Junior year I lightened my schedule for the second semester and enrolled in an ACT prep course. I bought three different ACT prep books and filled each page with pen and highlighter. After February 7th of my freshman year, I was an average student with a 34 ACT. I knew that from then on a scholarship would be a dream within reach. When I read a letter from the University of Alabama at Birmingham at the beginning of my senior year, a weight was lifted off my shoulders. My ACT combined with my master's status as a student helped me achieve the status I had always sought: a scholarship recipient. As an Alabama scholarship recipient, I was expected to maintain an acceptable role as a student for the remainder of my senior year, remain involved in school and my community, enroll on time as a UAB freshman, and avoid breaking rules. rules listed in the fine print of my scholarship agreement. My performance in the role in this area is not perfect, but acceptable. It will not be easy for me to maintain this role during college, as I am required to have a 3.45 GPA to renew my scholarship each year.