<p>Does anyone know when they announce the Belk or Cornwell semifinalists?</p>
<p>Almost certainly not until well after the RD deadline, since Belk (and presumably Cornwell) candidates can be identified from that pool. Check the scholarship section on the admissions Web site, which may be more specific.</p>
<p>I was a Belk semifinalist, but I didn't get further than that. :eek: I was notified in early January (RD applicant).</p>
<p>If you don't get a Belk notification, don't give up. In late March, notifications for most of the academic-based scholarships go out. You're invited to a "scholars day" which for us was the day before the "Discover Davidson" event for admitted students. A good deal of "recruitment" goes on at the event. Many of these scholarships are extremely generous (e.g., Baker Scholarship), and for some there will be some interviews to "compete" for the most generous ones. My D had given up hope when she received a letter passing her over for the Belk scholarship in January, but it turns out that they were considering her for an equally generous award, which she didn't find out about until March.</p>
<p>Did she end up receiving the award vadad?</p>
<p>I'm very proud to say that she did, and is enjoying Davidson very much, including the last minute win by the Wildcats over UMass in b-ball last night. ;)
The school actually has many merit-based scholarships in varying amounts. Are you applying this year?</p>
<p>That is exciting! I'm glad to hear she is enjoying the school so much. I had marked Davidson off on my list until I did one last visit last week and absolutely loved it. Davidson is now (I think) first on my list and I am hoping for merit aid so that I can attend. So, yes, I am definitely applying!</p>
<p>vadad-</p>
<p>Do you know what is most important to Davidson in giving out merit aid? For instance, I know that Wake Forest heavily weights SAT scores, as does Carolina. I do not, however, know how much SATs or anything else weights in the Davidson merit aid process. Davidson doesn't come right out and say what is most important to them. Is it ec's, gpa, class rank, SAT's, or do you just have to be an all around superstar? Any idea or insight into this process?</p>
<p>My general impression is that well-roundedness is more valued there than at other places, though if you've got one thing that you can use to demonstrate a commitment to "intellectual depth" that may get their attention. I may be cynical, but I don't think that Davidson is immune to the idea of using merit money of luring high scorers, URM's or others to make their overall numbers look good.
I can't really say what it was that Davidson considered (they didn't really tell us), but my overall impression in dealing with the schools that were "recruiting" my D was that a 1500+ SAT and near-perfect grades are needed to get you in the running. After that, the other stuff kicks in. Sorry I can't give you any more definitive insight. The folks in the admissions and financial aid offices there are very nice and very open, and though you may get some of the usual general mumbo jumbo, if you frame some specific questions, I'm reasonably confident they will answer them.<br>
They do track interest. So do the "CatChat" thing, and when you visit, make sure you introduce yourself and sign a card, and if you take an overnight, be sure to arrange it through the admissions office even if you are staying with someone there that you already know. Also, apply for everything. For example, even if you have a musical talent, even if you think it is modest, send in a tape. They want to offer $ to folks whom they think are most likely to matriculate.</p>
<p>Congrats to your daughter Vadad! My daughter loved Davidson, although it ended up in the middle of her list, more because of a desire to go outside the South, than non-fit with the school - I actually thought Davidson was the best!</p>
<p>My impressions based on our visits, our school's college counselor, experiences of other kids at her high school - Davidson is a pretty unique school in the South. The academic bar for merit aid is higher than at some other Southern LACs, that at first glance might appear to be Davidson's peers. A fair amount of merit aid comes from bequests that include language about athletics - I do not mean to imply that these are "athletic scholarships", but that athletics are considered as a factor, along with community service, etc, so that for a pure academic kid like my daughter, the merit pool was smaller. A few of the scholarships are designated for student-athletes - high stats, plus will play on a sports team is how I interpreted those. There are also a few if I remember rightly for fine arts. All that taken together meant that for a child who was in the top 25% of their pool, but not stellar, with no sports or fine arts talent, and solid, but typical ECs, there would be little merit money - her college counselor basically said, expect none, so that you are pleasantly surprised if you get any!</p>
<p>On the other hand, Davidson was one of the few schools we looked at that I was absolutely sure was worth full price, just based on the visit, so I don't think you would go wrong, even without the merit aid.</p>
<p>Thanks Vadad for that insight into the merit process. I have had contact with the admissions office and I have done an overnight visit, so I am certainly hoping that will help. I'm putting together my application now and hoping for the best. Gosh it is so hard waiting and knowing that I want to go to Davidson so badly, but I won't know for more than 4 months whether that is even a possibility! :(</p>
<p>One thing that I am worried about is that the office of admissions told me that if my app is in by Jan 2nd, I will be considered for the Belk, even though I wasn't nominated, but on here I read that notification of whether you get an interview goes out in early January. I'm not sure how this works though. I guess I'll find out!</p>