<p>Hi there, I'd just like to share my observations. I think that full tuition is given to only 1 per high school each application cycle. The first qualified applicant who gets in gets the full tuition, and anyone who applies from that high school after that is effectively blocked from getting full tuition.</p>
<p>This would explain why it is much more difficult for PA residents to get full tuition, since tons of students at a PA high school are going to apply to Pitt, so it is much harder to be that first person with over a 1450 M+CR/top 5%. It is also why it appears much easier for out of state students to get full tuition, since they may be the only one, or one of a handful, to apply to Pitt. </p>
<p>I was the only person from my high school (OOS) that got full tuition from Pitt when I applied. Anyone who got in after me, even if they had similar stats, got the $10k/yr scholarship. Other fellow students at Pitt I have talked to who had full tuition have mentioned that they were the only person (that they knew of) with full tuition from their high school that year. When two students with qualified stats from my high school applying a year and two years after me, respectively, applied to Pitt and asked me for advice on how to get full tuition, I told them to apply as early as possible, and particularly, to try to be the first one from our school to apply, and both eventually got full tuition.</p>
<p>I've seen tons of posts on here for a while where people with excellent, "surely-you-should-have-gotten-full-tuition" stats have casually mentioned "DS is very disappointed as his 2300/val rank only netted him 10k, when earlier someone at his school with comparable stats got full tuition." The answer is probably that that person has already nabbed it first.</p>
<p>Sounds unfair, but it's likely the way that Pitt can maximize the benefit of their $$. </p>
<p>Anyone like to share their thoughts/agree/disagree with my theory?</p>
<p>I can only speak about last years applicants, this year’s College Freshman. We are in NY – Competitive Suburban High School. Class size of 350. Three of the class of 2011 were offered full tuition. Two of those three are attending Pitt. </p>
<p>I think it has more to do with timing than limiting it by High School and it does sound like they are giving less of them this year!</p>
<p>The common data set info on financial aid seems to indicate they may have switched about $10 million in money previously designated for merit awards into need-based aid, which probably makes some sense in the wake of the big cuts handed out by the state of Pennsylvania. The state doesn’t even cover the cost of the tuition discounts Pitt now gives out to in-state students. </p>
<p>Of course, that could simply be reclassification, as the Common Data Set defines “need-based aid” to include “non-need based aid used to meet need”. Since there are higher tuition rates due to the state cuts that could qualify more individuals as need-based coupled with the fact that the % of out-of-state students that do not get an in-state tuition discount is rising.</p>
<p>We’ll see how that holds in the future. It is hard to know if they are actually giving out less merit aid or more are just applying with the expectations of it.</p>
<p>I believe it is a little of both – giving out less merit and more students with great stats are applying with the expectation they will get a full tuition scholarship.</p>
When? The Common Data Set incorporating information from this year’s applicants won’t be published until they know who enrolls. I don’t doubt what you say, but based on your source, I think the effect would have been first seen last year, as opposed to this year.</p>
I don’t know if that’s the case now, but it certainly wasn’t back when I applied to Pitt ('07). A number of kids in my class (PA hs) received full tuition…</p>
<p>The Common Data Set for Fall 2011 has some of the financial aid numbers on it although it is not complete. Like I said, we’ll have to wait to see if that holds in the future.</p>
<p>As I said, this was just a guess… if other people have had experiences where their high school had more than one person get full tuition, then I guess my theory doesn’t hold haha.</p>
<p>At least two kids (and I think one other one as well) in D1’s in-state high school class received full tuition scholarships at Pitt. That was back in 2008 however.</p>
<p>Great observations! Are the full-tuition scholarships you speak of merit-based or need-based, QuantumMarcus?</p>
<p>Also, I was just wondering if anyone else recently got an offer for full-tuition? or heard of anyone who got it? I have been seeing posts from people who got $10k but not a lot of full-tuition.</p>
<p>My stats aren’t too great compared to some of the skyrocketing scores on this forumn…so if I ever get any kind of scholarship offer, it would most likely be need-based. I was just wondering what are my chances of getting some kind of scholarhip? I am from GA. Only one from my hs who applied and got accepted. Asian female (if that makes any difference?). My FAFSA has been processed and sent to Pitt around Feb 1st.</p>
<p>Are this full-tuition scholarships given to US citizens only? If the full tuition scholarships are merit scholarships, why I haven’t seen any international student gets that?</p>