MASON: Scholarships, opportunities deny disadvantaged students chance for future

When I was accepted into UNL, I was so proud of myself. This was it. I was defying the stereotypes of the circumstances I was born into. I was headed for college, and I was going to be part of an elite group of intellectuals. The only thing in the way of my success was the time it takes to graduate. I was happy to finally be on a level playing field with everyone else.

Reality hit me recently. The playing field will never be level.

Student Debt Alert, a project of Student PIRGs (Public Interest Research Groups) states on its Web site that the average loan for a student has increased by 60 percent over the past 7 years. This can be attributed to many factors such as an increased demand for educated employees in jobs that previously haven't required degrees, the recession, the steady increase of tuition and other factors. The number of students with more than $25,000 in loan debt has tripled since the 1990s.

Based on records given to The Project on Student Debt, 44 percent of students graduating from a public four-year university have no debt at all.

Meanwhile, the average student with loans graduating from a public university in 2008 had about $20,200 in school debt. When I graduate, I will have about $35,000 in debt. If I can manage to swing a $200 a month payment, it will take me approximately 23 years to pay off. Ouch. It would be worth it if I were getting the same education as my privileged and debt-free peers. But, I'm not.

I work hard. I'm not addicted to drugs and don't have a criminal record. I'm smart. I have the ability to learn. I can do anything if given the opportunity. That's the problem, though. I haven't had many opportunities.

The 44 percent of students who are fortunate enough to have their parents pay for their educations or get enough in scholarships not only have the advantage of coming out of this debt free but likely have come from a more supportive and educated background.

I came to college because I wanted to overcome being the unexpected, illegitimate child of an uneducated, naive single mother and a drug-using, never-to-be-seen father. I wanted to do something wonderful. I'm disappointed. I need a chance because I never had one.

But most opportunities are given to the 44 percent of students who have already had opportunities.

As I apply for scholarships and internships, I find myself not being good enough. Students who have higher grades or more experience than me are being awarded these opportunities. Good for them. But what about the rest of us? When do we get our chance? Our best isn't good enough. Our best only matters if it is better than the best of someone else. My peers who have had opportunities are going to continue to exceed me because they are the only ones being given the next opportunity.

This is college. This should be our chance. This should be the time when professors and companies offering internships reach out and let us learn. But no. I will leave this college thousands of dollars in debt and still lacking in experience, while the student sitting next to me, who came from education and money, passes me by.

College is only reminding me that I'm not good enough, and I'm never going to be.

Even unpaid internships are hard to come by, not that I could take one anyway. I and others like me are too busy working low-paying jobs to pay for rent, food expenses, utilities, etc. I hope I don't get sick because the lack of health insurance isn't going to make things any easier. I already have to compete with my daily life, why should I have to compete against Jane Richy McScholarship? Guess what? She's already got it made.

Decision makers: Give these opportunities to students who need them! That is why they're there. Let the students with weaker resumes take advantage. Doesn't anyone realize students like us have never been able to experience anything amazing? Doesn't anyone care that we, too, have dreams? I and many others are shelling out thousands of dollars of our money (not daddy's or some company that liked our high school GPAs) for this education and finding ourselves ill-prepared.