It's seven pm on Christmas Eve. My sister and I have baked the cookies, poured the milk, and set them out on the coffee table next to the bag of oatmeal and glitter. We say goodnight to mom and dad and run upstairs to our separate bedrooms, a whole three hours before bedtime. As excited as we are for morning to arrive, we struggle to fall asleep. We lie awake for hours, feigning slumber when our parents come in to...

Scholarships made a large difference in paying for my tuition. Coming from a private school, my family had already been paying the equivalent of a college tuition. Going to...