Is this scholarship award nothing but burgers?

September 23, 2008 2:53 PM

Wendy's High School Heisman Student Awards Program...nothing but burgers?

With our daughter (hopefully) heading to college next year, we are searching all sorts of nooks and crannies for possible scholarship monies, grants, etc. Her school counselor suggested we look at this student-athlete award from Wendy's. However, after reading the awards schedule, something seems amiss.

Am I not reading this correctly? To me, it seems to say that the student's high school gets cash, and all the student ever gets are some lame in-store Wendy's gift cards.

WTF?

posted by Thorzdad to education (12 comments total)

That's how it reads to me too.
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:59 PM on September 23

That's how it reads to me as well, only the schools get any cash, the kids just get fast food. Warms the heart, really.
posted by bizwank at 3:00 PM on September 23

It is also amusing to me that the top prize for winning an athletics competition is $500 worth of fast food.
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:00 PM on September 23

Sounds like if you get to the national "finals," you get invited to a free banquet. But yea, by my reading, I see $ for the HS, burgers for the student. Om nom nom!
posted by Nelsormensch at 3:00 PM on September 23

OK, so the grand prize is gift cards -- BUT... I'd wager she can probably get at least 1:2 by selling them.
posted by unixrat at 3:14 PM on September 23

Does she have any sort of choice in HS counselors? Because she needs to find a new one, or at least explain to her current one that school cannot be paid for in burgers.
posted by piedmont at 3:19 PM on September 23 [4 favorites]

On the other hand, it is a prestigious award that will look good on other scholarship applications.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:26 PM on September 23

I'm just going to assume that you and everyone is is reading it correctly.

Now, assuming that the gift cards don't run out, and that there's not a lot of effort that has to go into signing up to be eligible for the award, I really don't think it's that bad of an idea to try it. College kids like to eat. College cafeterias don't like to serve the best food in the world. If she's going somewhere where there's a Wendy's close by, then she's got free food that's not on campus.

Can't complain about that.
posted by theichibun at 3:42 PM on September 23

Yes, the money goes to the school. This creates something of an incentive not only to recommend applying to counselor-ees, but also to do all the drudge work this seems to require.

But perhaps the school need not keep the money. This may permit it re-gift or share the proceeds, subject to the law. Try Googling the national winners.

Also, I bet winners get some part of their trip to the awards thing picked up.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 4:06 PM on September 23

Does she have any sort of choice in HS counselors? Because she needs to find a new one, or at least explain to her current one that school cannot be paid for in burgers.

We live in Indiana, aka "The land of the tax and budget slashers". I think there are only two counselors in her school, the kids are assigned to them by last name, and they are pretty overwhelmed as it is. Really, counseling in our public schools amounts to little more than handing-out college brochures. There's no money for career aptitude testing or anything that might actually benefit kids trying to plan for college. And her mom and I are so busy just trying to pay bills, that we have scant little time to weed-through the crap on the web for potential scholarships. Things were so much simpler, back in the day...

Still, no harm in applying, if she can win some free lunches, I guess.

Thanks all, for confirming my impressions.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:09 PM on September 23

Try here. That Wendy's things sounds like a scam some Wendy's rep sold to your counselor.
posted by sophist at 6:12 PM on September 23

One thing that I think is interesting is that your looking for scholarships for college, and Wendys is giving money to the students HS. And the counselor recommended this? bah!
posted by TuxHeDoh at 6:15 AM on September 24