Lets say I have a 4.0 weighted GPA, 3.65 unweighted, 32 ACT, great extracurriculars, and great letters of reccomendation, would I have a good chance at getting some sort of a scholarship there?
I have 2 daughters who are Richmond Science Scholars.The Richmond Scholarships are divided into different interest areas, science(must major in science or math), leadership/service/all around strong applicant (can major in anything), arts (music, theater, dance, visual arts). It is possible to receive an arts scholarship, and minor in the arts, or have double major outside of the arts.
From my limited perspective, whatever the scholarship interest area is, the scholars have truly excelled in that particular area (state and national science competitions/lab research/internships for science scholars, competitions/performances/awards/portfolios for the arts students, very active leadership roles in school/community, service projects with an exceptional impact, for awards more focused on leadership/service. Having a hook can give applicants an extra boost as well.
You definitely have strong stats for being admitted, but I am not sure whether they are high enough to receive one of the larger 45 Richmond Scholar awards given each year to freshman students. The 75%ile ACT was 33 for admitted students last year and the 75%ile u/w GPA was a 3.97 (out of 4). Scholars are likely to have scores at or above that threshold, along with exceptional talent in one or more areas.
The scholarships are also open to international students and there is stiff competition each year. No separate application is required to be considered for the Richmond Scholars program, students are first selected as semi-finalists based on their admissions applications, then they are invited to submit additional materials and are permitted to apply in up to 2 different interest areas. After reviewing the supplemental materials, a finalist round and interviews follow. In 2014, approximately 5500 applications were received prior to the Dec. 1 application date for scholar consideration, only 8% of these were chosen as semi-finalists (approx. 400). Here is a link for some more details posted back on the admissions blog back in 2014: http://admissionblog.richmond.edu/?assetid=f942af13ac1c041919d8b871b5a18aba
UR does also offer some $15K presidential scholarships, and some departmental scholarships, and they do meet 100% of demonstrated need for admitted students (as determined by UR; they are a CSS Profile school). They have need blind admissions for US students, need aware for internationals.
I commented my stats on your other thread (I’m an Artist scholar).
Without knowing more about your ECs/awards there’s really no way to say whether you have a shot at the Richmond Scholar, which objective stats don’t matter as much for, believe it or not. You have to meet a certain threshold (which is different for each designation), but they’re really looking for exceptional talent/skill and success in an area (like math or music).
You may have a shot at the presidential scholar, but the scores and GPA for that tend to be very high. A 32 ACT and 3.65 unweighted are a bit low for the presidential based on the students I know who received it. Stats matter most for the presidential scholar.
I got a presidential scholarship with 3.6 gpa and a 1960 SAT so you don’t need great grades to get it. I have a hunch that it might be a diversity award though cause not many white students get it.
I also am wondering if I have a chance for any scholarships.
UW GPA:3.8
Curriculum: Have taken 7 college courses through NC State/University of Finlay… One AP class for US Govt
ACT 31 (May take again in September…)
SAT Subject Test: American History:800 World History 800 AP: US Govt 5
School Rank: 22/155
Extracurricular Stuff: National Honor Society, Student Council (Last 2 Years), Chess Club (All years) Science Club (Past 2 Years), 4 Years of Football (3 years Varsity;Will be Team Captain), 4* Years of Track (Planning on joining Senior year again) 400 hours of community service
Awards: Been Scholar Athlete for past 3 years in both sports; 1st place at Bucyrus Weight Lifting Competition for my Weight Class; Boy’s State Attender…
I will try to major in Political Science and minor in History. I know I have a 0% at a full ride or full tuition but is the presidential scholars a possibility if I bump up my ACT a couple points? If I’m close, is there anything else I should accomplish that would really help?
You look like a strong applicant for UR and I think you may get offered some merit aid, especially if you. can boost your ACT a few points.
I think it is also a plus that you are interested in history, since he general trend seems to be that majors are shifting toward the sciences and business. It is pretty common for UR students to double major, do you could definitely double in poli sci and history. When you apply to UR, you choose interest areas and you declare your major(s) your sophomore year.
Ok, sounds good. Is the trustee scholarship easier to get? Only problem is that it requires early decision but it may be worth it if I get the 1/3 tuition money. University of Richmond is my top pick but I would really like the money to solidify Richmond as an affordable pick as well.
I think that this thread has been officially hijacked, sorry @shana1 !
@ExiledNoble99 it might be best to start your own thread, perhaps you could get some data on merit aid awarded during the ED rounds.
While applying ED may give an admissions boost, the general wisdom concerning ED is that is that you should not do it if you are not prepared to pay your full efc, So if you need merit to afford UR, ED may not be the best idea for you. The ED application process page states that UR financial aid can give you an estimate of any need-based financial aid you might get, info here: http://admissions.richmond.edu/process/index.html
I do not know much merit aid is awarded in the ED rounds. Since schools generally use merit aid to attract desirable students to enroll, one can make the argument that since you are applying ED and declaring UR as your first choice, and you are also signing a contract to enroll if accepted, they don’t need to offer much/any merit merit to entice you to enroll.
@ExiledNoble99 this thread might help you find some schools which would offer merit for a 31 ACT score, since some of the posters noted if merit was received along with admissions: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1763910-where-did-your-30-to-31-act-kid-get-in.html#latest
Applying ED doesn’t affect your chances at UR at getting merit aid, at least for the Richmond Scholar. I know multiple Richmond Scholars who applied ED, including one of my fellow Artist Scholars from my year, and Ive met a fair number of finalists who also applied ED (and then received presidential instead since they werent selected as scholars). We, as scholars, are specifically told that so we can tell prospective students (since this is something that UR does that a lot of schools don’t). In fact, ALL students that apply ED I are automatically considered for the Richmond Scholar.
I believe the same holds true for presidential scholar, but I’ve never been told that explicitly. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about any ED specific scholarships.
And as far as the above claiming that the presidential scholar is a diversity award- that’s simply not true. It is straight merit and objective stats for it tend to be equal if not higher than Richmond Scholars (with the exception of Oldham scholars). The only diversity award I know of is the Oliver hill scholar and you have to also be a Richmond scholar to get that (iirc- I’m unaware about whether finalists for the Richmond Scholar that aren’t selected can become Oliver hill scholars).
Thanks for the good info about ED and the possibilities about getting ED merit at UR, @guineagirl96 .
I would still caution you @ExiledNoble99, about applying ED to any school, including UR, since you and your parents are signing a contract to attend if admitted, whether or not you receive merit aid. Make sure you understand all of the details of applying ED.
I think you guys missed what I was I was asking for.
Sorry for this big link.
If you scroll to other scholarships, you can find the trustees scholarship for early decision provides 15,000 a year. I wanted to know if this was easier to achieve than the presidential scholarship and would be achievable with my current stats. If not, obviously I will work on my act and enroll in regular admissions.
I should also mention that with 1/3 tuition plus the financial aid given from the calculator would make Richmond a debt free choice for me. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if I don’t get the scholarship but I would like to keep the financial burden for my parents to a minimum while also keeping myself of debt.
@ExiledNoble99 , my daughters did not apply ED, so we were not aware of the trustees scholarship, but it certainly does seem as tho you will be considered for it, not sure of likelihood of getting it.
On another important note, however; I think that you may be confused about how financial aid/merit scholarships are linked together at most schools (there are a minority which allow stacking). For example, UR meets 100% of demonstrated need (as calculated by them).
let’s say your UR efc =40K
your aid package without merit scholarships will look like this:
COA = $63K
need = $63K - $40K= $23K
your need will be met with: $5500 in federal student loans + $17,500 in UR grants (might possibly include some work study as well) = $23K in need based aid awarded.
If you are awarded a $15,000 merit scholarship(presidential, trustee, or other scholarship), that $17,500 UR grant will most likely be be reduced by $15,000 and become a $2500 grant. It will not be applied on top of the $17,500 grant to reduce your efc. You will still have to pay your efc of $40K, on top of your $5500 student loan.
On the UR website, it does state that outside scholarships can be applied to reduce the self help portion of a financial aid package(the federal loan and work study), but total aid cannot exceed the COA. http://financialaid.richmond.edu/prospective/faq.html
Merit aid at most colleges will only reduce your efc if it exceeds your demonstrated need. Merit aid will only reduce your efc if it exceeds your demonstrated need.
Be sure that you research each schools policies carefully as you put together your college application list. If UR is not affordable with the above scenario, do not apply ED. If the schools on your list handle financial aid the same way, you may need to revise your list. Also review this helpful thread for good general info: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1486647-financial-aid-faqs.html#latest
Ah… Ok thank you for enlightening me. Kinda defeats the purpose for achieving merit scholarships if they don’t exceed demonstrated need that is already going to be provided by the university. I’m glad I learn these things now rather than later…
it is definitely better to assess the full financial picture in advance so you will have choices in the end that work for family. You don’t want to waste time and $$ applying to schools which are not likely to be affordable. UR is an awesome school, so if you want to pursue ED, they will give you a financial aid estimate in advance of applying ED so you can make sure the $$ are in the right ballpark.
They have instructions for the process on the website, you submit the CSS profile, w2s, tax returns, etc., so it will be a much more accurate estimate than the net price calculator. See the link in post #7 and select the ED tab for details. Also, Be aware that net price calculators are not usually very accurate if there are divorced parents, or if your parents own their own business.
On the plus side, merit aid is an amount you can count on each year as long as a minimum gpa is met.