Money for School

I am one of six kids in my family. For the past few years, my father has been in and out of work and our family has had trouble making ends meet. I am in my third year at a local University, double-majoring in Computer Science and Biology. I am an extremely passionate student and have maintained a 4.0 GPA ever since I enrolled. You might ask, why doesn't she find herself financial aid through school? Why does't she attempt to earn private scholarships. Well, there is a great reason.

First of all, I have managed to win some scholarships, unfortunately they don't cover the cost of attendance.  When it comes to funding directly from my school, I am not receiving any financial aid. My school is one of the most ethnically diverse in the nation, and I do feel pride in that fact. However, this means that the financial assistance that they offer is geared toward the underrepresented minorities that display the typical kind of financial need on paper, leaving me without receiving a cent from my school, despite being a top student.  Even though my family is struggling with money, on paper it looks like we are financially stable middle-class citizens. The reason for this is simple: my family are religious and have no choice but to send the younger kids in the family to private education. This is not tax-deductible, nor does it reduce our public school tax. Essentially my father pays high private tuition, and public schooling tax for each of the many children we have in our family. If this was taken into account, I would have as much financial need as any minority student out there. You might be wondering why I feel that I should burden the general public with my problems. I do not do this easily, nor do I feel that anybody owes me anything. However, I do plead with anyone who might be able to understand: I believe in myself, so stringly. I feel my potential to contribute to society, and desperately don't want my advancement in society to be hindered by something so banal as money. I see it as an investment in the future of somebody with great potential, a rigorous work ethic, and passion for the greater good. I have hopes to complete my degree, and to go on to research in Bioinformatics in the area of Public Health and Epidemiolgoy, my real passion. The way I see it, the whole reason behind taxpayer supported need-based federal education aid is to invest in young people that lack some opportunities that others have, and to arrange for them to become as productive to society at large as they can possibly be. Although my situation is more unique, and I may seem less worthy, but I emphasize that I am no different, and need the same kind of consideration Thank you for reading this, and fir giving me a chance.