Class of 2021 Merit Scholarships

Thrilled that my child received a letter with merit aid yesterday. OOS, 4.5 WGPA, 33 ACT, rigorous coursework and solid ECs. $10,000 per year, Dietrich. Congratulations to all who have already received merit aid awards. Good luck to those still waiting - I hope you hear something soon.

My daughter, who also had a 33 on her ACT, was thrilled to receive $10,000 merit aid letter yesterday. So it appears that, after 2 months of patiently waiting, the scholarship Committee has finally gotten “down” to the students who meet the minimum threshold standardized score required for Pitt’s scholarship consideration–which is a 33 ACT score or equivalent SAT score. Thank you Pitt!! Of course, it’s not just the ACT score but the holistic review that must include a high gpa in a rigorous academic curriculum with mostly honors and APs if offered by the high school. And also the extracurricular and leadership positions that are considered as well. Congrats to all the other students who received the merit scholarship as well.

My daughter just received the yellow envelope today! She was accepted into Pitt’s nursing program in November. She had a 33 on her ACT and received a merit scholarship of $5,000 per year. We were somewhat disappointed as we are OOS, but also realize that we are lucky to get any aid at all. She has gotten into all of the nursing programs she applied to and she has received several significantly larger merit aid awards. Pitt was a top choice so this will make our decision a little harder. Good luck to everyone.

will you be notified if you do not receive any merit scholarships because I do not want to be waiting around to never hear back?

We do not notify those who have not been selected for scholarships. Scholarship award letters go out until March 1st, if you have not heard anything from us once March 1st has come and gone, it will be safe to assume that an award was not issued to you.

For those who are still waiting, you may hear from us in the next ~5 weeks.

Best of luck to you all!
-A Pitt Admissions Staffer

Seems weird but most posting here refer to ACT scores instead of SATs. Visited Pitt twice and there was not mention or stress placed on ACTs being preferred for scholarships. Maybe it is just the folks that are on this forum. Just an observation.

http://pre.ir.pitt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PGH-CDS_2016-2017.pdf

The CDS in section C9 reports for 2016/17 that 80% of enrolled freshmen reported SAT scores and 50% ACT scores.

The CDS in 2015/16 says that 85% of freshman students reported SAT and 47% ACT scores.

http://pre.ir.pitt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/PGH-CDS_2015-2016-3.pdf

@devswim
Maybe a lot more kids prefer the ACT or did better on the ACT? Hard to know.

Pitt converts the ACT to an SAT equivalent in the portal.

Did anyone get presidential interview invitation?

Do you mean Chancellor’s?

Yes I mean chancellors

I think a number of people avoided the SAT this year due to the change.

@rsmith0208 I did.

I agree with @Dolemite. I don’t know how many avoided because of the content change, but the timing change was enough for many to avoid it for this year’s senior class.

@hailtopitt1787 My daughter once again just inquired about scholarship potential. She was told that there is no money for her at this time but if she is willing to wait - inquire at the end of March? I am disappointed, especially since I am a Pitt graduate (Engineering 1980s). My daughter was immediately accepted last fall, engineer, ACT Math 35 English 35 4.3WGPA Heavy AP courses and so on. What more do they need? We are from PIttsburgh but it looks as if she will become a Buckeye.

@JemmaSimmons Congrats! That is an AMAZING achievement!

@panic2017 Thank you! I’m very excited.

@CRVkids, My first response is typically to encourage people to talk to our admissions counselors - which you seem to be doing already. We are still sending out scholarship awards until March 1, so if you haven’t received a letter yet - there is still time. Best of luck!

A Pitt Admissions Staffer

My son received the merit scholarship letter from Pitt last Saturday, 1/28. He got a 40K scholarship over 4 years. OOS