Academic Merit vs Presidential Scholarships

Does anyone know if applying for the Arts Presidential Scholarship would adversely affect your consideration for the traditional merit scholarships that are based on academics etc? Obviously you couldn’t get both, but hoping that D would still be considered for merit while being considered for Presidential.

@mammag My son is a Presidential Scholar at Wake (first-year) and the school told us several times (incl directly from the person that oversees the large full-ride merit scholarships) that applying for or winning a Presidential Scholarship does not affect being considered for the larger Merit Scholarships. The Presidential does offer ‘money’ but it also gives those students certain opportunities on campus - so it is not simply ‘dollars.’ Also, you probably know this but there are very few merit scholarships at Wake. Only 3% of incoming Freshmen receive any merit aid. The ‘big ones’ (full rides such as Carswell, etc - see link below) are often students that would otherwise be at an even more selective schools - Duke or the Ivy’s for example. There are also some merit scholarships that do consider financial need and my son won one of those in addition to the Presidential. The link to their merit scholarship page is helpful, if you haven’t seen it. Good luck! http://financialaid.wfu.edu/merit/

Thanks so much @wakedeac2022. We’re waiting to hear whether she is a finalist for either Presidential or other merit based scholarships. Do you remember when your son heard last year? Thanks!

Great info @wakedeac2022. Thank you!