do i HAVE to have a 1500?

Paying for College
1

<p>My family income is between 200 and 300 thousand, so there's no way I'm going to get need-based aid. Some of my favorite schools (Wake Forest and William & Mary, for example) imply that a 1500 is necessary for a merit-based full ride. "Recipients of this scholarship usually have at least a 1500 on the SAT."</p>

<p>I, however, have a 1470. Would 30 points really make or break my ability to get financial aid? I'm retaking the test, but I can't be sure that I'll get to 1500. I'm number 1 in my class and have good ecs, recs, and essays. I'm just worried because, though they have a high income, there's no way my parents will be able to pay for these schools next year. I'm the youngest of several kids...two of whom are in grad school.</p>

2

<p>I read some of the info for Wake, and it says…</p>

<p>* with SAT-1 scores above 1500). Further, Reynolds Scholars have typically been leaders in a variety of extracurricular pursuits and won recognition for their interests at the regional, state, or national level.</p>

<p>Reynolds Scholarships have been awarded since 1982, and **up to six Reynolds **Scholars are chosen annually.*</p>

<p>Wake seems to have a few endowed scholarship that award up to 6 full ride scholarships. But, that means that the scholarship is competitive - not every student who has an SAT above 1500 would even get such a scholarship. </p>

<p>But you’re question about whether a 1470 would exclude you from consideration is unknown. The finalists are invited for interviews. Does Wake invite students who have sub 1500 scores for interviews or do they only invite those that have at least a 1500? If they invite those who have - say a 1450 - do those students ever win? You could send an email to the scholarship office and ask.</p>

<p>Competitive scholarships are always a risk. You don’t know until spring whether you’ve won one.</p>

<p>While it’s certainly fine to apply for some competitive big merit scholarships, if you need merit scholarships to attend college, then you need to ALSO apply to some schools that would give you ASSURED merit scholarships for your stats.</p>

<p>There are schools that will award you assured big merit for your stats. You should apply to a couple of those schools so that you will KNOW that at least you can afford those schools. Those schools can be your financial safety schools. </p>

<p>BTW…how much WILL your parents spend on college for you. Since you’re the youngest child, and it sounds like the children who are older than you are in grad school or older, your parents should be able to afford some amount towards your education. If your parents are paying for your siblings’ grad school and that means that they can’t contribute towards your undergrad costs, that is not right. </p>

<p>If you don’t know how much your parents will pay each year, then ask. Your options should not be getting a full-ride or not going to school at all. What if you were given a partial scholarship - such as $20k per year? </p>

<p>*I, however, have a 1470. Would 30 points really make or break my ability to get financial aid? *</p>

<p>To avoid confusion, it’s not a good idea to use the term “financial aid,” when referring to merit scholarships. Financial aid is more generally assumed to be need-based. Academic scholarships are merit-based. You need merit-based academic scholarships.</p>

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<p>That most candidates have AT LEAST 1500 on the SATS is a very strong sign that the 1500 is a minimum for those kids whose major strength is academic prowess for these scholarships. To answer your question directly, having below a 1500 isn’t going to eliminate you immediately from consideration. But then you had danged well better have something to make up for that. If you are a top mathematician, won a Westinghouse/Intel/Siemans award, a top debater, Olympic level athlete, published some renown works, or did some other earth shaking thing, those 30 points aren’t going to be held against you. But if there are many other kids with the same sort of academic excellence you have AND they have over 1500 in test scores…well, there’s the cut line for anyone below that threshhold.</p>

<p>So, though there is some flexibility on the criteria when the requirements are not firmly stated as in some programs, you HAVE to have something that makes is worth those 30 or so points on the SATs.</p>

<p>My son appllied for a merit scholarship and was flushed in the first round. Though his stats were fine and in line with those kids who won the big awards, he did not have the caliber of excellence in his ECs. Those kids were breathtaking super stars in their achievements. I would not have been surprised to see a Nobel prize winner in the bunch. Though my son’s stuff looked fine on a college app, it was woefully inadequate as compared to the star studded finalists in that scholarship competition.</p>

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<p>cptofthehouse…thanks for providing the extra info about the need for spectacular awards/accomplishments. When I read that as a req’t, it didn’t sink in how important that is. </p>

<p>So, it does sound like those scholarships are going to those with SATs above 1550, who ALSO have some amazing accomplishments. Simply having a 1500 (or sub 1500) with “fun of the mill” ECs is not going to merit a free ride to Wake. That makes sense.</p>

<p>*I would not have been surprised to see a Nobel prize winner in the bunch. * </p>

<p>Yes, that seems to be the point of these scholarships. The school is giving these scholarships to the few kids that they’ve identified as people who will bring fabulous name recognition to their school in the future - so they’ve deemed these kids worthy of scholarships worth $200k. </p>

<p>If KPH’s family will not pay a lot for his (her??) education, then he needs to figure out what they will pay and identify the schools that will certainly give him big merit for his stats. Applying to a few with competitive scholarships is fine, but since those aren’t assured, he needs to protect himself with a few schools that will give him assured scholarships.</p>

<p>KPH…what is your intended major/career?</p>

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<p>Recently when we visited Pitt, we were looking at the requirements for the Honors College and Chancellor’s Awards. Some 10 years ago, entry to that College and getting an award was pretty much automatic if not absolutely automatic at a 1340 SAT. Now the cut is above 1400 for CONSIDERATION to get into the program and for awards. Big difference. </p>

<p>Many of these very top scholarships may not have any absolute cut and dry numbers for test scores or gpas, but those students who are getting in on pure academic excellence had better have the top stats in the batch. These programs will give up some stat points for something spectacular, but if they are going by stats only, the cut offs are way up there.</p>

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<p>Since some colleges have assured entrance into honors colleges and scholarships for high stats, and some have competitive admissions and awards, this student needs to apply to a mix of both types of schools.</p>

<p>What concerns me is it sounds like the student thinks he needs a “full ride” - which suggests his parents aren’t going to contribute anything. Is that true? If not, then the student will have more options because there are schools that will give big scholarships, but not “full ride” scholarships for this student’s stats.</p>

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<p>Full merit aid at schools like Wake Forest are designed to lure outstanding students who otherwise would go to colleges like Harvard.</p>

<p>I know one such student who turned down Harvard to go to a lower ranked school offering a full ride and other major perks. The student later won a Rhodes Scholarship.</p>

<p>For the kind of scholarships you’re interested in, having at least a 1500 is necessary as is having superb grades, and ECs and other accomplishments that are far superior to those of most successful applicants to the school. </p>

<p>You’re not likely to get that kind of merit aid to top colleges. if you want a full ride, you’d need to apply to colleges that are less competitive where your scores will be at the very top of their admissions pool.</p>