This is why thanking scholarship donors is so important.
Thank-A-Thon is a chance to show these donors gratitude, but a lot of students either forget about it or think it”s not worth their time. They don”t want to take two minutes to write a short sentence of thanks on a card that they think no one is ever going to read.
Believe it or not, many of these donors actually do read those cards. The reason they give their money to the university is to support UI and its students. Thank-you notes serve as proof that the money they”re putting in is making a difference.
Isn”t taking the time to show appreciation to the people who are helping pay for our education worth that? Whether it be a scholarship donor, a family member or someone else helping to pay your way through school, express your gratitude.
Although showing appreciation is encouraged, what”s more important is making sure that the money the donors are spending doesn”t go to waste.
Students as a whole receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarship money because they showed potential to do great things. Donors give their money hoping it goes to help students who want to get involved, are ambitious and have the drive to succeed. That means the recipients of scholarship funds, no matter how little, shouldn”t squander it.
Students use their scholarship money to support their goals throughout the whole school year. But this is one of the only opportunities of the year that students have to directly contact the people who are helping them financially and say thank you.
So take the two minutes. Someone out there will appreciate it.
–EB