It's about time that colleges and universities across the country realize financial need is independent of an individual's race or ethnic background.

Until recently, some universities, including Southern Illinois University and the State University of New York, offered certain scholarship money exclusively to students of a designated background.

The practice seems to have faded away in recent years, however.

Luckily, a non-discriminatory scholarship application process has existed at Penn State for a long time.

Scholarship money offered through public universities must be available for all students and should be awarded to students who are most in need of the financial aid.

Private donors should be able to continue to express a preference for the type of student who receives the award, but as long as university committees choose recipients, the funds must be available to everyone.

According to Jocelyn Bennett, Penn State's director of scholarships and special programs, all applicants are considered for scholarships even if a preference for one race or ethnic background has been expressed by the donor.

By making all scholarships need-based, all students stand a fair chance of securing some financial help from Penn State.

Likewise, students should not shy away from applying for scholarships simply because a private donor had a particular type of student in mind when making their donation.

A need may still exist for affirmative action policies in terms of admissions to universities, but scholarship programs should focus on a student's financial background -- not his or her racial or ethnic background -- when considering what financial aid the university should award him or her.