Free Republic

As if Democrats didn’t have enough troubles on the ethics front with two trials coming up in the House. Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters have company after the Dallas Morning News reported that Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson gave scholarships from a charitable fund to four relatives and the two children of her aide. The scholarships violated an anti-nepotism rule that keeps Congressional Black Caucus members from using such charitable funds as payoffs and featherbedding accounts:

A vanity request here. I am looking for information on sources to look up and apply for college scholarships. The problem is, as a *conservative* white male, I am too responsible to be eligible for Obama's "free money" (remember he's all about redistributing wealth to the "rightful owners" [sic]), but not yet rich enough that I can pay the costs out of pocket for a top school, or even a mid-tier school. And there is more than one up-and-coming high schooler in the family. Wondering about either merit-based scholarships open to white males (as if), or fellowships / scholarships /...

If you live in West Virginia, your child needs to score at least 203 on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which is used to screen for candidates for the National Merit Scholarship program. But if you live in Virginia, that score has to be at least 218, as it is in New York. The cutoff score for Washington D.C., Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey is 221. In fact, the cutoff scores vary in each state, and they vary from year to year. Some college admissions counselors think this is patently unfair, and that a national scholarship program should...

With Congress phasing out the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, D.C. parents and students are looking to President Obama/administration to step in and save the federal initiative, which has given hope for a brighter future to thousands of families. However, Mr. Obama has been silent on the issue.... Asked ...why he didn't support the Opportunity Scholarship Program -- given that the Department of Education's own evaluation found it was benefiting participating students. Duncan explained that he was focusing on reforms to turn around the entire public school system, not just save a few children: "As a country, we like to save...

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin is pulling out of the National Merit Scholarship Program to focus on needs-based financial assistance. The university — second only to Harvard in the number of merit scholars enrolled — said budget pressures were causing it to end its participation in the merit-based program, which awards scholarships to top high school achievers. Colleges nationwide are struggling to meet higher demand for financial aid amid fewer resources from states and their own endowed scholarship funds. “The financial constraints brought about by the economy on families and the university require the redirection of...

Joe Biden addresses students at Bellevue Elementary School in New York on May 10th: BIDEN: How many of you kids want to go to college? Well, guess what? Barack Obama and Joe Biden are going to make sure that every single one you who qualify are going to get to go to college even if you don't have the money in your family to go. We're going to make sure you get there.

BOULDER, Colo. — Sharon Harper, coordinator of scholarship services at the University of Colorado, posed a challenge to a group of college-bound students: Apply for a national scholarship granted to vegetarians, and a second one sponsored by McDonald's. Her point: "There are scholarships out there for literally everybody," she said. (In fact, Harper will buy a roll of duct tape for high-schoolers willing to go to prom in a dress or suit made of the material. Turns out, duct tape offers a $3,000 "Stuck at Prom" scholarship for such a wardrobe). Financial-aid experts say the economic crisis, coupled with rising...

IT sounds like parody, but it's not: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week an nounced a four-year program of US scholarships and "opportunity grants" for "disadvantaged young Palestinians" to attend universities. What next? Mortgage-refinancing seminars for Somali warlords? Universal health-care for at-risk children of homeless (caveless?) al Qaeda refugees?

Keep studying: Uncle Sam pay for college. When you are blowing millions by the minute, what's another one million? The Obama administration has announced plans to provide Palestinian students with scholarship money to help them enroll in Mid East and American universities - pending congressional approval. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the announcement last week when visiting the West Bank. The four-year program will support about 10 scholarships each year for disadvantaged students to attend four-year courses at Palestinian universities. The program will also offer 25 “opportunity grants” to enable promising but disadvantaged young Palestinians to apply to American-accredited...

With the hospice care volunteer work she's done in Belize, Kara Pennino is one of those millions of youngsters challenging the myth of the selfish teenager. But while the Rochester, N.Y., high school senior always figured her service work might impress a college, she never imagined it could help make college more affordable. So she was stunned earlier this month when she got her acceptance letter from Drew University in New Jersey. She stopped reading after "Congratulations" to celebrate with her teary-eyed mom. It was mom who noticed the second letter — telling Kara she'd won a new community service...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2008 – Military spouses with an eye on professional certification or a post-secondary education may not have to foot the entire bill, thanks to a National Military Family Association scholarship program. The group is accepting applications for its annual Joanne Holbrook Patton Military Spouse Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to spouses or surviving spouses of servicemembers on active duty or in the National Guard or reserves and of military retirees. The scholarships, ranging from $500 to $1,000, can be used for tuition, fees, and school room and board while the spouse obtains professional certification or attends...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2008 – Thanks to a recommendation from the Army Wounded Warrior Program at Fort Riley, Kan., retired Army Sgt. Victor Thibeault of San Ramon, Calif., will study general education with the help of a “Sentinels of Freedom” scholarship that also benefits his family. “The Sentinels of Freedom scholarship has helped me to secure gainful employment [and] a rent-free living space and a minivan for my family, not to mention the unwavering support of the local community,” Thibeault said. The Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Foundation provides four-year “life scholarships” to help severely wounded veterans become self-sufficient. Scholarship...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2008 – Operation Life Transformed honored six scholarship recipients, including the recipient of the 100th “Caregivers of War Wounded Training Scholarship,” during its “Celebrate 100” reception held here recently. Operation Life Transformed provides education and resources to wounded-warrior caregivers and military spouses through private and corporate entities. Its focus is to enable caregivers and military spouses to create a portable lifestyle. “Forty-three percent of our applicants are moms and dads that move across several states [and] give up their jobs so that they can sit bedside with the loved one,” said Tania Mercurio, chief executive officer...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2008 – More military spouses than ever before are heading back to school this year, and they’ve earned some financial help to study for their chosen degree, National Military Family Association officials said. The association, which prepares military spouses, children, and parents to better deal with the unique challenges of military life, recently announced the nearly 400 recipients of its 2008 Joanne Holbrook Patton Military Spouse Scholarship Program. This number represents a dramatic increase over previous years, officials said, thanks to new partnerships with the Fisher House Foundation and Health Net Federal Services, who helped meet...

For the second year in a row, state lawmakers have rebuffed the Guard's effort to win state money to help cover the cost of college for its members... California is the only state that gives no educational benefit to National Guard members

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2008 – A military child’s education is one of many things a servicemember’s injury or death in the line of duty could jeopardize. To make sure that never happens, retired Air National Guard F-16 pilot and Iraq War veteran Maj. Dan Rooney created Oklahoma-based “Folds of Honor.” “Folds of Honor is dedicated to providing deserving families with tailored, effective, lasting change through education,” said Jason Ohrenberger, the organization’s senior vice president for future development. “[It] provides current- and future-use educational scholarships for spouses and children of military servicemembers killed or disabled in action in Iraq or...

Better schools. Higher scores. And satisfied parents. That's the record of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. It is helping us keep our promise to leave no child behind in America. If Congress is thinking of breaking this promise, the nation deserves to know the story. Signed into law by President Bush four years ago, the program is the first to provide federally funded education vouchers to students. It awards up to $7,500 per child for tuition, transportation and fees; in 2007-08 it enabled 1,900 students from the underperforming Washington public school system -- the highest total yet -- to attend...

"In January 2004, Congress passed the District of Columbia School Choice Incentive Act of 2003, the first federally funded school voucher program in the United States. Now known as the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, this initiative provides scholarships of up to $7,500 to more than 1,900 low-income students in the District. A recent U.S. Department of Education (DOE) evaluation of the program should provide policymakers with some encouragement, as the report demonstrates that the Opportunity Scholarship Program is having a positive impact on students and families alike.[1]" "The DOE evaluation reviews the first two years of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship...

One oil company's offer to pay tuition for all graduating seniors brings hope and economic development to El Dorado. When officials announced the El Dorado Promise to an assembly of this Arkansas city's best and brightest high school students, there was a moment of stunned silence. A local oil company had just committed to paying college tuition and fees for all graduating seniors, regardless of their family income or their grades. Then the students – known as "Arkansas Scholars" because they carry intense course loads – cheered and returned to class. Art teacher Patrick Johnson will never forget what happened...

...Excluding the glamour sports of football and basketball, the average N.C.A.A. athletic scholarship is nowhere near a full ride, amounting to $8,707. In sports like baseball or track and field, the number is routinely as low as $2,000. Even when football and basketball are included, the average is $10,409. Tuition and room and board for N.C.A.A. institutions often cost between $20,000 and $50,000 a year. “People run themselves ragged to play on three teams at once so they could always reach the next level,” said Margaret Barry of Laurel, Md., whose daughter is a scholarship swimmer at the University of...