Chance for admission + merit scholarships?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Lehigh University
1

<p>Hello there. I'm a senior in high school looking at Lehigh as my top choice. I don't qualify for need-based aid, but I'll be unable to go there (if I'm accepted) without merit scholarships. Was wondering what my grades should be in order to even have a chance at the merit awards and admission alone.</p>

<p>There's been some conflicting information about scholarship renewal- is it true that the majority of them are for freshman year only?</p>

<p>Also, I've visited the campus once and taken the tour.. I'd like to schedule an interview, but it's been hard finding the time. </p>

<p>Thank you for taking the time to read this thread!</p>

<hr>

<p>Currently: Senior in High School
Background: Female, Asian Descent, New York
Intended Major: Civil Engineering</p>

<p>GPA: 96.7826
Weighted GPA: 98.8696</p>

<p>SAT I (1st, 2nd)
**Taking them again this October.
CR: 670, 690
Math: 680, 770
Writing: 730, 770
Total: 2080, 2230</p>

<p>SAT II
Chemistry: 710
Math II: 710</p>

<p>AP Courses
World History (4)
American History (3)
English Language and Composition (5)
Chemistry (4)
Architecture (5)
Spanish
Physics
English Literature
Macroeconomics
Calculus AB
*Took a course on general physics for one semester during the summer at a local college and received an A.
*Senior year schedule: 5 APs, Independent Study Architecture, and Principles of Engineering</p>

<p>ECs
Pre-Season Badminton
Junior Varsity Tennis (2 years)
Varsity Tennis (1 year)
Science Club & Regional Competitions (2 years)
Art Club (4 years)
Chess Club (2 years)
Latin Club (1 year)
Key Club (2 years)
Shotokan Karate (1 year)
Math Honor Society
LOTE Honor Society
Science Honor Society
National Honor Society
Silver Winner of the National Spanish Exam
Won Certificate for Excellence in Science (Women-only, awarded by local college)
AP Scholar with Distinction
Jobs: Algebra I Tutor,
~30 Community Service Hours: Food Allergy + Cystic Fibrosis Walks, Environmental Cleanups/Park Restorations, Sports Boosters</p>

<p>Letters of recommendations will be from a trigonometry/algebra II and AP World History teacher, along with one from my guidance counselor.</p>

2

<p>The course catalog says, “When awarding merit aid, we take a holistic approach, looking beyond the numbers related to academic talent alone and reviewing what a student contributes outside the classroom as well as considering recommendations and personal essays.”</p>

<p>My son received a Dean’s Scholarship. It was very unexpected. He only had a 3.7 GPA, no ECs with the school. He was involved with a local non-profit. The teachers who gave him recommendations really “got” my son. He did score well with the ACT - 32s in Math and Science. </p>

<p>I do think a factor might have been he was interested in an area of engineering that Lehigh might have wanted more students.</p>

<p>I don’t think anyone can predict who will get a Merit Scholarship. Good luck! Any school would be lucky to have you!</p>

3

<p>Kikkydee is right. Lehigh only gives merit aid to 7% of accepted students (so roughly 1 in 50 people who apply given their 29% acceptance rate). As such, it’s far too difficult to predict who will get one. They offer a few full tuition and half tuition scholarships (and I really do mean a FEW), and several $10,000 ones. Other than that, you may win a $1,000 scholarship from some Lehigh affiliated group or maybe $5,000 from something else. If you need full or half tuition, it would be smartest to not apply ED and just apply RD. </p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

4

<p>Sorry - My son’s Math and Science were 34 and his composite was 32. -It has been a long time since we got those numbers. </p>

<p>He did have a very interesting essay. He isn’t the best writer but wrote about an amazing experience. When we came to Lehigh we met with our admissions officer. When I introduced ourselves I just mentioned the topic of the essay and she knew exactly who we were. </p>

<p>we applied Regular Admissions. Lehigh is a fantastic school. But, if money is a factor there are rankings for colleges and universities that are know for great financial packages. I would look into that and apply to a lot of school - regular admissions - so you can pick your best financial offer. Good Luck!</p>

5

<p>As a point of reference my son scored 35 in reading and 34 in math. Composite score was 32 I believe. His gpa was around 3.8 with mostly honors and AP classes and lots of EC activities, honor societies, National Merit Commended, etc. We did not get a dime but we did not apply for financial aid so i don’t known if that had anything to do with it.</p>

6

<p>Kikkydee-
Thanks for the feedback! I’ll be looking at a lot of schools based on their merit aid. And congrats to your son.</p>

<p>Lehigh2017-
Yeah, I plan to apply RD. Thanks for the information. :)</p>

<p>Lehighmom17-
Really? That’s unexpected, but helpful to know. Thank you.</p>

7

<p>My son’s experience was similar to those referenced. He has a 2270 SAT 4.3 GPA etc… However, I believe two other factors combined to make him a merit schoalrship awardee:</p>

<p>1) we applied for financial aid and got none, even though we are middle class and far from rich</p>

<p>2) his essay was memorable - in fact I’m told it is on a bulletin board in admissions. He wrote an essay on skiing which begins as if he is skiing with a buddy who keeps daring him to take challenges, but soon the reader begins to realize it is not another person, but the voice within him. Very interesting and unusual essay.</p>

<p>Unusual essays that tell the admissions department something very specisl about you not apparent on your resume are very important - in fact when I was at a local admissions event the director kept running around looking for a particular young man because he was considering him for the Dean’s Scholarship - kept mentioning how his essay blew him away.</p>

8

<p>I would say you absolutely stand a good chance of getting a scholarship. I am a freshman at Lehigh (with so many AP credits that I’m academically a sophomore, how wonderful) with many similar figures to yours, and I came in with a $12,500 merit scholarship. Now, I didn’t get this scholarship at first. They had sent me my financial aid package with no mention of a scholarship; my parents then called the financial aid office to ask if there was anything I could do to get more money. I had to go through an appeals process where I wrote up a resume of everything I did in high school and wrote an essay about what drew me to Lehigh, and why my academic background and character merited a scholarship. </p>

<p>Anyway, my point is, I think you stand a great chance of getting a scholarship, but if you are accepted and don’t get one right off the bat, the appeals process is really very helpful and you still can get one.</p>

9

<p>Mumof2boyz: That’s great! I’m not too fond of how my essay’s turned out so far, but I’ve been working at it. Thanks for the information.</p>

<p>Claireyeux: So there is hope. :smiley: I didn’t think about the appeals process, actually; I’ll bear that in mind now, for whenever we get application responses. Thank you!</p>

10

<p>I received a Community Service Grant and so did my friend. Looking at your community service hours, it seems like you would get it as well. It’s $3500. It might not seem like much, but it really helped my situation. Perhaps it could help yours as well.</p>