Yes, I am sure that the district is including all offered scholarships, some of which obviously could not be used if the graduate chooses not to attend the scholarship source.
On the other hand, several hundred thousands in a class of 280 ($1,000 to $2,000 per graduate) is a bit lower than I would have expected but as you pointed out the demographics could be a contributing factor.
On further reflection, I do know that the local high school makes a lot of effort in helping all kids, not just top students, apply for scholarships from all possible sources.
Well, that and reporting is optional-- not all families disclose financial awards to the school. Figure that maybe 1 in 3 or 4 don't offer up the information to begin with. So the
real number would include those students, and presumably be 10-30% higher.
Our school effectively has two tiers of students-- the rock star types (mostly MG and up), and then the kids who really struggled in standard placements, for whom the school is one of last resort. Nobody can take the GED here until they turn 18.
DD applied for pretty much anything it seemed like she was qualified for, as well-- and honestly, if you are not a minority or a member of some special group (corporate kid, disabled, etc.) in some way,
there ISN'T much out there. By that I mean that there just isn't a lot in terms of dollar amounts. Most of those kinds of scholarships are 200-$1000. You'd have to average 10 or 15 of those (and remember, there is a HUGE pool of kids applying for some of those because there aren't a lot of scholarships open to kids without some special hook/angle)-- to even get up into 10K award territory. Recall, also, that award amounts (even for "merit" aid) at someplace like UVA-- going with my earlier example-- only cut your "unmet need" by 10-50%, depending upon your actual household expenses and income. You could be looking at your child needing to come up with some 25 of those small scholarships in order to make the private college affordable. The
other dirty secret is this-- take a peek at how many of those small scholarships are: a) renewable, and/or b) available to anyone with non-freshman standing. Most highly ABLE kids go into college with at least a few credits already under their belts, and some of them as many as a couple of years' worth. That means that as matriculating students, they are
ineligible already for those "entering freshmen" awards-- even though (crazily) this is basically the kind of thing that it TAKES, now, to be earning merit awards of any kind anywhere.
DD applied for (and was awarded) a few of those, btw. The amount of work involved in applying to those is
enormous. Full dossier/resume, and additional idiosyncratic material on top of it. An essay, or something else... sometimes an interview too.
High school kids who are in the high achiever ranks get there and stay there by being incredibly BUSY people. There aren't enough hours in the day, basically.
I don't mean to sound like Debbie Downer here, but I
seriously caution anyone to think that a non-minority, non-2e, non-disadvantaged high school senior IS going to be able to count on much more than 1-2% coverage from sources like that. Not unless you're really LUCKY and you happen to stumble upon a corporate source or something. Those scholarship amounts haven't changed while tuition has quadrupled, and every year more students are vying for the dollars.
