Early Scholarship Offer... What to do?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but here I go anyway!</p>

<p>I'm a Texas resident. I've applied and been accepted to UT and Texas A&M, and have applied to Rice and some other schools as well. I really want to go to Rice. It's about an hour and a half away from where I live and... well, perfect. Unfortunately, I won't know about Rice decision or any financial aid stuff for awhile now.</p>

<p>Here's the problem: I also applied to the local university. It's a relative unknown, but I hear all the time that it's a great school and it's going somewhere some day. The campus is every bit as nice as the state schools I've seen, but obviously doesn't compare to Rice. The dorms are nice, the food's good. It's close to home. I'm planning on majoring in Chemical Engineering, and the engineering department at said school is supposedly very good. I've heard nothing but good things about it.</p>

<p>I applied for the local university's full-ride scholarship because I'm trying to cover all my bases. The interview was Monday. The deadline was Friday (today). They mailed me the scholarship offer on Wednesday (although I didn't get it until today), and I only have two weeks with which to decide and respond. Of course, I can always say yes and then go back on that if I get a better offer, but that feels wrong to me and I don't want to say yes unless I really mean it.</p>

<p>It would be fantastic to not have to pay a cent for my undergraduate education, especially because I plan to go on to graduate school. I'm thinking I can go somewhere more well-known for that degree and then the undergrad degree being from an unknown university will be okay. The only problem is, what if I decide I don't want to pursue a higher degree? There are jobs around here and I'm sure I could find a job.</p>

<p>I'm worried I'm selling myself short. When I went in for the interview, they basically told me that the interview wasn't really needed with my test scores (35 on ACT), rank (3/247), and GPA (4.0 UW, 4.43 W). Then they sent me the offer two days later. People keep telling me I need to go away, but the thing is, I think I would be happy here. Maybe I would be happier somewhere else, but I don't know that for sure. But will I regret my decision?</p>

<p>I just want some input from people who might understand what I'm going through. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>What is the local U? Have you been offered any scholarship money by A&M or UT?</p>

3

<p>Local is Lamar University. I’m sure no one knows anything about it. :/</p>

<p>And no, no scholarship offers from A&M or UT… I don’t know if they send them later.</p>

4

<p>I don’t think a university is allowed to force a student to make a decision before May 1–it is a violation of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors’ principles of good practices.</p>

5

<p>I would call and ask for an extension for the deadline. They may tell you that they need the extension request in writing. </p>

<p>Technically, they aren’t suppose to require you to answer this soon, without giving you the option to extend the deadline.</p>

<p>If they’re firm about the deadline, then feel free to accept and then later decline, if necessary. There’s nothing they can do to you if you decline later.</p>

6

<p>TAMU might likely award you a merit scholarship…especially thru honors (did you apply to honors). UT-A is getting weird about merit, but may still award.</p>

<p>Do you know when TAMU or UT award scholarships?</p>

7

<p>Lamar U is a member of the Texas State U, so wouldn’t that suggest that it’s gone thru accreditiation at some point?</p>

<p>I think you need to wait to find out what else is offered. Don’t sell yourself short. </p>

<p>How much can your parents contribute towards your education?</p>

<p>(Gosh, with your scores, there are OTHER schools that would give you free rides! There’s a school by me with an excellent engineering program (with lots of co-op and internships) that gives free rides for ACT 35 (see below)</p>

<p><a href=“UAH - 404 Error Page”>UAH - 404 Error Page;

<p><a href=“UAH - 404 Error Page”>UAH - 404 Error Page;

<p>Tuition up to 15 hours per semester,
housing,
meal plan,
$500 in course fees,
book stipend,</p>

8

<p>As a parent, I would have a hard time advising you to take the scholarship; I think you deserve to weigh all options. Did the original application tell you that you would have to decide in two weeks? You might try being very frank with admissions and say that you really do like the college, but you would like to know what your options are so that you can make an informed choice. You might also go over to the local college and meet with some professors in the engineering department. They will probably give you some great insight into what they have to offer.</p>

9

<p>First of all, congratulations on your scholarship offer! If anything, it should serve to convince you that you’re a very strong candidate - strong enough to have a great shot at getting into Rice.</p>

<p>As a parent, I think the undergrad experience is irreplaceable. Students, for better or worse, are influenced more by their college peers than by any other campus aspect. Rice is about as special as American higher ed gets, and UT-Austin is a great fallback if Rice doesn’t work out.</p>

<p>You’ll spend 15 hours a week in class in college - the rest of the time you’ll be involved in campus life and relationships, having your personal growth and quality of life strongly impacted by the quality of those relationships. Lamar has 11% of its students living on campus. Eight out of nine Lamar students are heading to the parking lots when they get out of class or out of the library. About a tenth of their students graduated in the top tenth of their class; about a quarter graduated in the top quarter. In other words, the top of your class at Lamar would look a lot like the top of your HS class right now. At present, you serve to stretch and inspire the 244 of your 246 classmates who you’re outperforming. Once you get to college, it’s your turn to get stretched and inspired by a group of utterly remarkable peers, both for the benefit of your personal life as well as your career prospects. You’ve earned that; I’d hate to see you sell yourself short.</p>

10

<p>M2CK tells everything I wanna say…</p>

11

<p>In general, I support making prudent financial decisions at the expense of prestige. However, there is a BIG difference between Lamar U and the top public schools in Texas. Can your family afford to pay for A&M or UT?</p>

12

<p>As a parent, I would have a hard time advising you to take the scholarship; I think you deserve to weigh all options. Did the original application tell you that you would have to decide in two weeks? You might try being very frank with admissions and say that you really do like the college, but you would like to know what your options are so that you can make an informed choice.</p>

<p>I understand your point. But, IF the school refuses to be reasonable, and refuses a polite request to extend the deadline, then the OP has no choice but to accept and then possibly decline if another better offer comes along. </p>

<p>I still think TAMU will offer some merit money - I hope the OP applied to honors. :)</p>

<p>*Can your family afford to pay for A&M or UT? *</p>

<p>Very good question!!! IF not, then another school with good engineering and excellent merit OR Lamar U may be the only answer.</p>

13

<p>I would take a very hard look at their job and grad school placement.</p>

14

<p>^^^</p>

<p>Agreed!</p>

<p>I do think the OP will get merit from TAMU. TAMU has stacking merit scholarships from the university and from their honors program. </p>

<p>If that merit $$ doesn’t materialize, and TAMU or UT-A still aren’t affordable, then the OP should consider other schools that have great placement and great merit.</p>

<p>I know that the college by me has graduates going to Vandy, and has graduates placed in high-tech jobs at Cummins Research Park.</p>

15

<p>I think it is fine to accept it while still looking at other schools. At my daughter’s school the scholarships all have deadlines for acceptance. They know that with an early scholarship offer some students will accept it then may end up going elsewhere - they are not going to have a stroke if you do so. </p>

<p>Hopefully they may re offer it to someone if you do end up going elsewhere. My daughter was the happy recipient of a scholarship where they had fully awarded all of that particular scholarship by the time she retook the ACT and achieved the requisite score of 32. Someone who was awarded it decided in the summer to go elsewhere so she ended up getting it.</p>

16

<p>Thanks for the input, guys. I don’t feel so bad about accepting and going back on the offer if need be. I really think the deadline is unreasonable, as well, but what can I do? My biggest fear is taking the award away from someone who really wants it, like swimcatsmom said. I have a friend who got this same scholarship and he worked his bottom off for it. It kindof feels like cheating.</p>

<p>My family could probably afford UT or A&M, but it would really be stretching the budget, because we’re in a situation where we’re not at all likely to get aid, but we can’t really afford it… It’s complicated. At Rice, I can’t imagine I wouldn’t get some aid… if accepted, of course.</p>

<p>gadad, you hit the nail on the head. That’s really my biggest fear in going to Lamar. Not the commuter situation – that doesn’t bother me. I know the on-campus housing is mostly honors students as well, so I think that’s fine. It’s the rest of the student body.</p>

<p>So thanks for all the input, guys. Keep it coming, if you have more to say. (=</p>

17

<p>I still think you ought to get some merit aid at A&M. If those options are not affordable, I have trouble imagining that Rice will be.</p>

<p>What about Texas Tech and UHouston? I still think you would have a far better academic experience at UT or A&M, but those two are significantly better than Lamar.</p>

18

<p>I had every intention to apply to UHouston, but when I went and visited… I can’t imagine going there. It was not a pleasant experience. And I haven’t really looked at Tech because I figured that if I’m going to go that far away from home, I might as well go to UT. Distance from home is important to me… which is one reason I’m hesitant to go to A&M or UT.</p>

19

<p>Serene, if you’re from the Beaumont area, you can be in College Station in under three hours or Austin in under four. That may seem like a long way right now, but there’s a whole lot of new world out there to explore, and your achievements suggest that you ought to set high pretty high standards for the kinds of experiences you’re seeking.</p>