<p>^ Same here. While the relatively low COA at Carolina doesn’t make it essential, it certainly would be nice to receive merit aid.</p>
<p>To the students and parents awaiting a Scholarship Day invitation: don’t fret if you or your child doesn’t receive a Scholarship Day invitation. It does not mean you/your child is not qualified for a merit scholarship; it simply reflects the fact that the university doesn’t hand out that many merit scholarships. Last year, 143 students (15 OOS) received scholarships (not including the Johnston, Morehead, or Robertson scholarship recipients) out of a freshman class of nearly 4,000. Quite simply, relatively few students are invited to Scholarship Day, and relatively few students are awarded scholarships. For OOS students, this is particularly true. Last year, there may have been 25 OOS students at Scholarship Day out of about 250 total students. </p>
<p>There is, however, some reason for optimism. I have also heard that there will be another Scholarship Day in late March. This could certainly be an unfounded rumor, but the fact that this year’s Scholarship Day is being held nearly a month before last year’s seems to indicate that there may be some truth to it. Again this is speculation, but some or most of those invitations would likely go to early decision applicants. </p>
<p>If you don’t end up getting a scholarship from the university, again, don’t worry. You’re among the majority. Compared to peer institutions, Carolina is relatively inexpensive (even for OOS students). If cost is a concern, Carolina’s financial aid is top notch.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your/your child’s acceptance!</p>
<p>Go Heels!</p>
<p>Officially giving up hope now… 
We always knew that it would be a long shot at UNC - they simply don’t offer many merit scholarships, especially OOS, it’s not their orientation. Congrats to all of you who have received awards, and good luck to those of you hoping in RD!</p>
<p>We really respect UNC though. They’re upfront about what they’re looking for, especially in their emphasis on service vs. pure academics, they’re awesome with need-based aid, and they’re true to their mission - providing a high-quality, very affordable education to the families of North Carolina. In this era of declining state support for education, UNC is positioned for even greater prominence.</p>
<p>I am in love with UNC: Chapel Hill, and I was wondering what my chances are at getting the Carolina Scholar or the Morehead-Cain Scholarship. Actually, any full-ride or mostly full-ride scholarship would be great. There’s just no way I can afford the out-of-state tuition. Thanks :)</p>
<p>White
Female
South Carolina</p>
<p>SAT Math–700
SAT CR–720
SAT Writing–720</p>
<p>Took the following AP’s and received 4’s on all of them: World History; US History; Calc; English Lit; Spanish</p>
<p>Extracurricular
Relay for Life–Team Captain 9-12 grade; community chair member 9-12; founded the annual Relay Out Loud, a poetry/art/dramatic event which has raised over $2000 over the past 4 years.</p>
<p>Yearbook–assistant editor (10th) and editor (11-12)</p>
<p>Swim Team–a founding member. I’ve been on the team since it began when I was in 7th grade. I was team captain in 12th grade. Also, I have been competitively swimming for 10 years, and swam on a year-round team for 7 years.</p>
<p>Drama–9-12th grade. I was sophomore representative (10th grade), junior representative (11th grade), and vice president (12th grade)</p>
<p>NHS–member from 10-12th grade</p>
<p>NSHSS (national society of high school scholars)–member from 10-12th grade</p>
<p>NSHS (national spanish honor society)–member from 11th-12th grade</p>
<p>Other–I swam the Lowcountry Splash in 7th grade (I was 12). It was a 2.4 mile open water swim in the Charleston Harbor.</p>
<p>I was my schools Poetry Out Loud winner in 10th grade.</p>
<p>In 10th grade, I wrote my own play which was performed at my school. I was also the lead.</p>
<p>Grades
My unweighted GPA is about a 3.95, and my weighted GPA is about 5.1 (on a 5 point scale).
I graduated 5th out of about 200.</p>
<p>Before answering your question, I have to ask: did you apply for early or regular decision? The Scholarship Day for most early decision applicants took place a few weeks ago. There will be another Scholarship Day at the end of March, presumably mostly for regular decision applicants. Invitees will receive their invitations in the next few weeks.</p>
<p>Moving on to your question… You should understand that the odds of receiving a merit scholarship from the university are against you as an OOS applicant. Two years ago, only 25 students from OOS received merit aid, and last year only 15 OOS students were awarded scholarships. With recent budget cuts only making the university’s financial situation worse, I would expect that the number of OOS scholarship recipients this year will be closer to the latter total than to the former. </p>
<p>You have very good stats, and if you haven’t been accepted already (i.e. if you applied regular decision), I think you have an excellent chance of getting accepted next month. However, since accepted OOS students, on average, have better statistics than accepted IS students, and since fewer OOS students receive scholarships that IS students, the competition for OOS scholarships is particularly fierce. Most OOS students do not receive merit aid from the university. Though you certainly have a chance of getting a Carolina, Pogue, or Colonel Robinson scholarship, if your heart is set on UNC, you might want to look for outside scholarship opportunities. </p>
<p>Also, the university has a fantastic financial aid program, so be sure to submit your financial aid materials by the deadline. You might be surprised by how much money they award you!</p>
<p>Also, to the best of my knowledge, Morehead-Cain semifinalists were notified in November, and the scholarship weekend is going on right now. </p>
<p>I hope everything works out for you and wish you the best of luck!</p>
<p>Go Heels!</p>
<p>Hello! I was just invited to the RD Scholarship Day. I’m curious: in the past, what type of topics do the readings/discussions tend to cover?</p>
<p>Also, when you speak about the importance of the essay, do you mean the admissions essay or the essay written at Scholarship Day? I understand one is only allotted 30 minutes to write the one at Scholarship Day, so I would think it might not be very easy to make this one particularly elaborate.</p>
<p>quaerens,</p>
<p>The professors leading the discussions choose the readings, so they can cover virtually any topic. Last year, my group’s article was about the financial crisis of 2008: what caused it, who was at fault, what should be done to prevent a repeat, etc. The article is really just something to get the discussion going. Some groups spend all of their time dissecting it, and others segue into other topics as the discussion evolves.</p>
<p>The admissions essays are important because they help the admissions people determine who to invite to Scholarship Day. The essay you write at Scholarship Day, and your participation in your group’s discussion, is what determines what award you will receive. Your discussion leader will read your essay and use it to help him/her write an evaluation about you. The essay is certainly important, but it is no more important than the quality of your contribution to the group discussion. The discussion leaders understand that you only get 30 minutes to write; they don’t expect anything particularly profound. Just try to relax, be yourself, and be confident, and I’m sure you’ll do fine.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your invitation to Scholarship Day! If you have any other questions, let me know.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your insight – I really appreciate it! I was thrilled to receive the invitation for Scholarship Day, but I have to admit I’m a bit nervous. (I’m also OOS so the odds are very much not in my favor.)</p>
<p>You actually shouldn’t feel very nervous at all then! Very few OOS applicants are typically invited to Scholarship Day, and most (if not all) of the ones invited receive awards (which, for OOS students, cover the full cost of tuition, room, and board). So your chances of receiving an award are likely quite high! Congrats again!</p>
<p>^^^^
OOS scholarships no longer cover full tuition, room and board. They cover the equivalent of IN STATE tuition, room and board. The difference must be picked up by the student.</p>
<p>catdaddy, </p>
<p>While you are correct that the scholarships cover the cost of In-state tuition, room, and board for OOS students, I am almost certain that you are incorrect about OOS students having to cover the difference between OOS and in-state tuition. Unless UNC changed its merit aid policy this year, OOS scholarship recipients are considered in-state for tuition purposes. I’m an out-of-state freshman and was awarded a scholarship last year, and I did not have to pay any money to the university this year for tuition, room, or board. It’s an accounting quirk that can be a bit confusing, but while the sticker price of the scholarship for OOS students is approximately $64,000 over four years, it’s actual value is approximately $160,000.</p>
<p>GoHeels!</p>
<p>Is anyone still there haha?</p>
<p>do most people who get the morehead-cain scholarship also invited to scholarship day at unc?</p>
<p>Reading back a page or two, I get the impression that people were invited to Scholarship before they received there official admission decision. Is that true?</p>
<p>I know this is a very old thread, but I applied RD and just received my invite to Scholarship Day yesterday. However, reading about the discussion that day and that there is a TIMED essay, I am FREAKING OUT. I ABHOR timed essays; they make all of my thoughts flee my mind, and I go completely blank. T____T</p>
<p>^The timed essay isn’t that big of a deal from my understanding. Last year I pretty much just wrote a page in the Carolina BlueBook (which has wide ruled paper) they handed out, and it was on what I discussed for the hour or so beforehand with a roundtable group. As long as you pay attention and contribute to the discussion, the essay shouldn’t require much extra thought/processing.</p>
<p>^Hi. Did you win a scholarship?</p>
<p>Yep. I’m a Carolina Scholar and a Chancellor’s Science Scholar.</p>
<p>Anyone have a statistic for the average merit aid given to students who attended Scholarship Day?
Pardon the username- I was 14 and knew nothing about anything when I created this account.</p>