Lost Opportunities
This year, two Exonians were nominated by Exeter for the Jefferson Scholarship, a full ride with benefits to attend the University of Virginia, and one of these two students actually received the award. Yet she ultimately turned it down for Harvard. Last year, an Exonian was nominated for and won the Morehead, a similar scholarship at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He, too, turned down the award to attend Harvard.
Despite being a future Tar Heel, I understand their decision; Harvard carries more clout on a resumé than UNC or UVA. However, the process by which they received the nomination is flawed and unjust. They were offered the nomination by Exeter without demonstrating any interest in these schools. And by winning, they took the money from students who have legitimate interest in these two institutions.
The selection process occurs over the summer. The scholarship committee sits down and hand picks the students whom it thinks have the best chance of winning the awards, then approaches them to offer the nomination. Of course, most students would not going to turn down the nomination—why turn down the possibility of a free ride? At the very least, they can win and then turn it down.
What this means is that, in essence, no one who is actually interested in the scholarship has a shot at being nominated for it. This is what happened to me. In the fall, I approached my college counselor asking to be considered for the nomination for the Morehead, which would have benefited me both as someone very interested in UNC and a financial aid candidate. My counselor replied that she would submit my name. But little did I know that over the summer the two nominees had already been chosen. So I was never considered for the award. (Do I think I would have gotten it if I had been nominated? Probably not, but I would have at least had a chance.) Instead, Exeter decided to bypass legitimately interested students for someone who would guarantee the scholarship for Exeter. Not very non sibi if you ask me.
The question then becomes “What does Exeter do about it?” The answer is simple. Exonians interested in the school-nominated scholarships should complete an application process within the school, expressing why they want to go to UNC or UVA. This would, at the very least, make students think twice before applying for a scholarship they know they won't take, and it would give every Exonian a chance to be nominated. And maybe, just maybe, those of us going to UNC and UVA could win some of the scholarship money intended for us.