You are so unbelievably wrong. In fact, you are so off-base I need to break your post down and address it line by line.
“for the winners that have been accepted into Ivy League schools, if your parents and yourself included make less than $65,000 a year, please reconsider accepting the scholarship because you already have your tuition as well as room and board paid for by the school due to financial circumstances. What is the sense in accepting this scholarship if you already have everything paid for.”
Wrong. Tuition, room and board may be covered, but there are a whole host of fees, charges, and multiple expenses that come with the total cost of living. Did you know JKCF offers dependent coverage to cover childcare or eldercare? That they help with transportation fees, personal expenses, all the out of pocket costs that can add up and make life at Ivy League for a low-income student one of struggle? They can help with housing assistance, crisis management, counseling and mental health services. They can help ensure your new school accommodates your special needs or disabilities, help smooth over bumps when a school accidentally screws up or gives you the run around. They help you when you’re struggling to adjust academically or socially. They provide for total cost of living, not just the basics. That it can mean instead of working 20 hours a week while trying to compete with rich kids in the same program, you can focus on doing well, on internships, on building connections and creating a real college experience that can propel you forward in your career? JKCF will pay for study abroad. For internships. Offer fellowships and special opportunities. Connect you with so many other people who can help you prepare for grad school, do research, get jobs, attend conferences. This is not merely charity; this is an investment in a group of students who the foundation feels can change the world. They want to give them every tool necessary to do it. Finances are only one aspect of it.
“Instead, you could deny the scholarship to change someone else’s life.”
No. The foundation isn’t going to select someone else. Decisions are final, and that’s that. We had three people from our cohort end up not using the scholarship. It was not passed on. It is actually typical every cycle to have at least one finalist not end up being able to take the prize for a variety of reasons.
“I have witnessed a fellow semifinalist just get denied the scholarship and was more deserving than the rest of us who were also selected as semifinalist at my school.”
You have not witnessed. You have assumed. You don’t know every aspect of their life and journey. You don’t know how effectively everyone communicated their points in their applications. You don’t know how your professors responded or felt about each applicant. One of the worst things a person can do is trivialize/minimize/erase the experiences and accomplishments of others. You have no right or standing to say others don’t deserve this as much as the next person. It is wrong for you to try and make anyone feel guilty or not entitled to the wonderful gift they’ve been given.
“So if you are a winner and know that school is paid for regardless of the scholarship, give the scholarship up to someone else’s."
No. JKCF thought long and hard about who they wanted. They decided these particular people had something they wanted to personally nurture. If you think this is just a line for funding and the winners are interchangeable components, then you need to stop lecturing people because you don’t understand the purpose and mission of JKCF.
“Don’t accept it to just say you received a prestigious award.”
There is immense benefit to a prestigious name on your resume. JKCF is well known and respected, and a huge asset to someone trying to get into a competitive grad school program. It is a tremendous honor that no one should give up. Not everyone gets a trophy, and no one will get the scholarship as a consolation prize because someone felt guilty.
I know you’re probably feeling raw and hurt over the decisions. It was a gut-wrenching, stressful wait that only other applicants can understand. But you need to calm down, take a breath, step back and re-evaluate everything you’ve said. I know you think you’re coming from a heartfelt place, but you’re so, so unbelievably wrong.
***Edit: Many of these links have been shared on the JKCF page. They understand how difficult even kids at these “need-blind acceptance ivy league” schools can have it. Full coverage tuition students go hungry at Ivy League every day.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/28/pf/college/ivy-league-low-income-students/
We are the ones who will change the world. So delighted to be in the mix with all of you! And congrats to all of the new scholars!!!