The discussion around race is a topic that continues to stand at the forefront of the American social discourse and one that recently became a prominent conversation in my life. I grew up in a town where the majority of residents were white, middle-class Americans. Racial diversity barely existed in my life until my senior year of high school when scholarship applications for college began.

While searching for scholarships, I realized that due to my race I did not qualify for thousands of dollars of funding. I do not want this discussion to be about a privileged white girl complaining about not getting the money she thinks she deserved. Rather, I want to open up a conversation about the college scholarship system in our society today.

College funding comes in three forms — need-based scholarships, merit-based scholarships and financial aid from the government. The actual understanding of the word scholarship denotes superior skill in the capacity natural to a students, or a scholar, namely the ability to study. The word then, lends itself to the idea that students should receive scholarships based on academic excellence and not necessarily need.

I fully believe in having both need-based funding as well as merit-based aid available for students looking to pursue college, but I also believe those should stay distinctly different. FAFSA provides a wonderful — and from what I observe — fair opportunity for all students to borrow government funds on a need basis. This being said, I know a number of my friends and classmates from my hometown and Biola that do not qualify for financial aid due to their parents income ranking over a pre-determined mark. In effect then, their financial aid amounts to almost nothing even though their parents could not afford to pay the full tuition price tag.

This is when being a white, middle-class American becomes a disadvantage. When students are denied financial aid, they rely on receiving scholarship funds to help combat expensive college tuition. When the scholarships offered favor need-based and minority students, this demographic ends up trying to afford college without financial aid. The situation becomes more dire when a family has multiple children.

The large gap in equality in our society today will not be fixed until these situations find a resolution. Regardless of race, all students should have an equal opportunity to attend college if they desire. Scholarships should remain solely merit-based while financial aid should remain strictly need-based. In addition, a student’s race should not determine if they do or do not receive a scholarship or financial aid. Equality means everyone, no exceptions.

For true equality to come to our nation we must remember this, even in the smallest senses, so that we continue to make small strides toward the end goal.