Here’s a conundrum you wouldn’t expect in the middle of a recession: Midland Lutheran College in Fremont is sitting on nearly a half-million dollars in unclaimed scholarship funds.

Make no mistake, leaders at the private college of 700-plus students are eager to dole out the money.

They’re just having trouble finding takers.

“It’s kind of a funny problem,” said Henry Smorynski, dean of the college and vice president of academic affairs.

So how does a college get stuck (or blessed) with so much unclaimed money?

Midland recently set aside a $450,000 scholarship pot campus leaders wanted to use to reward students not only for academic achievements but also for passion for a specific talent or area of study.

Midland drew up applications for the scholarships — 57 in all, worth $5,000 to $10,000 apiece, posted information on its Web site and waited for incoming freshmen for the 2009-2010 year to begin snapping up the awards.

But only a handful of applications have trickled in, Midland spokesman Allen Forkner said.

Perhaps the college didn’t promote the new scholarships aggressively enough. Perhaps applications are slow because families, unsure what they’ll be able to afford, are delaying college decisions longer than usual.

Whatever the reason, Midland wants incoming students to know scholarship money is there for the taking.

Much of the $450,000 is reallocated aid money, previously distributed based on a simple, inefficient formula that took into account only an applicant’s grade point average, class rank and ACT score, Smorynski said.

Under the new process, students must write an essay and list honors, leadership positions and extracurriculars. They also must commit to a specific discipline, such as business, the humanities or science.

The scholarships are renewable for up to four years as long as the student remains in a major within that discipline, Smorynski said.

That requirement rewards students’ passions for their area of study, and also helps nurture their talents, as scholarship winners will be eligible for development opportunities such as research, seminars, one-on-one mentoring.

“To serve your best and brightest, you need to get them into an environment where they can learn from each other,” Smorynski said. “Our philosophy was to develop these academic program scholarships. (Students) will be able to develop their talents faster.”

Midland originally put a February deadline on the scholarship applications but extended that indefinitely so more students can apply, Forkner said.

The college doesn’t intend to leave any aid money on the table. This year, that may mean awarding some scholarships to transfer students from community colleges, Smorynski said.

These newest scholarships are a fraction of the aid at Midland: Other awards are based on financial need, faith, athletics and more. In all, Midland doles out more than $7 million in aid per year, Smorynski said, and more than 95 percent of students receive some aid.

Last month, Midland unveiled a new tuition program under which students will receive a tuition freeze plus a 1 percent discount for every year they return to Midland. First-year students, beginning with the fall 2009 class, will be eligible.

“We commit ourselves to being affordable, and (aid) is part of affordability,” Smorynski said.

Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.