<p>Note to all: When posting merit $$$, please mention whether such an award is available to OOS, too..... or just "in-state" students.</p>
<p>Also, if you know what minimum stats are req'd, please note the level.</p>
<p>Occidental College </p>
<p>Negotiating does work, but only under particular circumstances. But at schools like Oxy, they want to make sure that their nets yield the best class possible, and sometimes, that means sweetening the packages for certain students. It should be noted that negotiation will not work for the Ivy league/state colleges, because these schools tend to give fin aid based solely on need, but athletes are the exception to the rule. I know that Oxy will give serious money to the best students .</p>
<p>If you want to negotiate, you have to be a competative student. This means that other top schools want you, too. Your chances for increasing your aid will jump ten fold if you were admitted into a HYPSC(MIT). </p>
<p>So if you believe that Oxy's fin aid package is the only thing keeping you from committing and you genuinely need that increase in aid, bring your other offers HYPSC(MIT) along with lots of enthusiasm with you during open house. Who knows, an adjustment could be made in your favor.</p>
<p>Please see my question on another thread about the choice between merit scholarship and need aid.</p>
<p>The University of Southern California is also very generous with its merit aid. I just got their trustee, full ride scholarship. However, I read on another thread that USC is known for "bait and switch" (i.e. they lure top students in with generous scholarships and then change the terms of the scholarship/make it impossible to keep), does anyone know if this is true?</p>
<p>I just got Emory's Woodruff Scholarship (full tuition plus room and board) they also offer 2/3 tution and full tuition (as well as a myriad of other amounts). People in Georgia (esp.Atlanta) are at a slight advantage but out-of-staters definitely have a good chance as well. The only requirement is that you turn in your app a bit early and write about 2 extra essays.</p>
<p>The University of San Diego gives its top 30% admitted students $15,000 merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Hi, what are your stats that got you into USC with the trustee scholarship?</p>
<p>""bait and switch" (i.e. they lure top students in with generous scholarships and then change the terms of the scholarship/make it impossible to keep), does anyone know if this is true?"
I dont think that can be true...just doesn't seem right...</p>
<p>The folks I know who went to USC with merit aid were able to keep their aid their entire time at USC (all were serious students). I know that all schools tend to make more of your FAid package loans as you are at the school longer & I believe USC does this as well. At USC, most merit awards require you maintain a GPA--I believe the website says a 3.0. Depending on your major & study habits, whether you can maintain it or not depends on the student.
Don't have personal knowledge about USC's FAid process, since we didn't apply & don't qualify.</p>
<p>please PLEASE PLEASE tell me what I am doing/what I did wrong:
I was accepted to Fordham Business early action and have not recieved ANY money (merit based)
I'm not likely to get any financial based grants but I am still waiting for my package which has taken over a month now!
I do not understand why I was not offered anything
I'm in the top 2% of my class, I have numerous extracurricular activies including FOUR YEARS OF TEACHING RELIGION AT MY CHURCH and am a certified catechist....I would think that would get me SOMEWHERE at a jesuit university
I have a 3.99 W GPA
and got 2020 on the SATS
although i know my Stats are not perfect, and I am not number one in my class, should i receive nothing??? this just boggles my mind, specifically because Fordham is not a top notch school.</p>
<p>I'd call & ask to speak with whomever in the admissions or FAid office deals with merit aid. They would be the folks to give you answers. I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with that school so I can't honestly say other than to note our experiences that merit aid is always somewhat unpredictable (not comforting, I'm afraid).</p>
<p>Sometimes some schools have clear SAT and/or GPA and/or class rank cut-offs in deciding who gets merit aid. Many schools use merit aid to try to lure students they believe will add something their school is looking for, like geographic diversity, very high SAT score/NMF, acclaimed musician or athlete or writer, or underrepresented minority. It is inexplicable to me why much merit aid is distributed as it is. </p>
<p>If you applied to other competing schools, were accepted & got some merit aid, you could contact Fordham and let them know and m-a-y-b-e they'll decide to match of beat that offer to attract you (tho they might not call it that). The sooner you speak/meet with someoen at Fordham the better, before they finish handing out all their merit money. The school will likely pay more attention to offers from schools it considers "similar" or competitive with them, where the students.</p>
<p>I honestly don't know anything about how much merit money Fordham has or distributes, as it was not a school we considered at all. The school's website may have info about how much merit or non-need aid it distributes & to what % of students.
Good luck!
HImom</p>
<p>I am sorry I posted in the wrong spot!</p>
<p>don't put BC and washington in st Louis thre.
I applied to both and got no merit aid. </p>
<p>I am a first generation immigrant, came to US in 2000, berely speaking english, lower middle class. My EFC was 1,300. And I took 25 AP/IB classes during my high school career. Got almost all A, was ranked 3 in class out of 714 students, superior test scores: presidential and national merit scholar. All state Girls varsity soccer captain, speech team president, Girls State Senator to Girls Nation 2005. US senate youth program delegate. (they only select 2 per state for both of these govt. programs.) GAtes Millenium scholar, Horatio alger national scholar. e.t.c.
with all these academics, sports and diversity I still didn't get it. If I went to these schools I'd be stuch with a bunch of loans. So who can ever get it at these schools?</p>
<p>If you are a top student and didn't get wells (for some of us its easier to get nominations outside of our high schools than inside) don't be disheartened.
I didn't get wells, but still got a full ride when all was eadded up. You just have to apply separately to many scholarships.
6 grand Honors college scholarship
1 grand direct admit scholarship
3 grand deand scholarship
3 grand some alumni scholarship
2 grand hudson holland sholarship
4 grand o'bannon grant
2 grand pell grant</p>
<p>This is more than cost of books, food, tuition, room! And no loans! All grant money! I even got need-based aid and I am white middle class.</p>
<p>To get merit money at WashU, you either need to show definite interest in the school or have some unique hook. It's also critical that you actually apply for the scholarships themselves; many are only available to those who specifically apply for them.</p>
<p>I applied for three scholarships (Danforth, Mylonas, and Nemerov) and got the Danforth and Nemerov. I had good numbers (2390 SAT, 1/120 in class) but my extracurriculars were all over the place. I don't think scores and sparkling ECs are everything. They're what you need to be considered, but you have to have some sort of a hook or a defined interest in something to really catch their attention. Academics will open the door, but you have to do something uniquely interesting to get the money.</p>
<p>It's all about how you present yourself. Grandiose numbers and lists are great....but you need more. And, of course, given WashU's apparent affinity for the "Tufts syndrome," you have to prove to them they're not just your backup school.</p>
<p>Berkeley is the best school. Period.</p>
<p>My sister's friend and her sister went to WashU in St. Louis. My sister's friend got in with an ACT score that was in the high twenties. Although that is a considerably low score she is a very well-rounded person who participated in a lot of organizations, that is why she slipped through and with only a low amount of loan. She got room and board entirely covered too. Her younger sister, through scholarship, fund-raising, and connection got a full ride in with $10,000 left over for personal expense.
Sometimes, you just wish you can be like those people.</p>
<p>great post!!</p>
<p>Hi everyone</p>
<p>Do all information regarding merit scholarships also equally apply to international students, or does it differ per school? </p>
<p>Would love to know. I am a white international student from a family which is able to afford it, but does not want to pay for all of it. </p>
<p>Does anyone know of a list of top schools awarding (large) merit scholarships to international students?????</p>
<p>mariska</p>
<p>Most of the "top" universities do not award "large merit scholarships" because all of their students have high stats -- afterall, to get accepted, all their students must have high scores/high GPAs, etc (I'm assuming that you mean "top tier nat'l uni" when you say "top".) (One exception is UWash - which gives a limited number of large merit $$ to URMs and other unique kids and just getting accepted to this school is getting to be as difficult as getting accepted to any Ivy.)</p>
<p>You might want to tell your parents this info since they may be "holding out" because they may be under the misapprehension that top schools give out large merit money awards (many/most do not). Top universities reserve their "gifts of money" to students whose families who cannot afford most/all of the cost. If your parents realize that maybe they will be willing to pay for you to attend a top university.</p>