Rant: Voting For A Scholarship

A few people have come up to me, asking for me to vote for them on a website which "allegedly" is going to give the winner of a voting contest, a $2000 scholarship (or a full scholarship depending on who asked me). Strange, isn't it?

Not only did I find this a crazy way of deciding who should get a scholarship, but isn't it just unfair as well? I mean, when did getting a scholarship turn into a popularity contest? Doesn't the desire to study count for anything any more?

So according to this type of scholarship schemes, if you've got good people skills, lots of friends (I use the term "friends" very liberally here), and not have a problem with whoring yourself out, then you definitely deserve a scholarship. You've got to be kidding me, right?! Whatever happened to assessing a person for a scholarship on the basis of how good their academics are?

I can't help but wonder if these scholarship trusts have a hidden agenda with these types of schemes. An underlying fine-print yet to be read. Because it just makes no sense why anyone in their right mind would determine if a person is eligible for a scholarship on the basis of his capability to herd in everyone they know into voting for them. What about the other guy who is actually too poor to afford a scholarship? He doesn't have an entire arsenal of voters at the tip of his hands! What if his academics were better than the person who got the scholarship? Does his ability and commitment to study hard not mean anything? Instead a person who has good social skills is better suited for an academic scholarship.

No, that's just bullshit. Its not necessary that people who are good at interacting with other people would be better at academics. Most book-worms I know are shy people. And I guess its a "nerd-thing" to be socially inept. But that doesn't mean just because someone is a social pariah, he should be punished like this. How are "social-skills" a criteria for an "academic" scholarship?!

Are the people granting the scholarship so incompetent that they have no way to assess a candidate's eligibility that they have to resort to general voting? That's just stupid. I'm sure there's a hidden agenda here somewhere. Like a lewd marketing scheme you know is wrong but you just can't put your finger on what it is.

By the way, the links to the voting scholarships can be found here and here.