Just wanted to start a new thread for those who are attending or have attended this years Scholars Weekend. Post your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, opinions, advice, etc. Would also love to hear from previous years attendees and their merit scholarship results/increases.
We just wrapped up. We went from not being overly interested to being very interested. It takes some time to wrap your head around what they are all about. In some ways I thought they act more like a corporation than a University, in a good way. It does seem like they focus on preparing kids for the working world. They could cut out some of the presentations or shorten them e.g. the president gave almost the same presentation at dinner on Friday and again the next day. I did not need to hear about the programs in which my S has no interest. I am eager to see if they increase their offer.
Campus is stunning and the growth is impressive. Qubein is a very charismatic and engaging speaker who we enjoyed. They say all the right things but I’m not sure my kid needs all the hand-holding and coddling they seem to give. Yes she’d be safe and the mentor aspect seems great but as far as the focus on “Life Skills”, I’m not sure it’s for us. My daughter was slightly put off by the tactic of them texting her on Saturday afternoon to hurry and put down her deposit…that seemed a bit “used car salesman” like. Many schools/aid packages don’t come out until April 1st so to expect decisions to be made on the spot after a day and a half on campus was just unrealistic. In her interview, instead of asking about HER and her goals and experiences, they asked repeatedly where else she had applied, where she was leaning toward, and when she would make up her mind. Overall we enjoyed the event - extremely well done. The university certainly has a lot of heart and the President has an amazing vision and drive. But of course not everyone is a good fit for that school. Good luck to all!
I was also very interested in their offer a a tuition free Master’s degree for students that enroll. Does anyone have that in writing? I have asked via admissions and will let you know their response
TimJG - As far as having it in writing, my D received an email on January 30th from her admissions counselor with the offer for the free masters so this announcment was no surprise for us. I am curious what the requirments are to earn it as Qubein mentioned that.
Sound6 - The whole weekend just confused me. The President said there were over 15,000 applicants and the class was already 85% full so they are already in danger of exceeding their number. When I say danger, I’m talking about available housing. Why the need to keep reminding the students to put down their deposit and why on earth would you offer a free Masters degree? I understand it’s going to be thier centennial and Qubein does everything over the top, but looking at it from a business perspective, there was no need to offer that if his numbers are true, and speaking on that, we just received an email saying the class was only 70% full.
I also am interested in knowing more about the free masters degree, please can you share what you find out? Do you qualify for the free masters simply if you enroll, or do you have to maintain a certain GPA? Also just looking at HPU’s website, they don’t seem to offer many master’s degrees. There is one in Athletic Training, one in Strategic Communication, one in Education, also an MBA.
Below is the answer I received from our Regional Admissions person:
This will be for a specific major in Leadership and communication. It will be a free one year master’s program as long as you maintain good grades and graduate in four years!
I agree that the President and the University oversells. He should talk less about himself and more about the school and why we should spend the money to go there. I have been in sales for what feels like a million years and he applies a lot of sales techniques, such as creating a sense of urgency (85 percent full) Creating a value proposition ( the Hershey kiss vs Godiva) All great stuff, but way too much. The comical moment for me was when he was giving us our second speech in less than 24 hours and had values like work ethic and morals etc on the screen. One of those was humility, which he displays none of.
All Presidential Scholars are supposed to be notified by March 7th about their results. Feel free to post your acceptances to the different honors programs as well as how much your scholarships were increased. I’m curious to see the results and if the trip was really worth it.
I thought they said they would mail them by March 7th, but either way, it should be soon. I am a bit skeptical that it was just another reason to get us on campus and sell us.
Did anyone hear anything? We were told we would have an answer by the 7th and nothing 
Haven’t heard anything yet. I’m surprised that a school that preaches good business misses a deadline with no notification. With instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc., it’s not that hard to let everyone know they hit a snag and notices are going to be a few days late.
My son got a text message saying the packets have been mailed and to keep any eye on your mailbox.
My daughter got an email saying “accept your fellows” or something like that. She checked her portal and she got into Honors but that’s all it says.
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My son got packet today and they upped his scholarship by $5000 yr. Not sure we can swing the cost:(
Just received our official scholarship packet in the mail. What a scam this school is! My daughter should have had at least a full Presidential scholarship. She got into Chapel Hill, UPenn, University of Miami, Davidson college! Her numbers were off the charts for this school. The only reason she applied was to see what scholarship money she would get. If they didn’t give her good scholarship money no one will get it! Truly a rich kid school! We knew it going in but wanted to confirm … good luck to those who will attend this school! Nothing but a ponzi-scheme going on here. But hey if your rich with connections… you can send your kid to Disney!
At least a full fellowship scholarship.
Strange, yes!! My son has a 33 ACT, 4.0, captain sports team, e.t.c. and has been accepted with $ at more selective schools as well (one a full ride!) He got $15k plus $3k for honors at HPU. HPU is first choice- he bonded- but with such a significant difference, idk… not all are rich!!
Btw, University of Pennsylvania and Chapel Hill are EXCELLENT schools. Congrats to your child!!! My brothers went to Penn and my dad was in administration:)
Exactly… same! Who are they giving the money too? My D received 2 full rides! She got 13 plus 3 and a travel learning grant of $1000.00. Fun fact, I did learn at the scholarship breakfast… most of their schools of “ “ are not accredited? I mean come on… are you kidding?
Thank you for your kind words. She will be attending Chapel Hill! ( for free)
Best of luck to you!
They seem to spread the money out. They likely did not think your kids would really come -they know they aren’t competing with UPenn. My daughter is there and she got 10,000 plus and she would never have been accepted to those top schools your kids were accepted to. But, they couldn’t have offered money to kids who were likely to come if they gave full rides to kids who weren’t. Not saying that was the case at HPU - I have no idea - but I do know some colleges don’t even bother to accept kids who won’t come. If it’s really about the money, just tell them that your student will commit for the right price. As someone living in the northeast, the regular tuition is already 20,000/yr less than private colleges in New England.
It just proves they need all the money they can get to keep it going… Don’t offer the scholarships if you can’t make it happen. When he said “ please parents don’t sell your children off to the highest bidder “ I was done! Well sir, if the highest bidder is UPenn , chapel hill, or Davidson college… SOLD…