By Ashlee Contorno / Guest Columnist

During the senior year of high school many seniors are being accepted to college and starting to look for scholarships. I am no exception to this.

My parents have already told me that since I have been accepted to college I need to start trying to find ways to pay for my education. In doing this, I have discovered the extreme competition and work that goes into seeking certain scholarships. For most scholarships you are competing against students from all over the country. Some may have more community service requirements or more leadership positions needed than others, but what it all comes down to is “financial need.”

I never realized until this year that the scholarships I am applying for today are scholarships I’ve been working toward since ninth grade. It seems to me that almost every single scholarship I look at includes the words “financial need.” In my opinion this is not fair to the students that have two working parents but still need money for college.

Picking a scholarship that suits the student best is a hard task. I have found tons of scholarships that fit me. Some requirements are for blue eyes, Italian heritage and students majoring in journalism in college, but which one will give me the most money?

If only there was a scholarship for a blue eyed, Italian, German, Irish, Native American journalist that needed to pay for all four years of college.

There are many ways to find scholarships and I think I have tried just about every single one. I tried the Google search, Fast Web, FASFA and anything else I can do to get the money I need for college. Although I have done all of this, I do not seem to get any results. I know there is a perfect scholarship out there for me, but where is it?

I do not seem to be looking in the right places.

I only have a few months left until I walk across that stage and get my diploma and hopefully by then I will have the money I need to pay for my education. I know I will eventually find a scholarship that fits me. The question is where?

I know we are all in need of help, so if you know how to help, please let me know!

Ashlee Contorno is a senior at Pelham High School