<p>DD got her letter today--she's in EA with merit scholarship!! anyone else hear anything yet?</p>
<p>My son was accepted with merit money.</p>
<p>same, with the scholarship.</p>
<p>yea i got in with the global scholarship
to be honest, i applied to the school without much idea about what it's like, but now with fifty grand I'm a little more curious lol. what your opinion on the school?</p>
<p>DD really likes the school. It's got a great study abroad program, which was important to her. Campus is beautiful, and they are building a fantastic new building which will then house the library and have lots of other functions, making it the new center for student activities---not sure when it will be finished. She also likes the great dance program, even though she won't major in that--she just wants to take classes</p>
<p>When did you guys hear? My son is waiting and nothing came Saturday, but we live in Maine. Did you get your letters on Sat? He had his application in prior to 11/15 so he should hear soon.</p>
<p>It bugs me, people who apply "without too much idea of what it's like", then receive scholarship $, that those of us who DO know what its like and really want to go there, may not get.</p>
<p>I know.. I was thinking the same thing. Alot of people use it as a safety school and then end up with a lot of merit money. Personally, I feel schools should do away with merit money and make it more need based. But my daughter goes to Goucher and gets a fairly generous need based grant and no merit money. The people in this thread who have received money have some great stats and I think Goucher was a safety for most of them. If they aren't going to go hopefully they will let them know and that money will become more available to financial aid students.</p>
<p>i'm sorry if i offended you- after re-reading the comment i realize it sounds bad and i feel really guilty now- but to be honest i DID only apply after reading about it in college guides and looking at the website- it seemed like a school i could get into that i could be happy at, but no i never visited the campus or spoke with someone who goes there. it's not like Goucher is a school i immediately dismissed though, saying "i'll go somewhere with more famous alum or with a higher ranking"; now that i'm in i'm just genuinely more curious
i really do feel bad though- if i could delete that post i would. i know how that feels- i got deferred from not one but two schools that all the ivy kids apply to as safeties</p>
<p>Well, let's chalk it up to a learning experience. Here's a deal: as soon as you decide where to go, if it's NOT Goucher, then call them right away and say thanks but no thanks, so that they'll reassign that $ to somebody else negotiating a greater award before committing. No harm done then. :-)</p>
<p>Does Goucher include the merit package with the acceptance letter? My son applied EA and is being pursued aggressively by the lacrosse coaches.
With another child in college, it won't be an option without merit money.</p>
<p>Anyone else hear anything yet?</p>
<p>
[quote]
if it's NOT Goucher, then call them right away and say thanks but no thanks, so that they'll reassign that $ to somebody else
[/quote]
</p>
<p>when i visited goucher a year and a half ago, someone specifically asked whether merit money that was turned down was then reassigned -- the answer was NO. as the admissions officer explained -- they know that not everyone who is offered merit money will come -- just like they know that not everyone offered admissions will accept. its all taken into account in how many awards they offer and to whom. </p>
<p>and although you may not like it, the reality of the situation is that merit aid is used to lure students who might not otherwise go to a given school -- they're specifically used to try to attract students who might otherwise go elsewhere, but are are swayed by the discounted cost. whether this is a good thing or not is probably best for another thread on that subject (possibly in the parents forum?) but it is a fact of college admissions. in fact this is one reason some people claim that at schools with early decision (not goucher obviously which is ea, not ed) an applicant might undermine their chances for merit aid by applying ed since the school feels no need to "buy" them (i've heard that argument and honestly have no idea whether or not its true -- the couple of times i asked a school about it they insisted ed applicants had equal shot at merit money, but who every really knows for sure!)</p>
<p>i've known a number of students who applied to "safeties" thinking they'd never go there who ended up being persuaded by the offer of generous merit aid. trying to make an applicant feel guilty for getting merit aid from a school that wasn't high on their list really isn't right, in my opinion. the schools know this happens - in fact they count on it. </p>
<p>i understand it may be frustrating to those who don't get the merit aid yet really want to attend a given school -- but do not assume that if the other person didn't apply it would mean that you'd have gotten that money. the admissions offices know the criteria they use for deciding who gets the money based on years of experience and they are not going to give the money to those who don't meet those criteria.</p>
<p>and i will be the first one to agree that need based aid probably could use an overhaul at many colleges -- their definition of what a family can afford is often ridiculous -- which of course furthers feeds the desire of many "middle class" students to get merit aid to help with the expense.</p>
<p>Has anyone else heard since 12/22. The money is a whole different issue. But has anyone else heard whether they have been accepted since all those merit acceptances seem to have been received on 12/22. Do you think they send the merit and exceptional students their acceptances first?</p>
<p>Seems like so many use Goucher as a safety, I'm surprised they don't end up with the "Tufts Syndrome".</p>
<p>What's the Tufts Syndrome? And no, I haven't heard.</p>
<p>And.. very important... skinny envelope or fat envelope?</p>
<p>tufts syndrome -- named after tufts university that supposedly engaged in the practice (though now they deny doing so)-- a school rejects an "over qualified" applicant on the theory that they are only using the school as a safety and will actually end up at a better school. schools supposedly do this because they are concerned about their yield -- ie they want a high percentage of those they accept to accept them. it also helps them keep their acceptance rate low. both high yield and low acceptance rates are considered indicia of "quality" of the school.</p>
<p>personally -- i don't know how great the tufts syndrome is these days in general, but i don't think a school like goucher is likely to engage in it greatly. tufts was a very selective school who was competing with super selective schools -- to make itself seem more selective, tuft syndrome allowed it to accept a lower percentage of applicants and have a higher yield. goucher accepts about 70% of its applicants -- rejecting top stat candidate won't really change its perceived selectivity much -- but accepting them can help raise its sat/gpa acceptance stats which is also seen as an indication of "selectivity" of a school.</p>
<p>the acceptance letter was a large envelope containing a folder.</p>
<p>Regarding the discussion of merit money- I had read that the Goucher administration was trying to move away from merit and towards need based awards. I believe they may try but most likely will have to continue to award merit money to entice certain students.</p>
<p>Anyone hear anything since that first round a month ago? I called and they said it was going in the mail on the 15th, but nothing came today. I do know the mail is notoriously slow from there.</p>
<p>Nothing in the mail today Friday.</p>