<p>Hey there :)
I was nominated by my Precalc and Language Arts teachers for the United States Achievement Academy, and a few days ago they sent me a scholarship application. The whole process seemed kind of sketchy though...a teacher can "nominate" up to 15 students in any class, and it asked for money to be included in the Student Yearbook (60 dollars!) Although I'm honored to have been selected, it seems like much less of an honor if I have to pay for it, especially as the statistics show that it's not all that selective. I tried to do some research online but found conflicting views on the topic. So, I'm not sure whether to fill out the scholarship application (with potential of receiving up to 200 dollars) or to leave it alone...especially because the application seems a bit time consuming and I have SAT subjects and ACT coming up soon. (Also it's due pretty soon). Do any of you guys know any more information about this program? And is applying for the scholarship worth it?
Thanks a bunch~
xD </p>
<p>If you have to pay to apply, it’s not a scholarship. Leave it and move on.</p>
<p>Oh yeah there’s a 6 dollar “processing fee”… </p>
<p>Well, if you’re taking Precalc, you can do the math yourself: 100’s of nominees nationwide (and that’s a conservative estimate), each of whom pays $60 to be included in the Yearbook, and the potential for a single nominee to win a $200 scholarship. </p>
<p>Someone’s going to be making a lot of money . . . but I don’t think it will be you (or any of the other nominees).</p>
<p>Toss whatever you were sent . . . or, just to be on the safe side, burn it! 
But take this as an important life lesson . . . when someone offers you the chance to pay for a prize you’ve supposedly won, say “Thanks, but no thanks!” and walk away.</p>
<p>It’s fun to poke around behind these scams. The “United States Achievement Academy” shares an address with “Southeast Printing and Mailing Services”. Hmmm. Do you suppose maybe, just maybe, selling the “yearbook” is the primary function of this company? </p>