Class of 2021 Merit Scholarships

@noviceParent
Are u expecting more in a phase 2 scholarship round ?(Did u talk to after talk to admissions ?), because I am in the same boat. OOS 10K /ye (40 K total) on a COA of about 44K. Gap of 33K/yr. Keep getting emails everyday about 'Join the admitted students part / Commit to by clicking on link …" from all these colleges. As scholarship award deadline gets closer and closer, the “GAP Analysis” will become crucial!!.

I meant - Did u talk to admissions counsellors… typing fast.

DD received an email with her financial award info. The postal mail that she received sometime after her admission called out that she is awarded $80K over four years @$20K/year. The current email only talks about $20K for 2017-18 and calls out that it will be awarded @$10K for Fall and $10K for spring semester, no mention of other years. Should we be concerned? Did others also get similar emails that only mentioned upcoming year award though their mail indicated award for all four years?

@Mom22DDs – I’m a rookie but ours is the same way. I am just assuming that award letters/ portal notices only appear for the year at hand. So if it only gives the award for the term in the near future that is because next years award hasn’t come out yet— since we don’t file the FAFSA for next year until later this year.

Your scholarship letter should spell out the terms, and that the scholarship can be used for up to 8 semesters, if you maintain minimum GPA, full time attendance, etc.

The FA award is for the year of school. For example 2017/18.

@mom22dds - We got same letter. Since it’s financial aid letter, I am assuming that they only mention it for 1 year.

Thank you @carachel2 @srk2017 and @mommdc . I confirmed that the scholarship letter does spell out the terms. Thank you for that clarification.

Each FA award will depend on the EFC of the corresponding year’s FAFSA filed.

The amount for room and board and fees is an estimate because final room assignment, meal plan choice, classes registered for will determine final numbers for these. Annual tuition and fees are usually determined in July.

Very excited!! Checked the portal and in addition to the $20,000 scholarship and the loan $5,500 my son also got a panther pride grant for $7,300 . Great news and now tuition is covered! Granted, we probably aren’t eligible for grant his sophomore year since my other college student will be done but this really helps next year when I’ll have two in college. Thanks PITT❤️

@perch1024 --WOW that’s awesome!!! So glad that works out!

If we received FAFSA information but haven’t heard anything about merit scholarships does this mean he didn’t qualify for one??

We received FAFSA as well on the portal…this is my first time around with all of this. How do you find out if your child qualified for the work study program? And I am assuming that my son will not be offered any merit aid due to his ACT score of 30. He has a high gpa but just doesn’t test as well. Does anyone under a 33 ever get merit aid at Pitt. We are in state and Pitt is his top choice. Feeling defeated.

Work study and subsidized loans are need based aid. So the school would take the COA and subtract the FAFSA EFC (and any scholarships or grants offered), the remainder would be the need.

@ahill70 if your son selected “interested in work study” on the FAFSA and doesn’t have work study on his award, your EFC might be too high, you can contact FA office and ask.

Usually federal work study is reserved for low EFC students and given out as first come first served I think.

But there are lots of “student employment” positions on campus you can aply for, that are not work study dependent.

But merit notifications are still going out till March as far as I know.

Hello - my son received a financial aid package today that was a $5500 unsubsidized federal loan. Does this mean he is out of the running for any other kind of merit $$? Thanks in advance - hoping the Pitt Admissions person can give me answer.

@Metsgrrrl, Financial Aid award notification is separate from scholarship notification, so it does not indicate that your son is out of the running for other kinds of merit aid.

Best,
A Pitt Admissions Staffer

@metsgrrrl If you don’t mind my asking, what was your student’s EFC? We will also have two in college next year, and I was expecting more aid w/an EFC of $7500 per student. My son received the PA grant, federal loans, and workstudy, but not the Federal Pell Grant or any other aid.

@metsgrrrl Sorry, I tagged you by mistake in my previous post. @perch1024 Plz see the above post regarding EFC. Thank you.

I applied December 15 and received my acceptance December 21. Today I received my FAFSA and panther pride award of $8,600, but have not received word of receiving any merit scholarships. Since it is already February, does this mean I am most likely not going to get a merit scholarship?

@ccsierra1999 --look at post #314!

Also…from the Pitt scholarship website:
What are the requirements?

Criteria for scholarship consideration include SAT/ACT results, overall grade point average, class rank (if applicable), and strength of curriculum. Activities outside of the classroom such as leadership positions, athletics, community service, etc. are reviewed but given secondary consideration.

In recent years, scholarship eligible students possessed ALL of the following:

minimum SAT score of 1490 or 33 ACT composite
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

@hailtopitt1787 thank you!!!