Academic or merit money at Ivies?

<p>Sometimes money for a scholarship is donated with terms so narrow that it is difficult to find kids who can qualify when a school only gives those awards to those who show need. That's why in some cases, you can get a kid who gets an overrage. I would think this practice is going to stop or be limited as more kids are going to have need.</p>

<p>They say it on television all the time. Especially Law & Order.</p>

<p>When you quote the school's own propaganda.. (I mean their own written policies) are you trying to convince us that 1. All financial aid is based on financial need only, and 2. Athletes must meet the same academic criteria as nonathletes for admission ?</p>

<p>Just wondering, because when I read this:

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provided that each school shall apply its own standard of economic need.

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I interpret that to mean each school has the flexibility to apply different standards to different applicants, and </p>

<p>
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* admits all candidates including athletes on the basis of their achievements and potential as students and on their other personal accomplishments;

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This means that "achievments" can include averaging 30 points per game and winning a state championship.</p>

<p>Schools have a wide leeway in how they distribute their own funds. They also have wide leeway in accepting students. When you look at the stats for even the most select colleges, you can see room for students with numbers that are way below that mid 50% range that is reported. Such students can and are accepted if the admissions officers feel that they can do the work and will benefit the school more than kids with stronger academic credentials. Athletes trained and willing to complete at college level are rare, and that scarcity gives them more leeway on their academic profiles.</p>

<p>My S at Dartmouth received an endowed scholarship for his junior year. When he got the letter about it in the mail during the summer, he was excited because it seemed to be an award on top of his FA. Alas, it turned out to be a grant almost equivalent to his previous FA package, and merely replaced it. He received a few dollars more (around $500), but other than that the only difference was he had to write regular letters to the lovely person who donated the money.</p>

<p>So, could this be the way the package for athletes is sweetened a bit?</p>

<p>Similar at Stanford. Need based grant is replaced with a name scholarship relating to the student's major and then the letter writing to the generous donors. General policy is that all financial awards are need based only.</p>

<p>.>>Students can however have OUTSIDE scholarships that are not included in the ivy's financial aid package.<<</p>

<p>Agree with this--there are some big outside scholarships that cover the whole nut, even at private universities, that are based on merit only. One that comes to mind is the Buck Scholarship for kids who come from the Sacramento, CA area. </p>

<p>If you get one of these scholarships, you could conceivably say that you are going to X on an academic scholarship.</p>

<p>Recently there was an article in our paper about some kid from a small town HS who got a "full scholarship" to Yale. The principal went on about him being the first ever from the school to get this. "We've sent kids to the Ivies before but ____is the first to win a full scholarship." </p>

<p>I wanted to smack the principal upside the head.</p>

<p>The Columbia student mentioned in the article might be part of the scholars program (CP Davis for engineering school students, etc...). Apparently there is some preferential packaging involved in the FA for those students (loans repalced with grants and such).</p>

<p>GFG, D is an Ivy freshman athlete, and people still congratulate me on her "full ride." They mistakenly interpret admission and a spot on the team as a scholarship, which it would likely be at most any other D1. We parents are the "full ride." And as you say, local scholarship committees assumed the same thing, so no local money for her, only fancy certificates. No sour grapes, though. We knew what we were getting in to.</p>

<p>Riverrunner--people also assumed that my D got scholarships to college. We'd smile and say that she got the "Scholarship of Mom & Dad."</p>

<p>Same here ... we joke that our son is on scholarship from the Family Foundation.</p>

<p>
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"Just today I read a news article about a top athlete accepted to Columbia who is receiving an "academic scholarship.""</p>

<p>The reporter doesn't know what she's talking about. Parents frequently don't, either (or they don't want people to know that they qualified for need aid).

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</p>

<p>For years I've been confused about this. No wonder.</p>

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Well, I guess technically the word "scholarship" could refer to financial aid, but given the root of the word I've always seen it as money tied to superior academic performance.

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</p>

<p>The Ivy League usage conforms to the usage still common in Britain. A scholarship is money to help someone be a scholar, usually given out on the basis of need. There may be better scholars who don't have need who don't get scholarships. Yeah, anyway, an offer of financial aid from an Ivy League college </p>

<p>Ivy</a> League - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia </p>

<p>is termed a scholarship. Over the years, I've met a lot of parents who look rather prosperous to me who claim that their child received "a full scholarship" at this or that Ivy League college. I've gradually learned that this means the child received a need-based financial aid award. I suppose a scholarship is "full" if the student isn't gapped.</p>

<p>It's the same with Stanford. Need-based financial aid is officially called a "Stanford Fund Scholarship."</p>

<p>For me the confusion in these cases arises when the word "academic" appears in front of "scholarship." Rightly or wrongly, in my mind that carries an implication of an award for academic merit. But in fairness to the reporter, I suppose there IS academic merit because the athlete was presumably smart enough to be admitted to a top school. Also, the reporter was likely trying to dispel possible confusion that what she was receiving was an "athletic scholarship." All the same, the other reason the article was misleading was because it provided the exact dollar amount (a nice round number) of her "academic scholarship." You usuallly only see that financial information included when the student has won some established award with a fixed amount attached. Financial aid amounts aren't usually disclosed, right?</p>

<p>I wouldn't expect the school to tell anyone but the recipient the dollar amount of a need-based "scholarship." Whom the parents blab to is up to the parents.</p>

<p>In the minds of most of the public including newspaper reporters, "scholarship" and "financial aid" is a distinction without a difference.</p>

<p>
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In the minds of most of the public including newspaper reporters, "scholarship" and "financial aid" is a distinction without a difference.

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</p>

<p>They must not have gotten one of those Ivy League Academic scholarships. LOL</p>

<p>Now that the confusion is cleared up, I have another related question. If this hijacks the thread, please feel free to PM me.</p>

<p>The Smith parents saved every dime from the moment little boy Smith was born. They have a modest house, drive a 10-year old car, never borrowed much money, and to their credit, they were able to save up $200,000 over 18 years to send big boy Smith to a wonderful LAC. He is their only child. They paid off their mortgage 2 years ago. Hence, they do not qualify for aid.</p>

<p>The Jones parents mortgaged their $3 million McMansion up to their eyeballs. They lease a BMW, Mercedes, and a Hummer for their weekend outings on the lake. They haven't saved a dime since their little girl Jones was born 18 years ago. They have nothing in their savings account. Really stupid and careless, these Joneses. Now big girl Jones got accepted to the same wonderful LAC as big boy Smith. Does the Jones family qualify for aid?</p>

<p>Are the Smith parents being penalized for their foresight? Are the Jones parents being rewarded for their selfishness and carelessness?</p>