Financial Barriers: Do Colleges Really Want to Help Us? by Autumn

Financial Barriers: Do Colleges Really Want to Help Us? by Autumn - September 2025 Scholarship Essay

I am very grateful to have the opportunities I have had within education. Although, there are many changes that need to be made within the educational system, financial resources being one. Within the next 10 years, I hope to see the price of attending school decreasing and an increase in colleges providing financial resources. I am a first-generation college student who has been on her own to pay for college. The price of schooling currently is astronomical, and scholarships are limited. There are limited resources for college students who aren’t athletes or have 4.0’s. When I did seek financial help services during college, they were not very nice to me and did not provide any useful resources to help me. For example, they would refer me to look on their website scholarship link. When I did, almost half of the scholarships no longer existed, leaving me to research financial resources on my own. In addition, I applied to countless scholarships throughout the last six years of my schooling and have gotten little in return.

Finances can be a major financial stressor for student’s pursuing a degree. This stress can result in students potentially quit school or focus so much on finances that they fall back on studies. From the experiences I have had throughout my college career, I could imagine that many other students experience these financial barriers through school as well. Therefore, in the next 10 years, I would like to see a change in financial resources for students, so that college is more accessible for them. I would hope colleges provide up to date scholarship lists for their students, more financial resources for students within the financial aid office related to ways to fund college, and more sympathy with financial aid office workers for students. Providing college students with this assistance will help many college students relieve financial stress and allow them to focus more on their studies.