​The Outlier: How I got over $100,000 in scholarships to attend New York University

Listen to the Audio Version of this Blog Post

While I could say my GPA, campus participation, leadership, work or internship experience positioned me to accomplish that feat, I know that there is strong evidence of unmerited favor that happened to me. I am sure of the unmerited favor because I have mentored other students very much alike in discipline and accomplishments, who do what I did, step by step, at most, have only been able to accomplish about 75% of what I obtained in scholarships. Other factors played a huge part in this success which I will share in other blog posts. I am not special, but I am exceptional. I am an outlier who happened to have the right failure and to be at the right place, among the right people, and the right time. 

Recently, I read Malcolm Gladwell’s book titled Outliers. I was so intrigued by the book and his argument that being born a particular time gives you an edge in life for something. He made several other points, but that’s the one that hit me the most. At the time of reading the book, the question that pounded in my head was – “what does the time I was born make me luck for in the future?” The question came out wonky in my head, and I knew it could be better phrased. A few weeks later, I found the aha I was looking for – Ecclesiastes 9:11. It reads,
 
I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful; rather, time, and chance happen to all. (KJV)
 
Simultaneously, I found a better way to phrase the wonky question that Malcolm's book implanted in my head. It became – “what does the time I was born and where I am now, make me favored for?”
 
The first scholarship I ever received was at the age of 9, to attend a prestigious middle and high school in Ibadan, Nigeria named Christ Ambassadors International College (CAIC). It was a half-tuition scholarship. I didn’t get it because I was the smartest kid in the class or the kid that would represent the school for competitions. I got it because my mother advocated for me. I ranked in the top 5 students of the class; I was responsible and the kind of child you could take a chance on.
 
When I began my journey to receive an associate degree at Bronx Community College in the fall of 2017, I had my eyes set on one important scholarship – the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship of $40,000. Spoiler alert, I didn’t get that scholarship. Now, in a country and academic institution where, all things being fair, if I put in the effort, I could get good grades, I figured, this was my chance to be that really smart and ambitious kid with scholarships. Resuming my classes in August, I also began thorough research on the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship. I searched the qualities that past recipients embodied, what kind of campus participation or volunteering they did etc. I also read application essays I could get my hands on.
 
I found a common pattern in the experiences of the past recipients – they had a high GPA, were in an honors society (Phi Theta Kappa) especially, they did a lot of campus participation, participated in leadership opportunities like the Student Government Association or some entrepreneurship opportunities, did internships and more. 
 
Between the fall of 2015 to the spring of 2016, I got my ducks in a row and started checking the boxes to be the ideal student that would stand a chance of receiving that scholarship when the application opens in the fall of 2016. In a nutshell, everything I did or became at Bronx Community College was with the goal of that scholarship in mind. I was so determined that I wouldn’t have listened to anyone who told me to sleep more than 4 to 5 hours per night or not to work myself so hard to maintain a 4.0 GPA. There were nights I would doze off the dining table just reading and my mother would encourage me to “take it easy.”
 
October 2016 came, I applied to the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship with encouragements from mentors who also thought, I would be a perfect candidate. In December 2016, I received the email that unfortunately, I didn’t make it to the semifinal list. My spirit was crushed. I tried to hold it all in and do the motivational “what’s for me is for me and won’t pass me by…”, but that didn’t help. The second time I ever went to the college’s counselling office to cry my spirit out, that was the reason. I couldn’t stop thinking I worked hard 3 semesters for one goal, maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA and I didn’t even make it to the semifinal list? What did I do wrong?
 
As I recovered from that realization, I shifted my mindset and started meditating on the idea that “little drops of water make a mighty ocean, and little grains of sand make a piece of land.”
 
If I couldn’t get the one big scholarship that would aid my dream of going to a private or Ivy League college, I could get a multiple of small ones that will add up to something. I applied to scholarships suggested by mentors, and a friend loaned me an insanely thick scholarship book that I read through to find what I was eligible for. I stayed late nights surfing the internet while completing my college applications to about 10 schools. Soon, I realized that while I was setting myself up for the success of one scholarship, I had unknowingly made myself over-qualified for several others that if I received and added up, would be much greater than that one.
 
I applied to about 10 scholarships in the spring of 2017, which was my last semester at Bronx Community College. Of those 10, I received about 8 that sufficiently funded my tuition for my first academic year at New York University. I also got the NYU Community College Transfer Opportunity (NYUCCTOP) Scholarship which was a huge help to pay up to half of my tuition at NYU. Mind you, my tuition annually at NYU was about $37,000 and I was going to spend 3 years there. 
 
I applied to at least 5 scholarships per semester with the goal of receiving at least $5,000, so I could have extra for food, transportation, and textbooks. For the most part, I exceeded that goal. I was a good writer, so the application's part was never a difficult thing for me. However, if I needed a second opinion, I would ask for help. Even when I got several rejections, healing properly from the blow of not getting the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship prepared me to handle failures better.

---

Click here to see the full list of scholarships I secured.

Click here to see the writing services I offer.

Simultaneously, as I would search for scholarships for myself, I would keep an eye out for my friends and students I mentored so, if I found something they were eligible for, I’ll send it to them. There were times where my friends and I would apply to the same scholarships and get them. Sharing information about resources was also one of the most important values I held on this journey. I was never threatened by the fear that by spreading the information, I reduced my chances. I thought, the more, the merrier; if they win, I win and vice versa. I also assisted them with their essay content curation and reviewing if they needed help.
 
Looking back at everything now, I am happy that I didn’t get the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship. Months after my rejection, when I read my application, I even saw things I could have done better. However, I felt that failure was purposeful to redirect my perspective of financial success as a student and make me an asset to my community. If I got the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship, I may have stopped looking or working as hard and wouldn’t have realized what more I was favored for. This is not to say that those who have received the scholarship in the past aren’t doing as well, because I know a few who are doing excellent. I am just emphasizing how it would have interpreted in my journey. 
 
While I could say my GPA, campus participation, leadership, work or internship experience positioned me to accomplish that feat, I know that there is strong evidence of unmerited favor that happened to me. I am sure of the unmerited favor because I have mentored other students very much alike in discipline and accomplishments, who do what I did, step by step, at most, have only been able to accomplish about 75% of what I obtained in scholarships. Other factors played a huge part in this success which I will share in other blog posts. I am not special, but I am exceptional. I am an outlier who happened to have the right failure and to be at the right place, among the right people, and the right time. 
 
Ecclesiastes 9:11 - The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful; rather, time, and chance happen to all. (KJV)