The Financial Loop by JESSICA

The Financial Loop by JESSICA - November 2014 Scholarship Essay

The year is 2012 and high school graduation is steadily approaching my following year, in all its glory. The thought of college to a high school Junior like myself at the time was nothing short of total magic. The freedom, the immense amount of knowledge waiting to be obtained, the life-long relationships created, the career opportunities thereafter; all a new world eagerly waiting to be entered. However, as the years have progressed, the cost of attending college has skyrocketed tremendously. As a high school Junior, it did not occur to me just how colossal the privilege of having a college education would cost me. College was less than a year away and the idea of paying for it suddenly sent me into a pool of panic. How was I going to acquire the much needed funds to enter the luxurious world of university?

Most high school freshmen are in total awe of this new environment, not once considering the colossal mountain of tuition expenses, fees, university textbooks, and various other financial hindrances that college inevitably hands to you just four, short years later. Older students, harder work, and longer classes are the major things on Freshmen minds. But most do not realize the unique opportunity of a Dual Enrollment program. Freshly out of 8th grade, a high school freshman may not even understand what exactly this program even entails. However, it is so much simpler than they recognize: free college credits during high school. That’s it. That’s the secret. It seemed as though this rare opportunity at earning free college credits during my Junior year of high school in exchange for just a much greater but rewarding workload, GPA boost, and newfound college wisdom, was nothing short of extraordinary. The only regret I have is having not started immediately at the commencement of my high school career. A few years later, however, not only was I a high school student, I was now a college student as well. Indulged in the exclusive worlds of each, a Freshman student can just as easily be granted the opportunity as well.

60 free college credits later and a sophomore in college, I could not be more grateful for the Dual Enrollment program that was to me. The opportunity was literally once in a lifetime and I can now focus on my future college career, without the stress of academic finances. Obtaining paid for college credits during high school was a rare opportunity at achieving my college and ultimate career aspirations in a faster, easier, and much more enjoyable process. A high school Freshman should be nothing but grateful at such a rare and beneficial opportunity now offered by numerous schools. College within high school: the financial loop.