Vote to select students to participate in reality series on finishing college

Paying your way through college is hard, not to mention finishing. It's a lot harder than most people imagine it to be, and now five students will show us what it's really like. 200 "nontraditional" college students -- people who are financially independent and have not followed a direct path to or through college -- applied to be part of the "Take America to College" documentary project, which will explore the lives of five nontraditional students as they navigate their way through the college experience.

Each contestant submitted his/her personal story, and 78 of them shared an audition video, which they uploaded via YouTube Direct on the Take America to College website.

Here's a mash-up of all of the audition videos:

A panel of producers will select four of the five team members, and the last member will be chosen by you - so go to takeamericatocollege.com and vote for which of the ten finalists you think should win that final spot.

Each member of the team will be given $500 dollars, a free trip to Washington D.C., and a video camera to document their lives and experiences as a nontraditional student. They'll meet with policymakers on their trip to the nation's capital to share their stories and help legislators understand the plight of paying your own way through higher education.

You have less than 24 hours to vote for who should be named the fifth team member, so visit takeamericatocollege.com now to participate.