<p>Hi Everyone, my son just got his invitation for the scholarship weekend. Does anyone know do most people that apply get invited or does the invitation signify a good chance at money? Also, who does he meet with for interviews etc? I am trying to see if it's worth the money we would spend to travel to attend from across the country. He is about a 3.3 and a 25 on the ACT but very charismatic and an articulate speaker with lots of experiences to talk about including exciting travel and starting his own business to fund some of college. Can he over come his lack of academic excellence by being an excellent representative of himself? How many get invited vs how many get scholarships....is that data available?</p>
<p>The only way to get scholarship money is to attend the Presidential Scholarship weekend. That being said I can tell you that my son had a higher GPA and lower ACT than your son and was awarded a scholarship that made the trip worthwhile- let’s just say enough to cover the most expensive housing option and more if he chose to live there. He is a freshman this year living in Finch and absolutely loving it. Many of the students who chose to live in the University Center felt too isolated and according to my son plan on transferring. Just my 2 cents for what its worth.</p>
<p>If he’s already been invited, I would highly recommend going. A, its a fantastic weekend and another chance to get a feel for the campus. B, based on the description of your son he will do well in the interview and have a good chance at some level of worthwhile scholarship.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>How many interviews are there and who are they with? Are there others on this site who have applied and heard yet? Camdisco, it sounds like you think this is early to hear? Approximately how many students get invited?
Thanks for the answers and Happy New Years. I look forward to hearing about other people’s experiences.</p>
<p>There are two interviews; they are with one faculty member and two or three current Presidential Scholarship students. There are two scholarship weekends, and around 300 students at each event. And not all students that attend receive money, but many do. The interviews do play a role, although each student is given a number based on their academics before they arrive. The interviewers assign each student another number after the interview, and that is factored in to the previous number. The final number determines the scholarship amount. So a good interview will most certainly help.</p>
<p>My son received a presidential scholarship in 2010. First of all, the scholarship weekend is a real treat for parents and student. I don’t think you will regret going. I think there were two interviews, and One was with the head of the department of his declared major. He was very personable and gave him some great advice. The interviews were not high pressure. My son wore a suit and ties, but sport coats and khakis were worn also. You must attend to get a scholarship. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Also, my son did live in UC last year and loved it also. He ended up with friends all over campus. Attend at least some of the freshman activities as they are a great place to meet people.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone, keep the great information coming. I am just concerned by the amount I will spend to go versus what his grades indicate he could get. I don’t see anything about numbers on academics like HPUMom indicated in the on line info…where did you get this? We would be traveling from California so it’s not a small deal to come for a weekend you know? It does sound fun. If there are only two interviews, what else goes on?</p>
<p>Last, does anyone know people whose awards were greater then those advertised as associated with the gpa’s and test score amounts they show? Trying to figure out if that’s a generality or more a significant indicator?</p>
<p>All responses are spot on so far. </p>
<p>The only thing I’m not 100% on is knowing the the amount going into the weekend. When I went through the program, we knew the different levels, but didnt know the one we would receive for sure. This may have changed, as they have added more levels now. You can go to the presidential scholarship page on HPU’s website and see what the outline is of each scholarship to give you a good idea of whay he “might” get. </p>
<p>I’m going to respond to your PM with some more info so keep an eye out for that.</p>
<p>We did not have the travel expense to factor in. You could try to contact his admissions advisor to get a better feel for the size of award. I can give you some guesses based upon personal experience. It is my feeling that guys have a better chance than girls because this college like many are trying to improve the male/female ratio. I had a pretty good idea of which level my son would get, if any, by reading the scholarship info on the website. In the past the weekend started with a nice dinner, good speakers and entertainment. President Qubein speaks several times, and if you have not heard him speak you will understand later is worth the weekend trip. The campus is at its best, and there are some nice touches I don’t want to give away. My understanding is there are very few full or large scholarships. However the scholarships are for four years as long as your student maintains the gpa.</p>
<p>Sorry so long. There are sessions for parents as well as students, so everyone is busy all weekend. If you have not visited the campus yet this is the best time to do so. My husband, who hates speeches etc. was blown away. This weekend is much better than early registration weekend to visit.</p>
<p>Thank you very much. I do appreciate your information! I don’t doubt listening to President Qubein is worth the trip alone. I suspect we will attend and see how it goes. Who did your son interview with?</p>
<p>dls2012, I sympathize with your dilemma. My d has been invited and it’s the Saturday of the tail end of February vacation. Which means that every air fare from Boston to NC is about double what it typically is. I called the Admissions office to ask about the agenda- to see if we could find out when her interview would be since the flights were tough to find. I was told we would find out the scheduled upon arrival- one in the morning and one is the afternoon. Ultimately, I was able to use FF points to get her and my husband there but it’s using two different area airports for the outbound and return. </p>
<p>I have gone to HP twice with my daughter already so we have a good idea of the “vibe”. As others have said, it’s required to go to the weekend in order to be considered for the money. If the numbers are correct (600 kids being invited), there will be some number that choose not to attend the weekend and then some who attend who are offered scholarships who don’t matriculate. I don’t know how those numbers will fall out but my intuition (and it’s nothing other than that) tells me that if you make the trip, your kid would be offered at least the HP Scholarship which is 2-5K. Maybe that’s wishful thinking from my point of view, but 2-5K is pretty small compared to merit scholarships at similar universities. </p>
<p>Anyone have “real” insight here other than my relatively educated guesses?
[High</a> Point University 2012 - Presidential Scholarship Program](<a href=“http://www2.highpoint.edu/admissions.php?id=1242]High”>http://www2.highpoint.edu/admissions.php?id=1242)</p>
<p>We attended last year with our daughter, and it was very well worth it. Along with the interviews on Saturday, there is a great dinner on Friday night and a chance to meet some faculty. It’s also great to hear Pres. Qubein speak. If this school is high on your student’s list of schools and they fall into one of the categories for a scholarship, I strongly encourage it.</p>
<p>My son is currently a junior at HPU and a presidential scholarship recipient. I definitely got the same impression back in 2009 that if you were invited, you most likely would be receiving something. Back then, the amount was pretty consistent with the posted GPA’s and SAT scores.</p>
<p>Something else to keep in mind, is that there are also other scholarships offered internally once you are a student. My son is a business major and has received a small business scholarship. Separate application. He applied his sophmore and junior years, and he has received a small amount each year to add to the presidential scholarship money. Not sure if other departments offer additional scholarships. Might be something else to look into.</p>
<p>My son interviewed with the head of the department he had listed as a major in the morning, and then I believe a current presidential scholar or two in the afternoon. There may have been a professor with them. They talked about his Eagle Scout project and other items on his resume. The head of the department Really impressed my son with his responses to my son’s questions. Your student should be prepared to ask questions as well as answer them.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone, keep it coming!</p>
<p>Students will be more professionally dressed than you may think. My son wore a black suit, white shirt, and purple tie- school color. There were a few kids in blazers and khakis but more dressed in suits. Interviewers were professionally dressed as well. It probably made no difference, but I think my son felt more confident in the suit.</p>
<p>Yes dress is very important, as Eatonl mentioned Suits are common and blazers/khakis are as well (especially from the southern students!). Make sure to look nice because I’ve seen people interview in jeans and a polo and that just doesn’t look professional and could hurt your chances just a bit.</p>
<p>When my son interviewed in 2009, more boys had on the sports coat/khakis combo than suits. Sounds like it has gotten a little dressier since then.</p>
<p>We actually found the boys dressed more appropriately than the girls. Some girls seemed to be dressed more for a party than an interview.</p>