All Work, No Pay

Here I sit, staring at the financial report for this upcoming summer semester and next year's fall and spring semesters, trying to imagine how I am going to come up with a few more thousand dollars. I must say, first of all, that college costs way too much money. It's as simple as that. I don't mind paying for a service that is going to help me have a great future in a career field that I know I will love. However, I do mind having to beg and borrow for money when I know I am a top student that should be on scholarship. I worked my butt off in high school. I made straight A's (and two B's-chemistry and physics... with the same teacher...), was President or Vice President of every club except maybe two the school offered, was editor of the year book, class president junior and senior year, and valedictorian. I got my two years at a community college paid for because of this hard work, which I am most certainly grateful for. But then, I transfer to a university and I'm told that all they can offer me is a $1,000 transfer scholarship. So after 4 years and a GPA of 3.97 in high school and two years with a 4.0 GPA at community college, all I can have is $1,000. Well thank you so very much for all of the help. So, I find other ways to pay for school and books and rent for the first two years at the university. And yes, two years should have brought me a bachelor's, but no. I chose the longest program at the school, a double major in secondary general science education and biology. Of course, that was my decision, and I am happy with it because I am really looking forward to teaching science. I was just unaware that it would take me 5 and a half years to complete my bachelor's degree. But I am here now, in my fourth year, with a year and a half left. No turning back now. As a Senior, I have applied for the Teacher Education Program and have been unofficially accepted until a few more weeks when they will have this big fancy meeting to tell you if you meet the requirements, which I think I have considering I have a 4.0 GPA (with the exception of Organic Chemistry which I do not even count anymore). While I am trying to be a patient, cooperative piece of their unorganized, expensive game, I was unaware just how hard it would be to get scholarships for the education program. You see, they offer scholarships to incoming freshmen and seniors who have been accepted in to their program, which they call "candidacy". Since I transfered here and was not a freshman, I got the $1,000 transfer scholarship and had to wait my turn for the senior scholarships. I have gathered 8 scholarship applications that I was eligible for. Then, I started to fill them out, which is a very confusing, tedious process, and found that they want you to not only have good grades and have completed a whopping 90 hours of classes, they also want you to have been involved with organizations that will help your future as a teacher. This is understandable for someone who has time for a life, but I take 15-17 hours of classes each semester. I have tried to join two different biology and education organizations, but I have been told that I cannot join because their meeting times have been during my classes every semester.I am in an honor society, but that's it. So again, all of my hard work may be for nothing. I am still holding on to the hope that they will overlook my lack of extracurricular activities. In the meantime, I am looking for ways to join the organizations next year. I know it is important not only for application credentials but also just to be able to socialize with people that share your interests. But I don't make the schedules. I hope my grades and my writing skills will help me convince them that I am a hard working, eager student in love with my field of study and excited about the knowledge and experience that I am gaining from this fine institution of learning, which makes me worthy of the scholarship. Well, that was pretty convincing, right?