<p>I'm sorry this is probably a foolish question, but I've tried looking through forums but couldn't find my answer: do colleges give out scholarships based on outstanding extracurricular activities as well as merit based (academic only) scholarships ? I feel that I should know this answer but I can't remember if the answer is yes or no. And merit based scholarships are JUST academic? Or do they factor in volunteer service, extracurriculars, etc? :O</p>
<p>I’m going to take a guess at this one. The vast majority of merit awards given by colleges are based in a combination of GPA and SAT or ACT scores. </p>
<p>HOWEVER, some colleges do have very specific scholarships for certain very specific things. Some have scholarships for kids from certain towns. Some have scholarships for kids who are descendents of a particular family.</p>
<p>So…you might find a scholarship someplace that is related to some specific volunteer activity.</p>
<p>Another place to look for this type of scholarship is with the group for whom you are volunteering. </p>
<p>Many colleges make this a significant factor in their merit scholarships. </p>
<p>Yes, I’ve seen institutional scholarships designed solely to reward students for their community service or extra-curriculars. IIRC, the GPA needs to be a 3.0. </p>
<p>There are also merit scholarships with holistic review process that strong EC would give you an edge among all top scorers.</p>
<p>Great thank you everyone! My GPA is a 92/100 or a 3.7/4.0 at an honors school, so hopefully I’ll at least be a candidate. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Nice GPA. Try to have your SAT or ACT score up there too. Then with your community service, you will have the bases covered. </p>
<p>If you haven’t already looked at the stickie thread for automatic full ride or full tuition scholarships…you might want to! If you are a junior, perhaps a school or two on that list will be in your range for an award.</p>