With graduation approaching and seniors starting to crack down on finding a college to further their education, the urgency for scholarships have been brought up for many. Signing parties fill up seminar time and social media provides a place for students to let people know they have accepted to continue playing the sport they love in college.

The Hagan Scholarship, which provides a student with up to $40,000 for college, is offered to many rural schools but according to haganscholarships.org, only three of those recipients have graduated from Newton. The scholarship can be used at colleges like University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and Oklahoma State University so it is surprising that there are so few NHS students going after this grant. Everyone seems too caught up on which student athlete will get signed next to worry about the scholarships they could obtain.

Anyone who receives an athletic scholarship should be proud of their accomplishments, balancing school and sports with a social life is something many people are incapable of doing. Most of these students have been playing since middle school, which is when some college recruiters start watching, and it is exciting to see their hard work pay off. The unfair part about it is that students who receive academic scholarships have been putting in just as much work and balancing as much as athletes have, just without a big crowd watching.

Not to mention the requirements for an athletic scholarship are child’s play compared to those for an academic scholarship. According to ncaa.org, to receive an athletic scholarship you need to have a 2.3 GPA and compete well in a sport. For students hoping to receive an academic scholarship it’s a little harder. According to athleticscholarships.net, to qualify you need a 3.5 GPA and rank within the top 10 percent of your graduating class.

So as you continue to hear about student’s future plans, take into consideration the differences we all have. The next time anyone receives a scholarship whether that be for academics, athletics, or a club they are in, congratulate them. No matter what the student’s passion is or what they are successful at, receiving a scholarship is hard work and should be celebrated no matter what it is for.