Aid for college hard to come by

By Andrea Agness 

Money doesn’t grow on trees. But many college students may wish it did. Only half of the scholarships from Winthrop’s College of Arts and Sciences are offered this year, according to the college’s Web site. Debra Boyd has served as the dean for the College of Arts and Sciences for 7 years and said it is not common for funding to go down for scholarships. Winthrop awards thousands of dollars every year through scholarships funded by endowments given to the university. 

“Many of the scholarships are listed on the Web site as ‘not available’ because a student who received it previously may have received it again,” Boyd said. A sluggish economy, however, has some students concerned about paying for college. 

Department scholarships are important to students in many majors. “I saw that they are offering half the scholarships they offered last year,” said Elise Gibbons, junior political science major. 

Gibbons said she also finds it disappointing that none of the political science scholarships are available this year except for one. 

She said she struggles to find financial aid through Winthrop’s Office of Nationally Competitive Awards but doesn’t plan to take out any loans for next year. 

All the scholarships offered through the College of Arts and Sciences are posted online two weeks before they are due which is frustrating, she said. 

“When I saw they offered less scholarships, I wondered why they didn’t simply take the scholarship off the list all together instead of putting not available,” Gibbons said. “It doesn’t make the person who provides the scholarship look very good.” 

Boyd said she thinks listing the scholarships online, whether they are available or not, allows students to know of scholarships for next year because many become available later. Boyd also said she plans on changing the Web site so it is not so misleading for students. 

“Our goal is to get as much support for students and it’s at the top of our list,” Boyd said.