<p>I know there's another similar thread, but I want to hear from someone who has received a full tuition/full ride scholarship from UPitt or has had someone close to them receive it. What were the scholarship recipent stats and academic profile? And I know it has been asked before, but will being from NJ give me an advantage for getting a scholarships compared to a Pennsylvanian? And is there some type of benchmark for being considered for a scholarship? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>My D received a full tuition scholarship and will start this fall at Pitt. When she applied her GPA was about 4.1 and was she ranked 11/470 or so. (ended up 5th with a 4.26) SAT was 1560/1600. She is from Ohio. She took a total of 5 APs (1 jr year, 4 sr year) and 3 post-secondary classes senior year. She was involved is drama club as treasurer, then president, National Merit Finalist, NHS, Latin club, Freshman mentor and many plays as stage manager along with a few other minor activities.</p>
<p>My D met another girl from NJ who received a full tuition scholarship. I don't know what her stats were, but she was salutatorian of her class.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly you need to be in the top 5% of your class and have a 1450 SAT to be considered for scholarships (at least the big ones). I do tend to think that the OOS get the bigger scholarships because it costs so much more to attend. (Just saw tuition, fees, room and board charge for 1
semester---over $18,000---Ugh!) Let me know if there is anything else you want to know.</p>
<p>Just for comparison purposes, I came from a decent public high school in Arizona, had a 3.7/4.0 GPA, and a 1330/1600 SAT and was not offered any academic scholarship. It's tough!</p>
<p>Pit is becoming more competitive. The full ride, the Chancellor's scholarship, is given to very few students. IMO: You really have to be super-exceptional not just in gpa/scores, but possibly participated/achieved in nationally recognized academic competitions. Read past posts. This'll give you some insight. The full tuition scholarship seems to be given to those students who have taken the most demanding courses their schools offer, have the gpa/rank/scores to go along with all that. My D was in the VA Governor's School, and took 12 AP classes and her gpa/rank and ACT score were right up there. She got the Honors College full tuition.</p>
<p>I think Pitt likes to see that you've really challenged yourself in hs and you have the grades to prove that you can do college level work. </p>
<p>So, work hard in school, and good luck!</p>
<p>LBP is right. There are a large number of students at Pitt with 4.0 GPAs and 1450 SATs. Those who are offered major scholarships are more well-rounded.</p>
<p>I don't think it is as competitive as the people on CC make it out to be. We had three kids from my school in NJ receive full tuition scholarship, because we were the only three kids who applied to Pitt (more of a Penn State School).</p>
<p>Me:
1570/2260
3/750~</p>
<p>Northwestern Guy:
1480/2130
19/750~</p>
<p>Brown Girl (Hispanic):
1430/????
15/750~</p>
<p>Being Out of State helps with this kind of scholarship. I was offered to go back for an interview for the full ride one, but I declined after Columbia's Letter came. The other two were not. The full ride one is really competitive but the full tuition is not so much.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the replies everyone!So from what I make out of the replies, you need strong EC's in addition to GPA/SAT scores to have a chance at these scholarships. If I'm wrong please correct me. But does high class rank, high GPA, high SAT score, or really strong EC's make up for a slight deficiency in one area(i.e. valedictorian, but semi-decent EC activities)?Thanks again.</p>
<p>Hawkphoenix, UPitt considers each application holistically (so they say), but taking difficult classes in hs and getting outstanding grades plus high test scores certainly indicates that the student can handle college work. I would not worry too much about EC's as long as you've participated in something in hs for which you have a passion.</p>
<p>From experience, it seems that high SAT scores are what truly garner attention with the full tuition scholarships; being from a state that is less populated at Pitt also helps. I know students from California and Texas that have received free tuition from Pitt, and while both are good students, I think both would admit that their distinction had alot to do with where they were from. Being that you are from NJ, like was mentioned earlier, something in the 1450-1600 range (sorry I'm referencing old SAT scores) would probably be needed for you to garner any consideration. My best friend was valedictorian of our high school class and actually did not receive a full scholarship to Pitt because of this (I think he was in the low 1400 range), where a student ranked outside of the top 10 did, based on high high SAT scores.</p>
<p>Just to add, Pitt didn't send me anything when I had a 1430, but when that 1430 became a 1570, the money came.</p>
<p>SAT 1400's, top 1% of large class (4.6), many EC's and awards, local = small scholarship. I know kids who got full tuition often had higher SAT and all I know of were OOS.</p>
<p>Hawk, why don't you apply and see what happens? From year to year, the situation may be different. So even if a kid with a 1450 got a full-tuition scholarship last year, who knows what the situation will be this year? That's pretty much how it is with all schools, even the ones (like BU) that post scholarship guidelines online. Remember that the applicant pool changes every year, as does the amount of money available for scholarships. Best of luck!</p>
<p>this one kid in my school got a full tuition
he had:
3.9 or 4.0 unweighted GPA
1/400something
1510 SAT (m+v)
not too many awards or ec's
2 AP classes in junior year (5's on both)
3 or 4 AP classes in senior year<br>
took all honors courses (besides APs)
IN STATE!!</p>
<p>so yes it is possible to get a full tuition from instate...and also, he applied quite later on, like in late december to mid-january i think</p>
<p>I agree with LurkNess, just apply. Compared to many other schools the application is one of the easier ones and definitely one of the cheaper, $45.00? Maybe $50. for next year? Anyone with numbers in the ballpark of those stated has a chance for money.</p>
<p>I'm surprised nobody has mentioned that you need to write the essay to even be considered for a Scholarship, and for the Honors College. It says it's optional, so kids who use Pitt as a safety like to skip over that part (which I think is stupid, you might as well use one of the essays you wrote for another college). This might be one of the reasons some of those kids mentioned above didn't get any scholarship money at all.</p>
<p>Yeah, it certainly couldn't hurt to try! You might be pleasantly surprised!</p>
<p>I do think, from what I have read, that Pitt places a lot of emphasis on numbers and you need a high SAT to get substantial money.</p>
<p>You're right, chris07. I apologize for not mentioning the essay, I thought someone else had. Pitt definitely values essays/LORs. My friend, when applying for the scholarship, said that everyone who sent a LOR on his behalf received a personally signed note from the head of admissions thanking them for taking the time to write the letter.</p>
<p>Of course. If you think you are in the running for any of the money at Pitt than surely you are applying to other colleges that require essays and letters of recommendation. As I recall the essay for Pitt had MANY options to choose so just about any other essay could work or easily be tweaked.</p>
<p>Milk...dog...I'm not sure what you are saying about the students from your school who indeed receive the offer of full tuition. The limited profile you shared of them showed very solid numbers. I don't think the offer of full tuition for them shows that Pitt is not competitive.</p>
<p>Bluejay, I agree with your comment: students who show solid numbers are in the running for scholarship consideration. These students also probably come from a hs that offers challenging opportunities; i.e., AP/IB courses. Unfortunately, not every school system in the country has the funds to offer such courses and hire qualified teachers. That's why it's imperative that a student interested in Pitt take the most demanding courses his/her hs can offer - and maybe even take community college courses, if permitted.
There's a lot of competition for merit money out there...</p>
<p>I just went back and looked at the application and it does clearly say to submit an essay if you want scholarship consideration. And yes, there are many topics to choose from.</p>
<p>I would also say again to apply early. I know someone whose stats were more or less equal to my daughter's. That student applied a month or two later and received half tuition (OOS). Not bad, but maybe it would have been more if the application had been earlier.</p>