<p>Basically the title says it all. I'm considering applying to SHC because I was extremely impressed by the research opportunities and Penn State in general. However, because I am out of state and will probably have to take out susbtantial loans to attend, I just want to make sure that my degree will be meaningful and will actually help me get into a top grad school or a solid job. Btw, I am going to be applying as an engineer, and will almost certainly be looking to attend grad school.</p>
<p>someone correct me if I`m wrong but I think SHC students get a full 4 year scholarship?</p>
<p>I wish it was full. It’s $3,500 per year.</p>
<p>Being in the SHC though makes you eligible for a lot more university scholarships (at least for me, in the college of science). I receive several “SHC” only science scholarships.</p>
<p>cwryan1, did these other scholarships amount to anything decent in terms of total money? i just got my SATs back and i was really hoping to maybe get a merit based scholarship (i got a 2300 superscore, 790 math 750 reading), would this be enough to maybe get me a scholarship, such a 1/2 tuition or something</p>
<p>zier - I think most of the big scholarships kick for junior and senior year, although that could just be my experience. I was not in SHC, but thanks to my gpa my last few years I wound up on a piece-meal full-ride (i.e., several scholarships that added up to full tuition). Large scholarships first year are pretty rare to my understanding - no matter what your high school performance was, you are still pretty much an unknown at the collegiate level, and that makes it hard to justify big scholarships. Also, SAT’s by themselves are not the greatest indicator of success, so unless you pair it with a great high school class rank, GPA, etc., I would not count on seeing much from it.</p>
<p>As to the reception of SHC, by itself it does not have much recognition - almost every school has an honors program but the details vary wildly, and it is just too much to be worth keeping track of. On the other hand, the benefits of SHC can DEFINITELY be visible to employers and especially grad schools - advanced courses and programs, improved research opportunities, etc. I had several friends who were in the program (almost ALL of them engineers), and they all did very well afterwards - one is a tenured professor now, another got her MBA and is an international sales director.</p>
<p>well if it makes any difference, im #6 in my class out of 438, and i have a 5.2/5.5 weighted GPA. also im the student body president of my school (its the highest position in the school), and were u out of state and still manage to get a piece-meal full ride?</p>
<p>I am not sure how your high school record will be evaluated, so I cannot say if that will be enough. Also, I was in-state, but could accept all of my scholarships because of the aforementioned limits.</p>
<p>What aforementioned limits?</p>
<p>Hm, I might have aforementioned in another thread…</p>
<p>Federal guidelines limit financial aid based on the total of tuition and fees. Once you hit that limit, you start to lose the federal components of your financial aid. I believe this limit is based on what you actually pay, so as a higher-paying out-of-state student you would be eligible for more scholarships before this limit would kick in.</p>
<p>For example, my senior year I received enough scholarship money to pass this limit. I had asked for Stafford loans (I was a an adult student with a family, and still needed the money), but the loans were reduced by the amount that the scholarship money passed the federal limit - additional scholarship money would not have actually given me more money, it just would have meant that the money I received was scholarship instead of loan.</p>
<p>Also, most schools are just reluctant to pay undergraduates more than tuition and fees - after a certain point they would prefer to spread the money around rather than just enrich a few students. Realistically, to get a full-ride as an out-of-state student you would probably need significant outside funding - there are many scholarships that are awarded based on application, essay, membership in a group, etc.</p>
<p>thank you very much for the full, detailed response! but my only question is, what do you think is the most amount of money i would possibly get from the school in terms of grants my freshman year?</p>
<p>Can’t answer that. Best I can tell you is that your odds of getting aid increase as you go through school, depending on your actual performance, so I would not expect a ton first year. Still, I don’t know your specific details, (including your financial situation) nor those of your competition, nor the rubric they will use.</p>
<p>Have you contacted the student aid office? They might be able to give you a ballpark at least - I think you have to accept admission before they will actually process you.</p>
<p>When I talked to the school they refused to give me any type of ballpark figure</p>
<p>Then the best I can tell you is that you need to sit down and figure out your “go/no-go” numbers - the total amount you are able and willing to pay to go to PSU for your freshman year. Then take that to admissions and explain your situation, and see what they can do. They will certainly understand the issue, and might be able to help. Unfortunately, no one outside the PSU administration can really tell you how much to expect.</p>