What advice would you give to kids interested in competitive academic awards?
I would advise you to go to the Financial Aid & Scholarships forum.
Tell the person to get the highest ACT or SAT score AND have the highest GPA.
Seriously…competitive merit scholarships are based on the academic strength of your application. So the kid needs to be a tippy top student.
And his/her stats should put him/her in the top 25% of accepted students at the college.
A student may be admitted to Duke with no merit aid but accepted at Boston University with significant merit aid.
Have the student foster good ties to teachers. Letters of recommendation are requested for many competitive scholarships. Those LORs can be the deciding factor.
@TomSrOfBoston - top 25% might not cut it if the awards go to the top 1-2% of applicants.
Need to be much stronger applicant than top 25% in that case.
Think best of the best for some of these very very competitive awards.
@ClarinetDad16 Full tuition merit may go to top 1 or 2% but merit up to half tuition is available to applicants in the top 25% of admitted students at many schools.
1.) Don’t count on winning.
2.) You may be able to stack enough scholarships at a given school that you receive the equivalent of the competitive merit award.
3.) Crush the PSAT. National Merit status opens a lot of doors.
4.) Move to a state with a low PSAT qualifying score for NMF. If you live in Virginia, move to West Virginia.
@TomSrOfBoston - what top school(s) award 1/2 tuition merit to a very sizable portion of their applicant pool? (So that top 25% scorers are in play)
@ClarinetDad16 As I stated in my initial example: Boston University. Another example is Fordham University that awards full tuition to NMF’s and USC, yes that USC, which awards half tuition to NMF’s. Northeastern awards $30,000year to NMF’s. Being NMF is a great achievement but it does not make you exceptional necessarily.
@ClarinetDad16 how are you defining “top schools”?
Even Boaont university doesn’t award 1/2 tuition merit to a “sizable portion of their applicant pool”.
You asked about competitive merit awards. Those are usually awarded to a select small %age of the applicant pool, not a sizable number.
@thumper1 - I agree. It would be highly unusual for a school to award 1/2 tuition competitively to the top 25% of their applicant pool.
Even BU awards 1/2 tuition to 5% of incoming freshmen. (So they probably are well above the top 25% of test scores of applicants)
So what is your question @ClarinetDad16
Is there a school that offers at least 1/2 tuition merit competitively to the top 25% of their applicant pool?
It’s not BU. (5%)
What are the SAT or ACT scores and what is the GPA? That is what most merit awards are based.
All students with a certain SAT/ACT and a certain GPA receive very generous merit awards from University of Alabama. Automatic. All students meeting the bar get this award. I’m guessing that this might exceed 25% of their applicant pool.
@mom2collegekids can you answer this?
But in most cases “competitive merit awards” are given to the tippy top of the applicant pool…maybe the top 5-10% at the most.
OP, if you are truly interested in competitive academic awards, you will get increasingly better results as you move lower in college selectivity. This is the strategy my son will be using this fall. With his “above average” stats and EC’s he will not get merit-aid from a top tier school - he just wont. But he has a very good chance of getting money from middle-tier and lower-tier schools where he will also have a very good chance of succeeding and thriving.
Here…read this:
Do you have the source for that 5% figure?
And please note that I said up to half tuition
http://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/costs-aid-scholarships/scholarships/presidential/
PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Boston University values academic excellence and hard work. Each year, the Board of Admissions awards the Presidential Scholarship to approximately five percent of our incoming freshmen who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement. In addition to being among our most academically talented students, Presidential Scholars demonstrate excellence beyond the classroom and are leaders in their schools and communities. This $20,000 tuition scholarship is renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study at BU.
No additional essays or application forms are required. Students who wish to be considered for the Presidential Scholarship must submit official results of either the SAT or the ACT with writing. Students must submit their application for admission and all supporting credentials by December 1.
@STEM2017 is he seeking automatic merit or competitive awards?