......The Bright Futures Ordeal

Ok ok so I have been stressed about this because, who wouldn't? I have even cried a few times out of frustration but you will understand why soon enough.

I have moved between 10 schools in 11 years, this does bring quite a bit of change between school systems and has raised a rather enormous issue. I moved into the Florida school system the beginning of my junior year. Florida schools have a scholarship program that if you get a certain score on the ACT or SAT, have a certain GPA, and take the right courses (that's where the issue came in) you can get a scholarship guaranteed. The amount depends on a few things like if you did community service but I was shooting for the "75% Bright Futures Scholarship". The issue is when I moved into the Florida school system before my junior year I spoke with a counselor about which classes to take, the usual, and something was largely overlooked. I of course was ignorant to the requirements for the bright futures scholarship and was depending on the assistance of the guidance counselor, well she overlooked something....for two years. When counseling my on my classes needed for graduation she neglected to include that I needed to take TWO of the SAME foreign language classes. I had taken Spanish 1 in 8th grade (for high school credit) and French 1 my sophomore year and was considering of venturing into German so I spoke it over with her and she signed me up to take German 1 my junior year. She overlooked and neglected to properly enforce that I needed to take TWO of the SAME foreign language classes. How could she let that slip for two years, including when I was coached on what classes to take before senior year and during my senior credit check I don't know. So my junior and senior year I took all the classes I needed to meet graduation requirements and got a ACT score that passed the bright futures requirement and maintained a 4.0 GPA. One week into my FOURTH and FINAL quarter of high school I get a letter from the Florida Department of Education stating I am INELIGIBLE for the "75% bright futures scholarship". Of course I was frantic because previous to this I have met with the same counselor many times for letters of recommendations to other scholarships, etc and she had stated twice between those meetings that if I wanted to go to a community school instead of a private school the 75% scholarship would fully cover the tuition. She went on to say "you qualify for the bright futures 75% scholarship so if you want to go to Seminole Community College I could definitely take to some people. Of course I don't want to go there I want to go to school where I need as much money as possible.. Right after I received the email I wrote my counselor of the issue, politely stating what can we do and how I did not understand how that would be possible. She replied saying, "Well, you are an intelligent individual I never thought to question your understanding of the bright futures scholarship". You never thought to question? You should have checked your scholarship like your job entails and pointed it out to me in the last TWO years. I have only received one bright futures page expressing the qualifications and it wasn't helpful in the first place. So I contacted another guidance counselor at my school and have been working through her although I doubt you could consider what is going on work. I contacted her before spring break telling her of the issue and she didn't get back to me until a week and a half later, the only reason she got back to me is because I wrote the department of education expressing the issue and they had forwarded the email to her. She was offensive, because she neglected to read the email I sent to the department of education and thought I was saying that she had said the quote "Well I never.." and had neglected the issue. Until she read the rest of my email did she somewhat loosen up and said "OHHHH I thought you were saying that I said all of that", I said "No. I clearly stated Mrs. Ericksons name". During this entire time I had to kiss up to them because if I gave them a hard time (like they deserve) I would get no where and they would basically say "tough luck" because they would be defensive. So I smiled, was polite and understanding. They gave me my options: taking a CLEP test over French 1 & 2 or taking a year long Spanish class online. This is all into the fourth quarter of my senior year mind you, I would have a little over a month to complete the class and I took Spanish 4 years ago, that's the foreign language I did worst in. So I inquired about the CLEP test, and realized that taking that test and getting a score of 59 (passing) to be qualified for the bright futures scholarship would be more difficult than they lead on. It would be on both french 1 & 2, I have never taken 2 and I took french 1 two years ago, of course I barely remember anything. I would have to cram both levels in 3 weeks and take the test. So I spent $40 at borders for an audio and workbook package to help me prepare. After that I read up more on the CLEP test and found it would be including a short and long dialogue section with 121 questions to be completed in 90 minutes. Hello issue? Yeah I could learn the words but understanding a dialogue between two people when you haven't been surrounded by the spoken language is extremely difficult, issue number two I am cramming both levels into three weeks and have only 90 minutes to take the test? That's hardly enough time to break up each word in the sentence to understand it to answer the question to the best of my ability. I wrote the new counselor seeing if we could lift the time set on the test so I could complete it to the best of my ability. I also called the lady in charge of bright futures with the department of education, her response was discouraging and simply rude. She said, "Well I don't know anything about the test I just know we accept it" she didn't even listen to the situation and lacked any sympathy, thinking I'm just some screw up who now wants the money. So the next day I was called into the counselors office to discuss it....that was today and the news was devastating.

The counselor spoke to the principal of the situation and the principal said that SHE would not accept the CLEP as replacement for getting French 2 credit and would not sign the waiver on my transcript. See the CLEP is the only thing bright futures will accept without taking the course which with only 4 weeks left of school, I have no time to do, its impossible. I don't understand why my principal won't sign the paper, I need her signature to be sent to the department of education and then DING the issue is solved. Me doing all the work of course, filling close to impossible standards. So then the counselor tells me the principal will only accept one option. I would not be able to participate in graduation and would take Spanish 2 as a summer course. Do you understand what she just asked me to do....not participate in graduation....for their error? Because she doesn't want to accept a CLEP test that I would have to bust my butt on....

I am an only child, my mother would only get to see me walk once and they don't want to grant that. I said "I don't care if you give me a blank piece of paper until August I just want to be apart of the ceremony. I have been looking forward to this since elementary school when I started getting on the A/B Honor roll." She said "Well the graduation ceremony is for people who have completed the transcript and you haven't therefore you couldn't walk". I have fulfilled all my graduation requires in fact I have more credits than needed, why would something to be taken for a scholarship stand in the way of me just walking? Michael graduated last year and he knew of a few people that were allowed to walk but had to complete their credits in summer school...

Scholarship money? (only roughly $10,000 for the four years) or participating in something that is a huge milestone for me and that means so much to me. That would be one of the worst days of my life, waiting at home while others, idiots even, are getting to walk.

Why did they lie to me and say I couldn't walk if last year they let people who didn't even meet the graduation requirements walk and finish up in summer school?

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In the middle of finishing this I got a returned call from the lady from the department of education, she said "I don't know why your Principal said she wouldn't sign off or approve the CLEP test score, there is nothing for her to sign off on the score just has to be added to your transcript". WHY did the Principal say that?!

It's like they are committing mutiny against me.... I cried when I got home. How is it fair? I have excelled all of my school years. I mean the principal was at the Rotary Awards Reception last night!!!!! She sees I strive for greatness and yet won't let me celebrate by walking? Idiots with no plans for their future and a 2.0 GPA get to walk but why not me? Not without giving up the scholarship. The scholarship would only give $2,700ish a year and that would only cover the amount of one semester of a dorm. It helps I'm not complaining. This is my ordeal, this frustrating situation that preoccupies my mind, and has made me cry.

Tomorrow I will inform the counselor of my call with the lady from department of education saying that I could graduate and get the scholarship if I excel on the CLEP test. Now time to study........