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Should rich kids be ineligible for college scholarships?

Hip-hop mogul Diddy is worth $500 million, and his son just landed a full-ride, merit-based scholarship to UCLA. Where's the justice?
Among the graduating high school class of 2012 is one Justin Combs, who finished his senior year with an impressive 3.75 GPA and an equally impressive record on the football field. UCLA rewarded Justin's accomplishments with a full, $54,000 merit-based scholarship and a spot in the school's storied football program. The twist: Justin is the son of hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, recently named the wealthiest man in hip-hop by Forbes. With California's state schools facing deep cuts, UCLA's decision to offer Justin a chunk of its scarce resources is being widely criticized. Should the Combs clan give back the money? Or should the size of Justin's dad's bank account even matter?
Justin shouldn't keep this money: Here's the bottom line, says Dennis Romero in LA Weekly: "The son of a guy worth nearly half a billion dollars" doesn't need a free ride to college, especially to "a school where student tuition and fees have nearly tripled in the last 10 years." I mean, this is a kid who poses in front of "a $300,000-plus Maybach," likely the car his dad got him on his 16th birthday. Now that's "a free ride that could pay for half dozen full-ride scholarships to UCLA."
"Combs gets full scholarship to UCLA as many students struggle"
SEE MORE: The hopelessness of college waitlists: A guide
The kids of millionaires deserve recognition, too: "I'll cop to a little jealousy" about Diddy's fortune, says Jeanne Sager in The Stir. But Justin earned this scholarship through hard work in the classroom and on the field, and if we take it away because of Diddy's cash surplus, we're sending a message to all kids: "There is no reason to have a work ethic." That's a failure of parenting.
"Kids of rich parents deserve college scholarships too"
It's Justin's decision: It does seem like, in a world of spoiled Kardashians and "Sweet Sixteen" reality TV brats, we should reward a hardworking scion, says Amber Doty at Babble. But I have to say, "my knee jerk reaction was that the Combs' and families like them should absolutely refuse the scholarship." It's inarguable that some other kid could use the $54,000 scholarship more than Justin Combs. But in the end, it's his scholarship to keep or give up, and I'm "not sure what the right or wrong answer is."
"Should the children of the extremely wealthy be eligible...?"

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/rich-kids-ineligible-college-scholarships-103500285.html

It used to be the rich kids who didn't need the scholarships were the ONLY ones that got them, nobody was going to give them to the poor kids that actually needed them. Seems to be going back to that.

Hmmm. That would be a bitch if Justin got offered a scholarship over someone who was equally as impressive and wasn't as well off as he was. It would be the noble thing to do to give back the scholarship in hindsight....but I really can't hate on Justin for being an academic achiever and actually earning the scholarship. It wasn't bought. It's not like he has a 2.0 average. The boy is smart. Will never hate on him for that. But this is a business decision on UCLA's part. That 54k a year is nothing compared to what they're going to get if he actually goes and graduates from them.

I think a parent's riches should be a moot point when it comes to scholarships. There are plenty of kids out there with wealthy parents who only get child support from said wealthy parent. Child support may end at age 18 and who is to say if the rich parent is going to contribute to college?

It is most likely so rare that a situation like this comes up and I suspect Diddy will do the right thing via donations.

If the kid earns it I don't think the parents wealth or poverty should enter in to it.

Nystyle709 wrote:

Hmmm. That would be a bitch if Justin got offered a scholarship over someone who was equally as impressive and wasn't as well off as he was. It would be the noble thing to do to give back the scholarship in hindsight....but I really can't hate on Justin for being an academic achiever and actually earning the scholarship. It wasn't bought. It's not like he has a 2.0 average. The boy is smart. Will never hate on him for that. But this is a business decision on UCLA's part. That 54k a year is nothing compared to what they're going to get if he actually goes and graduates from them.

Basically this. The story doesn't say if Pops has endowed any private scholarships for any less fortunate students. Good for him if he does. I can understand why people would be put off by this though. Years ago I was at a basketball game and at half time they gave away a pretty nice prize and as the woman came down on the floor to collect it, everyone was cheering. Until they announced her name as "Dr. Suchandsuch". Then everyone started booing. Rich people don't need too many freebies.

honestly, why wouldnt he just be recognized for his accomplishment but then tell his kid to pass it on to the next person?

of course the kid deserves recognition... but he IS taking something from someone else. I think the whole financial aid thing is screwed up anyway. Federal financial aid is based on parents' income whether they are willing to pay for school or not! Until kids are 24 now, they must use their parents tax returns... and rich parents who have ridiculous deductions often get more financial aid for their kids, than those who need it.

When i applied, my mother was a widow with 2 minor kids, and 3 that were going thru school. I was told that i could not get financial aid--- but a friend whose parents were still married, without any other kids, one a lawyer and one a doctor--- she was able to get school almost entirely free! doesnt make sense! in addition to that, my mother told me she wasnt paying a dime, so i moved out, worked 2 jobs and tried again.. i was told that I STILL had to go thru her income returns till age 22!!! WTF????

i personally think that college should be free for all anyway--- we can figure it out... all we have to do is stop giving foreign aid to israel, egypt, india...etc

I agree with Suzi and WTL-- if the scholarship is given to rich kids for good grades/academic standing, and not on the basis of monetary need, then that's acceptable to me. If you did the work, took the honors/AP courses and deserve it because you have the brains to get through all that, then well done. But if the scholarship is given to the rich kids, just because of who they are, who rubbed elbows with who, then no, that's not cool.

And yes, too, to keeping our money in the USA--stop funding all these other countries; we have enough of our own problems to address. Some of these wild-jackass nations want us to do everything for them--go spend our money to fight their wars, then spend more of our money to clean up the mess. Let 'em all fucking shoot each other, then we won't have to worry about giving foreign aid, because they'll have wiped themselves out.

In this case, I believe Justin Combs worked hard and deserves this scholarship. I also believe it would be great if Puff donated (he's very much in a position to) an additional $54,000 to the school, so another equally deserving kid with less financial means will be able to attend college.

Cheaps wrote:

In this case, I believe Justin Combs worked hard and deserves this scholarship. I also believe it would be great if Puff donated (he's very much in a position to) an additional $54,000 to the school, so another equally deserving kid with less financial means will be able to attend college.

I agree. Anyone who works hard & earns it deserves the recognition. But I do think in all fairness when it is someone wealthy they should donate at least the monetary amount to another deserving person who can't afford it.

If it is a merit scholarship as in this case the kid does deserve it and should be given it. To exclued someone from getting something they earned is really not fair.

It he chooses to give up the scholarship because the parents can afford and are willing to pay for his education,fine. But the earning is his and his alone base on his acedemic achievement and has nothing to do with whether or not his parents are wealthy.

Sorry, double post. My 'puter is going batty-coo-coo this morning. Is there a "delete" button?

Minerva wrote:

Sorry, double post. My 'puter is going batty-coo-coo this morning. Is there a "delete" button?

If you see a red button at the bottom of your post you can. But I think there's a time limit on that.

Thanks, CeCe. If it happens again I will look for the red button.

If the family has the money then why would they need a scholarship.

Tony Marino wrote:

If the family has the money then why would they need a scholarship.

If it isn't a hardship scholarship, they may not need it but they have the right to earn it the same as anybody if it's based on scholastics.

Whether or not they use it is another matter.

[quote="Cheaps"]In this case, I believe Justin Combs worked hard and deserves this scholarship. I also believe it would be great if Puff donated (he's very much in a position to) an additional $54,000 to the school, so another equally deserving kid with less financial means will be able to attend college.[/quote]

I agree, Puff should donate money for another student to attend.

I say that scholarships should be earned, regardless of economic status. I am against scholarships given solely on the basis of economic status, rich or poor. It shouldn't be based off of non-academic things. If you earned it, than you should get it.

Hyacinth Girl wrote:

Let 'em all fucking shoot each other, then we won't have to worry about giving foreign aid, because they'll have wiped themselves out.

YEAH THIS!!!


why don't we put a personal cap of $1 Billion??? anything anyone makes over that could go to universal health care and college education. Come on... who NEEDS more than a $BILLION??? REALLY???

That is like saying a guy needs 3 penises--- TWO maybe... but THREE???