Academic Scholarships and the Eating Disorder Sufferer

Contributor: Crystal Karges, MS, RDN, IBCLC, Special Projects Coordinator at Eating Disorder Hope/Addiction Hope
With the rising cost of tuition in colleges and universities along with the living expenses that come with being a college student, affording higher education is not an easy task.  For students who excel academically or athletically, earning a college scholarship can be a tangible way to afford a college education and attend a school that may otherwise be financially out of reach.

Scholarships Come With Requirements

With college scholarships often come certain obligations, standards, and requirements.  For example, students who have earned an academic scholarship are typically required to maintain a certain grade point average throughout the school.  Dipping below the standard grade point average can cause a loss of scholarship funds.  Similarly, for athletic scholarships, a student will also likely have to maintain a certain GPA, perform at a certain level, or commit to being on the team for duration of time.  Whatever the stipulations may be, college scholarships often come hand-in-hand with rigorous demands.

Stress Can Cause Relapse

For the college student who may be suffering with an eating disorder, the transition to college alone can be enough to shake the roots of a foundation.  When scholarship demands are added to this, a college student who may be in recovery from an eating disorder can experience additional stress, anxiety, and feel the need to be successful.  For the eating disorder sufferer who struggles with a perfectionistic personality, aiming to meet the arduous demands of the college life can be triggering to eating disorder behaviors once more.

Negative Patterns

If you have found yourself falling back into a pattern of abnormal eating behaviors, it is important to do what you can to help support your ongoing recovery.  If you have found it to be too strenuous to stay within the requirements that are needed to keep your scholarship, consider alternate ways to fund your education, including grants, student loans, work-study and more.  Keeping your health and recovery as a top commitment is more important that what you will achieve as a college student.  While college can offer many opportunities for growth, these opportunities will be useless and wasteful in you are struggling with a relapse.  Seek to understand the sources of what may be triggering a relapse and find ways to help address these factors and circumstances.

Community Discussion – Share your thoughts here!

What do you think are some pressures that a student may face who have received an academic scholarship to their university?  How might this influence an individual who is struggling with an eating disorder?

The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders.  These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer a discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.  We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors.  If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on August 28, 2015. Published on EatingDisorderHope.com