Through my involvement with American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) we have created a scholarship for graduating Delaware high school students. The deadline has passed and we received around twenty or so applications, most from qualified applicants.

Our guidelines were pretty lenient. The student had to be graduating and attending either an engineering program (of any discipline), a chemistry program, or computer science program at an accredited school. The applicant must have had a minimum of a 3.5 gpa, and had to submit a written statement dealing with engineering, a list of activities and achievements, and a recommendation.

My friend Mike and I, who make up the scholarship committee, sorted through the applications and managed to narrow it down to four finalists (we’re offering at least one scholarship, two if we can swing it). It was extremely difficult as they were all pretty much the same. Except for one. One application stood out from the others. In this case, it isn’t a good thing.

Now before I tell you about the application (don’t worry, I’m not divulging names, or anything like that), I want you to know that I’m not knocking this person for being stupid. I’m sure she’s not stupid. Well, I’m reasonably certain. I’m knocking her application because she failed to meet many of our requirements, and because when applying for an engineering scholarship, one expects a minimum criteria of which this person fell way short.

Not everything I’m going to list here is bad, or disqualified her, I’m just taking you through the entire process from when I opened her application packet.

That being said, let me introduce you to Anne (name changed to protect the innocent). Anne’s application was mailed to me in a white business envelope. Nothing inherently bad with this, although every other application came in a large envelope suitable for mailing multiple pages of paper without having to fold them.

The outside of the envelope was marked “Postage Due 23 cents.” Apparently, Anne decided to mail the ten pages that comprised her application with only one 37-cent stamp. I would think that common sense would dictate that when one mails a large, heavy envelope, one would give pause to whether one should add an extra stamp. It’s only 37 friggin’ cents.

Anyway, looking at Anne’s application, one would find that the box marked gpa was filled in with “3.5.” Fine. No problem. Until you turn to her transcript. But more on that in a little while.

Move down to the list of accepted colleges to find University of Delaware and Wake Forrest University. Where she plans to study Chemistry. Okay, good for her. UD is a good school for Chemistry. I don’t know much about Wake Forrest. No problem.

The box for contact information has her email address listed, which for obvious reasons, I won’t provide, however, her username contained the word “Lilpimpette” in it. Lil’ pimpette? Fine, be a lil’ pimpette. But get yourself another free email account from the dozens of free email accounts available and choose a user name a bit more professional for, say, applications for scholarships and colleges.

Move over to the box for SAT scores to find a cumulative score of 830. Um…830? Now I know that some people don’t test well, but 830? That’s barely enough to play sports in college. How did someone with an 830 get into Delaware? Oh right, in state.

So after I was able to wrap my mind around the fact that after she signed her name and received 200 points, she only managed to get 630 more points on the entire SAT. Let me skip ahead a minute and share that her transcript says that Anne took the SATs three times. Let’s just say this was her best score. Moving right along.

Her personal statement had nothing to do with Engineering. We asked for a statement of no longer than one page taking about either why you want to be an engineer, chemist, or computer scientist, how you believe you will make a difference as an engineer, chemist, or computer scientist, or telling what influenced you to decide to study engineering, chemistry, or computer science. Anne wrote an essay on how her participation in sports made her a mature, responsible person.

Next page. Transcript. Oh boy. Now I have to say here, that we didn’t even require a school transcript. Some applicants decided to send one anyway, which is great. When it comes down to a few people who are all extremely qualified, a transcript is a good way to see how they performed in Maths and Sciences, particularly since this is, you know, an Engineering scholarship.

Now, if your grades weren’t all that good, hell, if your grades sucked, would you include a transcript mapping out the failure of your high school academic career if it wasn’t specifically required? Anne did.

I felt awful for her. Through Sophomore year, her cumulative gpa was a 1.35. Let me repeat that, because I think it bears repeating. A 1.35. Do you realize how awfully one has to perform to receive a 1.35 in two years? Her best grade was a B in Keyboarding.

She had failed Algebra. Gotten a D in Geometry. Another D in Biology. A C in Chemistry. And Chemistry is this woman’s intended major? What the hell?

Her senior year mid year report had her getting a few Bs in English and a History class, and an Incomplete in Calculus. First of all, how can someone fail Algebra and still be able to take Calc? But that’s the Delaware public school system for you, I suppose.

There are extra codes next to the letter grades, which are decoded at the bottom. Apparently, Anne is a pleasure to have in most of her classes, however, she scores low on tests, and does not complete assigned material.

I fail to see how any combination of these grades comes out to the 3.5 she indicated on her application. Even if you eliminate all of the failing grades, and the Ds, there still aren’t any As to average with the Bs and Cs. But apparently, Math isn’t Anne’s strong suit.

Oh yeah, and she had apparently ditched class ten times last quarter.

Anyway, her recommendation was written from her Chemistry teacher who, it seemed, struggled to write something complimentary about Anne. He mostly focused on her outside activities, like Prom Fashion show, and Class Float, and her participation in school sports, rather than her performance in his class.

It seems as if Anne focused mostly on the social aspects of high school rather than the academic. How unfortunate.

This teacher, who by the way, has worked as a chemical engineer before going into teaching also wrote recommendations for two other applicants from the same high school. These students were top ten in their class and has astronomical SAT scores, as well as many outside activities and honors, and a well-written statement. Anyway, in these recommendations the teacher writes that these students are among the finest, and brightest he has taught in 25 years. That’s saying something.

Obviously Anne won’t be receiving this scholarship. I wanted to share my shock at her poor academic performance. High school isn’t everything. But it is a major stepping stone to a decent life, and it is a shame that she failed to take it seriously. It’s quite obvious that she hasn’t peformed well academically ever during her high school career.

Shouldn’t that have sparked someone’s attention? Shouldn’t some teacher, or administrator observed a pattern? I’m not saying the responsibility doesn’t lie with Anne. I’m curious as to how someone can do so poorly for so long without raising any red flags. I’m wondering how someone was allowed to slip through the proverbial cracks without any sort of aid. It doesn’t seem as if anyone gave a damn about Anne’s performance in school. Not Anne’s teachers. Not Anne’s parents. Not even Anne.

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