I didn’t get any merit scholarship but I emailed them about it and they said they would have my request reviewed by the scholarship committee. Praying this works out because I come from a very low income family. Anyone do this and get positive results?
@hailtopitt1787 Thank you, I am visiting Pitt Friday for the admitted honors student day and I intend to visit the financial aid building and chat with them. You’ve been a wonderful help on here though.
And @J2H239 thank you for that elucidating insight. I am aware that applying before the date would have ensured my application’s review by the scholarship committee. Since my relatively late application had been previously addressed, I think some advice would be a more apropos response than the trite lamentation you’ve provided.
@DrDingle23 I come from a middle income family and I had decent stats (2180, 3.7 uw) and I emailed admissions (oafa@pitt.edu) and asked for a reconsideration for honors auto eligibility and merit scholarship. She said it would be reviewed by committee and within 2 weeks, I had a letter for $8,000 (2 a year) and honors auto eligibility which isn’t a ton but is extremely helpful for an instate student. I also got a $2,000 study abroad scholarship. I’d say if you have a good application, you should be able to get something although this late it’s hard to tell. If your family needs more need-based aid then I’d hit up the office of financial aid (finaid@pitt.edu). If this doesn’t get you anything, look into local scholarships and see what your fafsa comes back with.
I know this is long but I hope it helped at least a little bit. I’m praying for you and your family as well!
For anyone curious- I talked with their financial aid department a few weeks ago during my visit.
Because I applied and inquired about scholarships so late in the game, they only awarded me $10,000 a year upon the review of my application (34C ACT 1st/273 4.13GPA). The man who spoke with us said I would have almost certainly been granted full cost of attendance had I applied by Jan. 1. So, I’m missing out on over $100,000 due to a 30 day period but ya live and learn. To all incoming seniors: APPLY EARLY. DONT LOSE $100,000 LIKE ME.
On a side note Pitt seems incredible and I’m very excited to spend the next 4 years here. Go Panthers!
@16cclark Do you think it was because of your objective stats or did you have some kind of spectacular EC/award or hook? I am also trying to get merit aid next year and it seems like Pitt likes really high stats students. I plan on applying early fall too.
Applying early is a big part of it (our Scholarship Committee starts reviewing candidates in October and makes decisions on scholarships on a weekly basis). You will also want to make sure you submit the optional short answer essay questions to increase your chances.
In addition, in recent years, scholarship eligible students possessed ALL of the following:
minimum SAT score of 1450 (math and critical reading scores only) or 33 ACT (Math and English subscores average)
overall ‘A’ average
top 5% class rank (if applicable) while participating in challenging high school curriculums consisting of AP/IB/Honors courses
record of excellence in various academic and nonacademic activities outside of the classroom
Hope that helps a little! You can always take a look at our website (oafa.pitt.edu) for more information.
-A Pitt Admissions Staffer
@hailtopitt1787 With the new SAT, will there be any new minimum SAT posted? I know CollegeBoard has the concordance tables, but I’m skeptical of its validity with its “sample” percentiles.
@class0f2017, We are currently working on this. More information to come soon!
Best,
A Pitt Admissions Staffer
@hailtopitt1787 My D is thinking about applying for Pitts and GAP program in the coming cycle. May I ask if the current application portal and short essays could be used for 2017 applicants?
@dadofd, The Fall 2017 application is not up yet. I believe our admissions committee may be reviewing the short answer questions, as well. We will start promoting the short answer questions shortly, so you can keep track on our social media (@pittadmissions) for those announcements. Those will be ready before the application, which is opening in July. We will make an announcement for the application as well.
Best,
A Pitt Admissions Staffer
@hailtopitt1787 Thanks for the update.
@hailtopitt1787 After reaching the minimum stats, will higher objective stats help more for merit or is it more about things outside the classroom at that point? Will a 1450 vs 1500 vs 1550 make a huge difference in potential scholarship money?
Yes. 1450 will get you consideration for UHC and possibly some merit - higher will get consideration for half to full tuition - speaking from experience w my 3 Pitt students - who received from $10k/yr to full tuition based on diff SATs/gpa. All had 1450+ and 4.2gpa+.
@hailtopitt1787 Sorry for the seemingly incessant questions, but my school doesn’t use a 4.0 scale, instead uses a 100% scale. I have all high As which is easily a 4.0 UW and we have a weighted grade that’s still out on the 100% scale(mines slightly over 100% weighted). How will my grades be judged for merit considerations since we don’t use the 4.0 GPA scale?
@amandakayak If you don’t mind, what were their stats and how much did they get? Do you think the higher scores were the reason for the higher merit or did they have hooks, incredible ECs,etc.
No real hooks, all had honor societies, band leadership, number of AP classes, basically same classes taken in HS. Ds (hs grad '11) had 1450 (m+cr), 4.25 gpa; rcvd $10k (oos). Dd (hs’13) 1510, 4.5 gpa; rcvd $19k (part was from SSOE). dd (hs '15) act 34/35, 4.6 gpa; rcvd full tuition. Of course maybe part of award was “family pricing”? just kidding, ymmv.
@Class0f2017, On our application, you will have the opportunity to enter your grades as they appear on your transcript. Your school’s choice to report grades on a % scale won’t negatively affect the way your application is judged. Once our application for Fall 2017 is open, feel free to take a look and contact us with any questions about how to report your grades: 412-624-7488 or oafa@pitt.edu.
(And as amandakayak said, higher stats can definitely benefit you when it comes to merit aid.)
Best,
A Pitt Admissions Staffer
Just wanted to follow up: the Fall 2017 Application is now open. oafa.pitt.edu/apply
Best,
A Pitt Admissions Staffer