Chances of merit based aid?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pittsburgh
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<p>Hey everyone, thanks for taking the time to check this out. I visited Pitt earlier this year and absolutely loved it! I will definitely be applying in the fall. I'm curious if anyone knows if I qualify for any merit based aid and if so, how much. Any feedback is appreciated, thanks! </p>

<p>Grades: 4.0scale (An A in an AP class is a 4.3)
Freshman- Somewhere around a 3.9 (B first semester in math) - All honors classes
Sophomore- 4.0 - All honors classes
Junior (so far)- 4.1 - 4.2 (Don't have exact calculation from office) - 3 APs (Lang, Chem, Euro), the rest are honors</p>

<p>I'll be taking 6 APs next year (Lit, Physics, Macro, Calc, Comp Sci, psych offered by my local college)</p>

<p>SAT: 2110 (CR: 650 M: 790 W: 670)</p>

<p>Second time taking it, but that is all from one sitting. Prior to that test the only thing I actually studied/practiced was math (which paid off). Over the summer I plan to study CR a lot and read to prepare for next fall.</p>

<p>PSAT: 202 - National Merit Commended</p>

<p>ACT: 33 Composite</p>

<p>Only took it once. Pretty happy with this score. I didn't do relatively well on science (28) compared to the rest, but I'm confident that if I improve that and my essay (8) I can at least increase my composite to a 34.</p>

<p>Taking Math II and Chem SAT this saturday, aiming for mid 700s</p>

<p>Class Rank (Cummulative): 16/296 (~5%) Was 21 at the end of last year, if I keep up my grades I should be able to move up one or two more spots.</p>

<p>EC's/ Leadership/Awards: </p>

<ul>
<li>DECA Business Club (school just started club this year):

<ul>
<li>Club President next year</li>
<li>3rd in categories at states, moved on to nationals</li>
<li>Top 15 finisher at nationals</li>
</ul></li>
<li>NHS (11,12) - tutoring,etc.

<ul>
<li>Elected secretary for next year</li>
</ul></li>
<li>4 years running cross country</li>
<li>Community Service Club homeroom rep (4 year member, 3 year rep)</li>
<li>Volunteer every Monday (~1.5 hours) teaching CCD (religious education)</li>
<li>Ambassadors club</li>
<li>Last year, advanced to county science fair (1st place) and then district science fair.</li>
<li>Honorable mention for nationwide Toshiba Exploravision contest (500 nationwide) </li>
<li>2 Years reading olympics (club just started this year)</li>
<li>Went to business camp last summer</li>
<li>Work 15-20 hours/month</li>
</ul>

<p>That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Thanks for any feedback!</p>

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<p>I wouldn’t even bother with the SAT after getting a 33 on the ACT. The ACT is obviously nicer for you, so if you want to improve (esp. with the 28 science), focus on that. </p>

<p>I think you’re in a good position to get merit aid. What state are you from? Apparently they do put an emphasis on harder-to-get states (so basically, not NJ, Ohio, NY, VA, PA, etc.)</p>

<p>I’m from Hawaii and would rate my extracurriculars similar to yours (achievement-wise), rank 1/237, and and 34 ACT (which I’m sure you can get if you improve on the science). I have full tuition and will be starting in the fall. </p>

<p>Be sure to send in a recommendation and the essay if you want merit. That’s really important, and it’s not too difficult. (I totally used an essay written for another program and I guess it worked.)</p>

3

<p>Apply early. DS applied in August during a visit but the application was the pared down version. He was accepted in October but I had to keep bugging him to send in the recommendations and essay before the school started reviewing for scholarships. He ended up with full tuition. I do think the competition for merit is stiff and judging from some posts on CC, kids who applied later did not fare as well with merit, even with comparable stats. He is from out of state so that may have helped as well.</p>

<p>Also, if you receive a Chancellors invite, make sure you send your application in on time and that you have asked for recommendations and such be sent from your high school (and not 2 or 3 months later) :open_mouth: . Sorry, just venting!</p>

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<p>@nhdmaniac When did you apply? DS has the “special application” but won’t be able to get that recommendation until at least mid-August.</p>

<p>@Localdreamer15 Pitt only considers the Math and English parts of the ACT (that’s English without the essay score) for scholarships. So, for Pitt, you need to look at if and how you could increase those two sections. Also the essay score is not included in the composite.</p>

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<p>@STEMFamily </p>

<p>I scored a 35 on english without the essay and a 34 on math (which will probably increase, considering I have since finished precalc). So what shape am I in with those compared to other applicants eligible for merit aid?</p>

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<p>@Lacaldreamer15 I can only guess based on previous Pittsburgh merit threads, but those should be good for some merit aid. For admission purposes I would say that retaking with those scores doesn’t make any sense at all, but I’m not as sure about the possible benefits for the amount of merit aid. Pitt does superscore as long as you submit a test with writing so you wouldn’t really have anything to lose except of course the registration fee. </p>

<p>I would suggest going back through last year’s threads and see for yourself whether you think it is worth it.</p>

7

<p>@STEMFamily‌ I sent my original (didn’t get one of those special ones probably because Pitt didn’t think of me as on their radar) application somewhere near Dec 1, because that’s when it said my app fee was processed. My application wasn’t full-on complete for a while because they don’t do transcripts online like the common app, and the first transcript I sent didn’t get to them. I didn’t send the second transcript until after winter break, and I think I got the official admit in February. I was probably one of the last ones to receive merit notice (arrived in my mailbox Feb 26), and at that point I think it would’ve been too late to get a chancellor’s invite. </p>

<p>But then again, I wouldn’t recommend this way of applying to anyone, especially when rolling admissions AND merit aid are involved. I am pretty lucky, being high-stat AND being from an underrepresented state AND having an interesting story about diversity to write an essay about. </p>

<p>@Localdreamer15‌ I got a 35 with essay (34 without) and 34 math. So if it’s true that Pitt only looks at English and math, you’re in great shape. </p>

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<p>@nhdmaniac Thanks. I’m sure our state is underrepresented too but very likely not to the extent of yours. I think DS will be fine doing his application in August.</p>

<p>I forgot to mention that my comments on Pitt only considering ACT Math/English (also SAT Math/CR) for merit scholarships came from the information session at Pitt when we visited over spring break. I believe it was even on one of their powerpoint slides. </p>

<p>@Localdreamer15, I just found my notes from the Pitt information session and I had noted that they superscore across the ACT and SAT sections. Maybe you should call them. Because if they do superscore across the math sections you won’t get much if any improvement over the SAT 790 even with a 36 in ACT math (assuming you send both the ACT and the SAT scores.)</p>

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<p>My daughter recently received an application to apply to UPitt ( email). I just read on another thread about a student who used this same app to apply and did not get merit aid because the application was too short: no ECs, etc. This person got into the Honors a College and was told that although his work was top tier, the application he filled out was not as detailed as the regular application so therefore he was not awarded merit money. Can this happen? </p>

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<p>I am beginning to think that in terms of getting merit money, it is better to fill out the regular application located on the Pitt website and include essays and LOR etc rather than fill out the early application that may not request as much information. </p>

11

<p>local dreamer, your ACT/SAT stats are almost identical to my kids(except it was a high critical reading and a 650M for him which is the flip of your scores). like you, Act was also 33. He did not get any merit aid so i am thinking your scores are where the border is,at least for last year. He did not take any AP’s(only online at his school and $700 a pop out of our pocket were 2 reasons why not) so maybe that will be the difference between you too. he also did not take the SAT subjects tests. so i think your motivation to take the AP’s and the SAT subject tests could work in your favor. And yes, you have a shot but don’t bank on it. if you could pull the ACT up to a 34 or greater, i think that would greatly increase your chances. last year, pitt used the 1600 SAT scale for scholarships. as far as I know, that is still the case. his class rank was 1 person shy of the top 5 percent which was close enough to be in scholarship pool even though he did not get any at the end of the day. </p>

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<p>oh and i think Pitt superscores if you retake the SAT, double check that with them </p>

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<p>Hi guys,</p>

<p>Lol I’m completely different from all of you.</p>

<p>@nhdmaniac: I wouldn’t say that harder-to-get states have greater chances at getting merit aid, I’m from Maryland. As long as your credentials are solid, you’re good. Also it’s not really necessary to write the essay, though I’m sure it helps. (I didn’t write one). I just sent in their preferred application that they sent, Prestige Pitt or something.</p>

<p>@Theretheygo : You don’t have to apply early in April I think, and I still received full tuition. Plus it doesn’t take long for them to make their decision, I got the answer in like a week. If for some reason you don’t have the time, don’t stress about the date. I have a friend who applied later than I did and got full tuition. </p>

<p>@twogirls : That’s strange. The one your daughter got sounds like the one I filled out. Don’t let the thread you read stop your daughter from filling out that application, there were probably other factors that stopped the other guy from getting merit aid. If anything that application is somewhat better because it shows them the facts without any fluff (my opinion). Essays can hurt an application just as much as it can help one.</p>

<p>sooo for my stats you can check my previous threads or message me if you need help. In short:</p>

<p>-I’ve taken all honors classes, 10 AP classes over 4 years, and went up to IB French 7. To all who care, they don’t place emphasis on the actual AP scores- my advisor told me while we were talking- mostly because you end up retaking some of those classes anyway. </p>

<p>-3.93 UW and 4.58 W gpa</p>

<p>-2180 SAT in one sitting. 710 US History. 780 Lit. Trust me a few points higher on your SAT won’t do much. Your ACT is great, DON’T retake it. That’s just silly, and a waste of time and money.</p>

<ul>
<li>Pres. of NHS and FHS (french) Vice Pres. of Chem Club. Varsity soccer and lacrosse. Worked at Kumon. College classes at JHU. Service trip to Costa Rica. Other EC’s of course. I can’t remember if they saw ANY of that though, the prestige pitt app was pretty straight to the point. </li>
</ul>

<p>All in all DON’T stress! No offense to anyone, but you guys sound so serious. You’re giving the poor OP the feeling like it’s the hardest thing in the world to get merit aid from Pitt, and it’s not. He’s already stressed, no need to add pressure. Lol take a look through my past posts and you’ll see I was a hot mess for a while (long story). I applied on a whim, ended up getting the aid, went to visit, and ended up loving it there. The people are great!</p>

<p>Just keep doing what you’re doing dude! Take more AP’s and have fun senior year :slight_smile: feel free to ask any questions. I’ll be majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Philosophy, on a premed track if that matters. </p>

14

<p>@Courtney1996‌ Thanks for all the input! I’m actually retaking the ACT tomorrow </p>

15

<p>Haha no problem, and ehh if you feel it’s necessary. I think a 33 is pretty amazing on it’s own though</p>

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<p>Haha, thanks. Not exactly necessary, but I know I can do better. I got a 28 on science last time, which held me back from a 34-35, so I figured “why not.”</p>

17

<p>For landing merit aid, I’d target schools where your stats are above the school’s top 75th percentile stats.</p>

18

<p>courtney, i was not trying to be a debbiedowner but since my kid got no merit aid with a 33 ACT and i think kids with a 34 might have gotten full tuition, i wanted to give the op some honest feedback. if the op really wants to go to pitt, retaking ACT to get a 34+ makes sense as it could save them over $16k a year. my kid was ranked 4th in his class and had a decent app. so it was not like there were any red flags that hurt his merit aid chances. he did not take AP classes. that’s the best reason i can think of that killed his merit aid shot. and his test scores were on the border for pitt merit aid and some of those border kids did not get merit aid. i know of a kid with a 1420/1600 who was not even in the running for merit aid. and my kid had a 2130 SAT(1450 on 1600 scale including 800 CR score) so 50 points higher for you on the 2400 scale did make the difference between no merit aid and full tuition. I did see one kid who I think got a 32 ACT get some aid so it is doable with great but not astronomical scores but it is harder. and trust me, i think a 33 ACT is phenenomal. so kudos to the OP and to you for your great credentials. </p>

19

<p>as the parent of a student going to pitt with merit next year, and one who watched the merit picture closely, I think I can say pitt’s merit aid process is very complex and is not made any more predictable by the length of time the school spreads out the process. I’m not complaining at all, just making an observation about how difficult it is to predict who will get Pitt merit or how much merit they will get. I also have concluded that the average student who got 5, 10, 15, or full tuition was a better student on average than the same student last year or the year before. That is, it was harder to get merit this year on average.</p>

20

<p>all right, jkeil, glad to hear your daughter decided on Pitt!!! She will have a blast :slight_smile: i was super happy that one of our local kids is going to Pitt-Johnstown. He thought the main campus and city were too big for him. BUT Pitt-Jttown will still bus him to all the Pitt home games. since that boy was probably born in a Steeler’s outfit, i am thrilled he will be at least close and get to travel to the city he idolizes!</p>