<p>GWU is by far my top choice school, I've been looking at it for two years now and the programs, campus, and city match up with exactly what I'm looking for in college. I do have two questions though.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I remember reading a thread in this subforum that talked about people waiting to apply RD instead of Early Action (right? There's a few rounds of EA but no ED, am I correct?) because it was theorized that you would not be as eligible for merit scholarships applying EA instead of RD. Is that true? GWU is my first choice school but I also want the equal opportunity for merit scholarships. This could just be a rumor, though.</p></li>
<li><p>What are the requirements for the Presidential Scholarship? I've gone through the accepted thread multiple times and many of the people accepted received Presidential Scholarships of $15,000+ and all recipients had very varying stats. I plan to call this one in too, but do any of you know of the general guidelines?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks! I appreciate you reading this over.</p>
<p>ED applicants are eligible for merit aid, and some ED applicants receive some.</p>
<p>That having been said, any university has less incentive to offer merit aid to ED applicants than to RD applicants. Many universities and colleges that offer merit aid do so in order to entice applicants whom they want, but who they think would otherwise go elsewhere. If you apply ED, you’ve already committed to go there if admitted; ipso facto, you don’t need to be enticed.</p>
<p>I have no data to support the hypothesis that follows, but I strongly suspect that many ED applicants who receive merit awards at GWU and elsewhere are also eligible for need-based aid. In these cases, the university is offering a financial package that will (or sometimes won’t) enable the student to attend, and it’s mostly a bookkeeping matter whether the aid offered comes from the pile labeled “merit” or the pile labeled “need-based.” And I suspect, furthermore, that comparatively few ED applicants who would otherwise be full-pay are offered significant merit aid.</p>
<p>the merit pool has been skewed towards engineering and has also been decreasing in favor of need based aid. the theory is that gw doesn’t need to lure good students here anymore with “merit” scholarships since nearly every applicant is very qualified, but similar to the models at the top schools, offering enough need based funding for those that prove they need it. if you have pretty average stats, apply ED and don’t qualify for much need aid, odds are you won’t see merit aid. but if you qualify for tons of need aid, you’ll get need aid. </p>
<p>there’s also the honors program which is automatic 50% merit (or something like that) + any need</p>
<p>I applied Early Decision 1 and got the highest engineering scholarship. But I also know (better) accepted students who applied ED2 who didn’t get anything and RD students who were still better than me, but not as good as the ED2 person who got a presidential scholarship!</p>
<p>Honestly, it is probably a crapshoot with gw.</p>
<p>If you are certain that GW is where you want to go and your stats make you a good candidate, then you should absolutely apply ED. ED is always your best bet for admission. Keep in mind that you are not restricted from applying to scholarship programs elsewhere when you apply ED, so you might still have some offers to compare!</p>
<p>I’m going to be full pay anywhere I apply, that said, GWU is my top choice not only because of the great school and location but because of the possibilities for aid.</p>
<p>I’m going to be applying for the Freemason scholarship which is half tuition base on if you have a family member who has served with the Freemasons. With that, I also really need to be eligible for the Presidential Scholarship which seems like such a crapshoot.</p>
<p>I’m not too worried about being admitted, but I’m really focused on getting the Presidential scholarship so applying ED might not be the best decision. I’m just trying to figure out what criteria is looked at for recipients because as far as I can tell, it’s all over the place.</p>
<p>Depending on your stats, your best bet would to show a ton of interest in GW, and apply RD. Visit, interview on campus, contact your regional rep, write an amazing why gw, etc.</p>
<p>^ This. That’s what I did. My stats put me above GW’s average, so I wasn’t worried about getting in, but I needed a scholarship. I did exactly what keabie said, and I got the Presidential scholarship.</p>