This list is for MPs who got full scholarships to college before they disappeared — whether they accepted said scholarships or not. I got a partial scholarship to attend Hendrix College. I forget how much it was, something like $4,500 a semester I think. Nothing terribly impressive; I was a pretty average applicant and I think just about everyone who attended got some kind of scholarship.
(For my non-American readers, a crash course in American colleges/universities’ financial aid system: a scholarship is financial aid a student is given based on merit, usually either academically or in sports or sometimes for some special talent in another area, such as music. Some are granted by the colleges/universities themselves, and others by private foundations and charities. The scholarship is often renewable each year and is usually conditional; that is, to keep getting it renewed a student must attend the college/university full time and keep up a certain GPA, or keep playing on the sports team, or whatever, depending on the nature of the scholarship. Some scholarships are only for students with certain majors, and if they change majors they lose their scholarship.
There are other forms of financial aid, called “grants” and “student loans”, that are given based on financial need. These are not conditional; you can keep getting them renewed as long as you are not flunking out of school. Student loans are much more common than grants and most students graduate tens of thousands of dollars in debt. This has been a growing problem in the United States and everyone is arguing over what to do about it. I have some ideas but they are neither here nor there.)
Anyway, the list of superior scholars:
- Stevie Danielle Bates for the University of Arizona (she didn’t take it, preferring to enroll at Hunter College instead)
- Michelle D. Crawford for Cameron University
- Ian Hunter Burnet for Virginia Commonwealth University
- LaQuanta Nichelle Riley for an unspecified school
- Jennifer Marie Wilmer for St. John’s University
- Amber Lynn Wilde for the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay
This list may be incomplete. I’ve got several other MPs where it was mentioned they were in college on a scholarship but I don’t know whether they got a full ride (that is, everything paid for) or just a partial scholarship like me.
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