Letter: Grants should reward scholars

According to an article in the Jan. 24 Columbian, the state Legislature, after voting to provide lower or no-tuition options for lower-income Washington college students, is having to rethink its plans to fit realistic budgetary constraints. Perhaps they might look at something akin to what was offered in the 1960s by a local business owner for all students graduating from my high school in Minnesota. We were eligible for a full tuition scholarship for our first year at any college. If we maintained a 3.5 average, we were eligible for a half-tuition grant for next term up to four years. If we got a 4.0, the full tuition scholarship remained. We didn’t get something for nothing and had to work very hard to maintain the required GPA, but it made all the difference in the world. My folks simply could never have afforded the “luxury” of a four-year college education for me. It’s a blessing which I have been able to pass on in many ways since then.