The Issue with the FAFSA

Hello, my fellow college students. Okay let's be honest, college is the number one cause for debt in America. Colleges are willing to charge students a house mortgage each year along with fees like housing, food, utilities, and books on top of the $50K they are already charging just to be there. I'm quite sick of it. Because today, we are all being told that to be successful, you have to go to college, but none of these colleges tell you about all the debt that you come out with. When you get your acceptance letter from your dream school, one thing you will not see on it is the cost.

But let's get down to the nitty gritty. The FAFSA; the FAFSA is what guarantees whether or not you will get any financial aid. If I'm being honest, I hate it. Because if you are not a certain race or have a certain background, best believe, you're not getting anything. And on top of that, the FAFSA does not accurately represent a student's financial need. What does my parent's income have to do with me? These colleges and systems are under the impression that we as students, leech off of our parents like parasites, when that's not true at all. Tell me, what average parent is paying $50K+ each year? Who would even think of that. My parents make $200K combined, not to put their information out there like that but that is what these programs look at. Out of the $200K they make, I get maybe $3,000 of it. And that's okay. I wouldn't expect them to pay those ridiculous amounts. It is foul to believe that parents can pay these insane amounts each year when it's half of their salary. So please, tell me what my parents' income has to do with me asking for help. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. And don't even get me started on the trauma dumping.

If anyone has ever had to fill out a scholarship application, they know that the usual scholarship winners are people who have gone through something traumatic, faced adversity, or look a certain way. Why does that determine whether or not someone deserves something. I can hold onto my past all I want, but that doesn't mean I deserve a reward for what I've gone through. I deserve rewards because of my hard work. It puts people who have lived a normal life at a disadvantage. Because now their hard work and dedication is shot simply because they had 2 parents and lived in a house with a dog. Let me make this clear. What people deserve is not based on what they've gone through but what they've done. I could give you my sob story and tell you all about how I faced racism and bullying in a school for 5 years, but that doesn't mean I deserve a $25K scholarship. I would rather win the scholarship because I proved myself to be a hard-working student. I feel like we are focusing on the wrong things when it comes to the idea of deserving something.

Now don't get this twisted. If you need financial help, then ask for it. Unfortunately, we live in a society that thinks charging 18–22-year-olds $50K+ is okay. But please, don't think you deserve anything based off of social status or what you look like. Because then it creates a social and racial barrier. All people are equal right? So then why can't it be that way when applying for scholarships and filling out the FAFSA. Truth be told, everyone needs help. Unless you became a millionaire as a child, then it is a fact that every person, whether they are White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, Mixed, Native American, etc, we all need help.