<p>lol and while we’re all here… how about lets chance me? :-p</p>
<p>after all that, you still think it’s not a waste of time? (it is)</p>
<p>haha…I know. But it’s still hard to resist :-p. Does anyone know when the app comes out?</p>
<p>it’s the common app,
and there’s one out on the site already
but it might be last year’s</p>
<p>Does Caltech still offer full rides?</p>
<p>Nope. The Axline and Lingle Scholarships are now gone, and the Upperclass merit scholarships were reduced from a maximum of full tuition to a maximum of $5k.</p>
<p>Are there any plans to restore the upper class merit awards? I understand financial aid and admissions were both concerned that the economic situation would require that financial aid recieve extra funding to compensate for a predicted drop in yield, but with yield doing fine (and caltech overenrolling) will there be any movement to revert at least in part to the old system?</p>
<p>I highly doubt I’ll qualify for an upper class merit award, and I’m certain I wouldn’t have qualified for any of the freshmen scholarships, but it is sad to see the last elite institution that offered merit awards to decide to phase them out. (Not to imply, by the way, that the information provided on a college application is necesarily enough to be certain conferring a large award on an admit is necesarily valid)</p>
<p>alright so apparently I got a 800 math ii, 760 bio </p>
<p>Should I retake bio? How important are SAT subject tests?</p>
<p>760 is fine. I wouldn’t bother retaking that one either.</p>
<p>I have no idea. They didn’t tell the students about the changes to upperclass merit until the awards were sent out. To the students who had won awards previously it was kind of a shock.</p>
<p>Based on the letter sent by financial aid it did not appear to be a temporary change.</p>
<p>^^^^
well perhaps it’s a good thing;
getting merit scholarships can make kids who get them (like me)
think they’re smarter than everyone else,
which in the long run is bad.
to properly appreciate caltech,
it helps to be humble,
and unafraid to ask people for help on problem sets
i learned that after i flamed out.</p>
<p>on a sadder note,
they cut frosh camp too :(</p>
<p>The reasons behind, implementation of, and effects of the upperclass merit awards are very different than those of the freshman scholarship awards. I don’t think the reduction in upperclass merit awards is a good thing at all. I think the elimination of freshman scholarships; however, made a lot of sense. They were meant to help recruit top students and yet the yield was lower for scholarship recipients than overall. Additionally, these scholarships did not always predict future performance well. Since the upperclass merit awards are BASED on performance while at Caltech, they seem to be generally much better at this.</p>
<p>Any suggestions regarding my subject tests?</p>
<p>alright… add on to the awards section:</p>
<p>International First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics Honorable Mention</p>