March 28, 2024

Newton student offered multiple scholarships

After high school, every student asks his or herself what to do next. Adalee Blair asked herself that same question, but what makes her situation different is she has several colleges offering her substantial scholarships.

“I’ve been working hard to sign up for them,” Blair said. “I am just getting the financial aid packets back and just kind of looking at those and seeing what my best school is going to be.”

Minnesota State University (Moorhead), recently offered her a $4,000 scholarship, but it will have to get in line. She already has a few other colleges interested in her.

“As far a colleges, I have gotten four colleges send me back financial information,” Blair said. “Besides that, I am still waiting. I have applied for a lot of other scholarships, but I am waiting (to hear back).”

Blair said she has received about three scholarships per university.

“I know for one of them, I got (about) $11,000, which is pretty good for one scholarship,” she said.

Some of the other scholarship offers have been larger, and she was happy about it.

“One scholarship was $8,500,” Adalee said. “Another one was $2,500, and the other one was $2,500. So I got three from the same school. That was pretty good.”

Although many colleges are offering to help pay, Adalee said she has to consider the total cost of attending each school before making her final selection. To get a better understanding of what she is getting herself into, she created a graph to show much each college will cost. Her graph goes into great detail, showing loans, grants and scholarship offers.

“(The scholarship) seems like a lot of money until you start subtracting it,” Adalee’s mother Cindy said. “Then you realize how much you still have left to pay.”

She still hopes to add additional scholarships. With the rising price of education, any help is good help.

“I am still hoping to get outside scholarships to help out with that,” Adalee said.

Adalee plans to attend college to be a forensic nurse. In light of her research, she has narrowed down her choices to two schools that offer forensic nursing programs.

“I’m pretty sure it’s either going to be these two: Crown or Northwestern University,” Adalee said.

Cindy said her daughter is hoping to have the whole college experience. Adalee has already been attending DMACC, which she takes great pride in, to further her education.

“It’s kind of a really good thing,” Cindy said. “She got her CNA there. And right now, she is in a criminal justice class. It kind of help her say, ‘What is it I would like to do’ — sort out her interests.”

Adalee said she did not always want to become a forensic nurse, but a speaker changed her mind.

“I was kind of thinking about maybe counseling or something,” she said. “A forensic nurse came and talked to our class, and I just really liked her.”

Cindy believes a strong education is key to success.

“We don’t have TV,” she said with a laugh. “We watch movies, but not TV. We play games and read. We try to keep our kids’ brains going.”