Chances for merit money and Honors?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
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<p>Do you think Tulane will give me any merit money?</p>

<p>Male
Not reporting race
Catholic High School (Ohio)</p>

<p>GPA: UW around a 3.8, probably a low 3.8ish. W 4.17ish
Grade Trend: Might hurt me a little bit. Frosh yr was pretty good, soph year was pretty good/really good, I showed an upward trend for the most part. 1st semester Jr year was pretty good too, but 2nd semester I kind of burned out and ended up with 3 Bs. I have a total of 4 Bs on my transcript (not horrible I know), and 3/4 were in math or sci classes, which is definitely not my forte. Not freaking out about Bs, I was pretty chill when I got my report card, but it kinda sucks to end Jr. yr on kind of a crappy note, with half my classes getting Bs in them.
Anyways.
Class Rank: My school is kind unclear they say they don’t rank, but they tell in a counselor rec the approximate rank. I should be in at least the top 5-10% so I’m guessing they’ll put down something like that. Or they might not put anything in the letter. I’m not sure.</p>

<p>SAT: 700 M 690 CR 720 W --- 2110 total (single sitting, not superscore)
ACT: 29 (not sending)
5/6* APs by graduation. *School is unclear, we might be credit for taking my physics class last year because right now it is an AP class..and its basically the same thing, but I doubt the college board will let them do that. Will haven taken 7-8 test though by graduation, however only 2 were Junior year.
USH (jr. year)
Gov
Physics E&M
English
Clac AB</p>

<p>Last four are current, senior year.</p>

<p>SAT IIs: Just sent my 790 USH. Taking Lit and Math 2 this month, but probably won't send </p>

<p>Teacher and Counselor Recs: Teacher one should be pretty good, my grade in the teacher's class that I'm asking to write me a rec rarely dipped below a 97% (AP class) and I think he liked me as a person/student. Not sure about counselor one, we get to write a "brag" sheet, so it should be at least ok. But Tulane does not require teacher recs, do they?</p>

<p>Essays: Looks like MDA Camp for the main one and my EC essay is going to be wacky (haven't written it yet)</p>

<p>ECs: Pretty solid, though nothing spectacular like some people on CC.</p>

<p>-Eagle Scout, plus one year of being Senior Patrol Leader
-Student Govt Representative (lowest position in student govt, lol)
-Work Experience: 1 secretary job at my Church, another is a yard work type job, which I have recently stopped at, but I've had that job since summer before freshman year, so it should still look pretty good.
-Student Ambassador and Freshman Mentor (more intensive than you think haha)
-NHS
-Youth Challenge Volunteer - Help Disabled kids play sports. I also research grants for the organization, to keep the service free.
-Minor role in school paper
-Mock Trial
-Model UN
-Catholic Schools for Peace and Justice
-AP US History Co-Student of the Year
-Investment Club</p>

<p>probably leaving a couple minor things out</p>

<p>Service:
-Have not tallied up my exact hours, but it was 340+ service hours I counted up my documented service (tutor at school and local library, soup kitchens, various things, etc...)
-Eucharistic Minister at my church, at my school and I go to the nursing home and distribute Communion.
-MDA Camp Counselor. This is where a bulk of my service hours came from. Very demanding, but very rewarding and I plan on doing it again next year. I also participate in a program that helps disabled kids play sports during the summer and school year. Might write an essay about this. Something to the gist of the first day and a half or so of camp, I absolutely hated it, but it kind of grew on me and I really want to go back.
-I also research grants and do grant writing for a local non-profit organization that helps disabled kids play sports (and I also volunteer there) </p>

<p>Think this is about it, sorry it was kind of long and there might be a few typos, do you need any more info?</p>

<p>Think I can pull in one of the academic scholarships? I'm also hoping to get one of the Community Service Scholarships, but I doubt I'll get the full $15k one, but $5 or 10k would be really nice. Maybe my Eagle Scout project will help a little bit, I dunno. </p>

<p>Thanks. </p>

<p>I'm looking to maybe double major in finance and political science.
I'm also interested in learning more about the Master's in Finance program. Apparently it is only a one year program that you can do right after you graduate? That sounds pretty cool.</p>

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<p>It is always hard to predict these scholarships, but I think you have a pretty good shot at something. Just not sure if it will be $15K or maybe a higher one. You might be surprised by the CSS, you have a shot at $10 or $15K. That one is even harder to predict, though. It depends so much on the other applicants. I think there are only about 30 of these awards. But your strong GPA, good SAT scores, and 7-8 AP’s are exactly the kind of elements you need. Sure, ending last year with one less B would have been good, but probably doesn’t really make that much difference.</p>

<p>If you applied EA, you should know soon.</p>

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<p>Agree with FC. Community service scholarship $ can be added to merit scholarship $. Can total to a tidy sum!</p>

4

<p>Ok, thanks guys. </p>

<p>I’m applying EA, with the 11/15 deadline. Just have to finish tailoring my essay(personal statement) and I should be good.</p>

<p>It is my understanding that scholarships work like $15k, 20k, 22k, 25k and then DHS full tuition. And then CSS ones are $5, 10, 15k.
Ideally, I would like to get something like the $20k academic scholarship and the $10k(or $15k, even better) CSS for a total of $30k in merit. My parents said they would pay the in-state rates(Ohio), so they said they will give me $20,000. That still leaves a couple thousands dollars short, but I can look for outside scholarships and a little debt wouldn’t kill me. </p>

<p>Thanks again</p>

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<p>wildandyoung - sounds like a plan. Just one small point, the DHS is not the same as the others you mention. It requires an additional application while everyone is considered for the others.</p>

<p>I think you have the right idea otherwise, if it works out. If you can get something like $30K from Tulane and your parents will do $20K a year, borrowing or working for the rest is quite manageable.</p>

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<p>Thanks again guys. </p>

<p>I got in today or yesterday and I was surprised it was so quick. For a while the Gibson website said that my Transcript and counselor’s rec was still missing. Yesterday, I went to talk with the guidance secretary, who sends out all of the transcripts online, and she called Tulane right in front of me, and they said it must have gotten replaced and that she could just email them a copy. </p>

<p>So she did yesterday. And today I was curious to see what Gibson would say, I was expecting it to say something like “Application under review” or something like that. but it said Congratulations you have been admitted. Yay!</p>

<p>I’m not expecting a huge scholarship, but $20k would be nice. Apparently they don’t show up on Gibson, it will come in the letter (if I get a scholarship of course, no guarantees)? Which should hopefully come by the end of the week. </p>

<p>Hope Tulane can work out financially.</p>

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<p>Community Service Scholarship awards can range from $1,000-$15,000.</p>

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<p>Ok, thank you. </p>

<p>I’m probably going to need some extra money in order to realistically attend Tulane, even if I end up getting a merit scholarship.</p>

<p>I was accepted last Tues/Weds, so hopefully the formal letter with information and whether or not I got a scholarship will come in the mail early this week. </p>

<p>Here is the message that’s on Gibson:</p>

<p>“You have been admitted, and we welcome you to the Tulane family. You will soon receive a formal admission letter and invitations to special programs for admitted students. In the meantime, we encourage you to visit the Admitted Students section of our website.”</p>

<p>Do the “special programs” mean anything? First I thought nothing, but then I thought they might mean that it might be a hint that I’m in the Honors College.
But I kind of doubt it, my stats are pretty borderline for the honors college, and honestly I’d be really happy with the $20k scholarship, and they usually aren’t offered spots in honors right away. </p>

<p>That probably just the generic message, right?</p>

<p>Thanks, hope I know by Monday or Tuesday.</p>

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<p>Yes, that is the generic message. Good luck!</p>

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<p>I believe the “special programs” is referring to admitted students receptions and things like that. You should receive your letter very soon. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Ok, got the letter today! $20,000 Founders Scholarship!!!</p>

<p>I’m still gonna need a little bit more to make Tulane a realistic option, and hopefully I can get a little more from the community service scholarship. </p>

<p>Still going to fill out the need based aid forms, but running calculators and talking to other people, it looks like our EFC is going to a little higher than what my parents said they are going to pay, but we’ll have to see. </p>

<p>I’m still excited though, hope I can land a CSS scholarship. </p>

<p>Thanks for all of your help guys.</p>

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<p>Hey, that’s great! Have your parents take you to see Tulane. Hopefully once they see how great it is, they will be willing to stretch a little and pay the extra. One way or another I hope it works out for you.</p>

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<p>We technically walked around campus a year and a half ago while we were down in New Orleans. We didn’t take an official tour. </p>

<p>If Tulane is a finalist come March/April, I’d definitely like to go down and visit again and take an official tour, sit in on some classes, etc… I think my parents would be fine with me going to Tulane, but they don’t really like the distance. They would rather have me go somewhere within a days drive.
They don’t really mind NOLA, my dad has family down there, but he still thinks its asinine to build a city where most of the city is below sea level.</p>

<p>Right now the COA for Tulane for me is about ~$33k, which is pretty reasonable and I’m a very happy with my merit award. But I’m probably going to have to get that number down to $25k to make Tulane a serious choice. Hopefully I can pick up some level of the Community Service Scholarship, and some outside awards could add up. </p>

<p>I think my parents would be able to pitch in a little more when push comes to shove, but I can’t take that much more, my sister is a sophomore in H.S. and she still has to go through all of this.</p>

<p>Thanks for all of your help.</p>

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<p>I LOVE Tulane, but I wouldn’t pay $33k to come here. Try applying for the DHS or the CSS.</p>