Scholarship or Social Justice?



Next week ABC will be premiering a new reality show called "The Scholar". While it would seem to be a worthwhile venture on the surface, I have some questions about the details.

Here is the first paragraph from "About the Show":
"The opportunity of a lifetime is about to come true for one of America's best and brightest high school students in an original, new, one-hour unscripted series that will give the winner a college education from a top-rated school of their choice. Filmed on location at the University of Southern California, The Scholar will be the first show ever to celebrate higher education as the ultimate American prize."

If these are some of the best and the brightest HS students in the country, why are they not able to get a full ride scholarship on their own? Perhaps we will find some answers in the second paragraph....

For the chance at a full ride to the college of their choice, ten qualified high school seniors from economically disadvantaged backgrounds -- who might not otherwise have an opportunity to attend one of America's top universities -- will compete for a full scholarship, a prize that could be worth as much as $240,000.

And there we have it...it is about being "economically disadvantaged". Now first off, when it comes to paying for college nowadays (given that college tuition grows at twice the rate of inflation), I would argue that a majority of American families are "economically disadvantaged". Now, not all colleges will cost $60k/yr, but even those that cost $20k/yr will put many family in a deep financial hole.

But I really object to the implication that top-flight, "economically disadvantaged" kids have no chance at attending "one of America's top universities". What a bunch of horse-puckey. These kids will get accepted or rejected by Harvard or Stanford based on their record, and in fact nowadays, I would not be surprised if being "economically disadvantaged" might help one's application. Not to mention that there are scores of scholarships and grants for just such situations. Sounds like the producers of the "The Scholar" got their indoctrination on education and social justice at Brooklyn College

I would also reason a guess that it is easier to get those scholarships/grants as an "economically disadvantaged" student than as a middle class student. Given that many scholarships have income limitations on them, many of the "economically disadvantaged" actually have access to more tuition assistance options than those who are "economically OK" and are not quite "economically advantaged". (add to the fact that 8 or 9 of the 10 students appear to be elligible for minority oriented assistance)

Perhaps they should do a show for 10 deserving middle class students who's parents make just too much to qualify for quality tuition assistance....

Posted: Wed - June 1, 2005 at 09:08 PM          

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