Chances of getting Merit Aid

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston University
1

<p>Hey guys. I visited BU over the summer and I really loved the city environment and Boston in general. However, I noticed BU carries a hefty price tag so I was wondering if I’m a competitive enough applicant to receive some merit scholarships such as the Trustee or Alexander Graham Bell Scholarships.
Thanks in advance </p>

<p>Location: East coast
School: Competitive public high school (about 450 kids)
Race: White
Gender: Male</p>

<p>GPA: 98.4 (unweighted); 101.9 (weighted); (on a 4.0 scale my unweighted is a 4.0 not sure about the weighted)
Rank: On track to being valedictorian (projected: 1/125)
Courses: Most rigorous curriculum including 7 AP courses (my school offers 15)</p>

<p>Junior year (projected place score in parenthesis):
AP Chemistry (4 or 5)
AP Calculus AB (5)
AP Statistics (4 or 5)
AP English Language (4 or 5)</p>

<p>Senior year courses I plan on taking:
AP Biology
AP Calculus BC
AP English Literature </p>

<p>PSAT: 204
ACT: 32 (retook in April and am expecting a 33, hoping for a 34 or 35)
SAT: Don’t plan on taking
SAT Subject Tests: Math 1 (700); I am taking Chemistry and Math 2 and think I can get a 750+ on both.</p>

<p>Important ECs (leadership position in parenthesis):
National Math Honor Society- 10-12 (Treasurer Junior year; probably President or VP Senior year)
Math Club- 9-12 (Highest scorer from entire high school in competitions)
National Honor Society- 11-12
National English Honor Society- 11-12
School Newspaper- 9-12 (Probably Co-editor Senior year)
Drama Club- 10-12 (Treasurer Junior year; Probably President or VP Senior year)
Mock Trial- 9-12 (Lead Lawyer Sophomore and Junior year; Lead Lawyer Senior year)
Peer Mediator (Help middle school kids with social/academic problems)- 11-12
Varsity Tennis- 10-12 (All-league Sophomore year and probably junior and senior year)
Quiz Bowl- 12 (Technically, I did it junior year but our team had to forfeit; will be Team Captain Senior year)
Volunteering at Hospital- 9-12 (Medicine is my true passion)
*I also plan on shadowing a physician starting this summer</p>

<p>Awards:
Multiple school awards for excellence
Highest GPA award every year since 9th grade
Principal’s List every quarter since 9th grade
U.S. Air Force Math and Science Award
Probably National Merit Commended </p>

<p>Work Experience:
Lifeguard- 9-12
Tutoring- 10
Soccer Referee- 9-12</p>

<p>Intended Major: Biomedical Engineering if I don’t get into BU SMED (7-year early assurance medical program)</p>

2

<p>Bumping. I could really use some help from anyone who knows BU well or even received merit from BU.</p>

3

<p>Honestly it’s really hard to say. None of us is an admissions officer or works in the financial aid office, so we can’t really determine it. However, your GPA is really high and you have a lot of extracurriculars, so it looks like you’d be on the right track!</p>

4

<p>Thanks shiningstar91. Can anyone else chance me?</p>

5

<p>Just for reference, I’m a senior now at a public high school in NJ and am going to BU in the fall (so excited!!) and
I got a 1950 on my SAT
have a cumulative 4.0/4.42 unweighted/weighted gpa
have obviously been on high honor roll and gotten awards for a perfect gpa yadda yadda yadda nothing major at all though
only taken 2 AP classes total (both this year, and Honors classes other three years)
and I honestly only had about 6 extracurriculars (I’ve volunteered at my former elementary school 4 hours a week for the past 5 years, done 2 school clubs, lettered in varsity basketball as a sophomore, and volunteered for a music magazine at events like Bamboozle… so NOTHING close to yours haha) andddddd
they gave me half off tuition (all merit aid), as I don’t qualify for federal aid because of my parents’ incomes, which is a huge scholarship coming from BU. Also, I was admitted into SED and CAS but my scholarship was not directly affiliated to my particular schools.</p>

<p>So long story short, I definitely think you will get a substantial amount of merit aid and wish you the best of luck! :)</p>

6

<p>Thanks collegeahhhh. Any other person wanna chance me?</p>