<p>I know High School seniors with very high standardized test scores who while weighing choices between several good schools were Personally called & recruited by President Armstrong. Would scholarship offers be held in reserve for RD applicants teetering on the choice of several schools? Would applying ED take an applicant out of the running for scholarship offers from Cal Poly?</p>
<p>^^Great question. I’d like to know the answer to this too, as I applied ED and wasn’t offered jack squat.</p>
<p>You shouldn’t expect much more than jack squat in merit aid from Poly. Less than 10% of last years incoming freshmen received merit only aid. Of that group, the average award was less than $2k. Poly gives most of its aid to those who demonstrate need as defined by their Federal aid forms.</p>
<p>I bumped into a incoming freshman from my local area on move in day last year, his dorm room was a few doors down from my incoming freshman’s room. Over this past weekend I bumped into the dad and asked him how his student liked the first year at Cal Poly & how things went. He told me his student had received a near full ride from SLO. I asked him what his student had done to receive the scholarship. He told me his student had received near perfect SAT scores and was on the fence but leaning toward another excellent school. SLO offered the kid a near full ride and so it was off to Cal Poly. That conversation made me wonder if any ED applicant would have any chance at a merit scholarship. Why offer money to applicants who are already committed when precious little funds are to be had?</p>
<p>Cal Poly bases their awards on financial need and merit. It’s quite possible they had need too, or were hooked in some other way, URM, athlete, first gen, etc. </p>
<p>According to the Common Data Set from 12-13, only 80 students university wide who were in any year other than their Freshman year and that demonstrated no financial need received any merit aid at all. Of those who did, the average was less than $3k.</p>
<p>I understand scholarships are parsimoniously doled out. My narrative about the near full ride kid is just word of mouth, I have only got the fathers word on it, he did say the kid was one of the few in the state to have those high SAT scores. I know the father because he owns a small business in town and it is possible to make one of those look like there is not much money being made, a great tax write off when properly done. If he has a few hundred $K in inventory it may not be counted against ‘need’. The father is European as they come, I’m not sure about the mom, but she may be able to claim URM one way or another. The kid is likely the first to go to college in the family. None of this is relevant to this kid specifically, but it made me wonder. The kid President Armstrong called to recruit was a classmate of my kid but he didn’t take the bait, USC had a better offer, pretty impressive kid. If the school has just a few chips to play, I’m thinking they save them to use where they count the most.</p>
<p>Per Common Data Set from 12-13
Total Non-Need-Based Scholarships/Grants = $4,377,548
“Tuition Waivers” - Note: Reporting is optional. Report tuition waivers in this row if you choose to report them. Do not report tuition waivers elsewhere.
Cal Poly reported nothing for this on p 18 of 34, no apparent report for Tuition Waivers.
I don’t see any way to determine the amount awarded for Non-Need-Based Scholarships/Grants without mentioning “Tuition Waivers”.</p>