<p>Even money for room and board?</p>
<p>Yes, scholarships applied to room, board, travel, and personal expenses is taxable income. You know you need to report these scholarships to your college, right?</p>
<p>Honestly, the best way to deal,with this in my opinion…just stop talking about it to others. Really, they are your scholarships. Why would you be spending time comparing your awards to those of others? MYOB.</p>
<p>@thumper1- I am trying to keep my scholarships to myself. I haven’t told anyone but a trusted teacher who wrote my recommendations and my family members. If I know my school the way I know my school, if these are announced during my senior awards day, I will hear junk for days/weeks later. I am supposed to receive a Congressional Award at the program and all I will hear for weeks after will be, “Oh, look. He picked up some trash, maybe we should give him an award for that.” My school typically doesn’t appropriately celebrate academic endeavors and achievements. </p>
<p>@ordinarylives- yes, I know I need to report these. Thanks for the reminder though!</p>
<p>Please work to free your mind of the indoctrination that tells you that you need to be embarrassed and ashamed and guilty for succeeding. I know you have heard it in some form for 12 years now. You hear it in different forms from our illustrious leaders. Reject it. It is a lie. and it has always been a lie, and its purpose is to deprive you of your full pursuit of your Creator-endowed rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.</p>
<p>I do also think you may be overestimating your classmates’ interest in your scholarships. You assume they are going to feel bad. That is a pretty self-centered perspective. I am not a huge Dr Phil fan, but I have to give him credit for one of my favorite quotes ever: “You wouldn’t care so much about what people think about you if you knew how little they did.”</p>
<p>How about just relax, enjoy the news of your scholarships, share some of that news with those you know care, and if you want your school to include some, or all, as part of your senior awards, then fine. Give your classmates the benefit of the doubt that they are capable of celebrating your accomplishments, and are not going to be devastated when they look at their short lists (or non-existent) lists of scholarships and compare those lists to yours. I truly think they are going to be just fine, and your guilt will be a waste of your time and energy.</p>
<p>Just be gracious. Don’t be boastful. Don’t feign humility. Be happy and feel blessed for your success. You earned it and should not be ashamed.</p>
<p>There’s always the ‘I wasn’t brought up to discuss our finances’, approach. You don’t say THAT, exactly, but…</p>
<p>However, when speaking to those who honestly want to emulate you in the future (younger students) you might mention how many you applied to vs how many you received (not dollar figures, just scholarships by volume.) </p>
<p>@chesterton- I appreciate your words of wisdom and the reminder to not let others and their issues bother me. I do want to completely enjoy my success. I really don’t think my concerns are self centered or exaggerated, because I have heard comments from my classmates my whole school career so I know what is most likely going to happen. </p>
<p>Hopefully these posts will encourage others in similar situations to be proud and not let others dampen the excitement they have earned. Thanks!</p>
<p>And another thing to remember…a month after you graduate from high school, no one will give a second thought to what you actually did in high school. Time to look forward!</p>