<p>A lot of you are going to hate me for saying this, but here it goes:</p>
<p>I just realized I won the Wilson research fellowship.</p>
<p>I never read the acceptance packet since I saw the decision and aid online.</p>
<p>Now I have no clue what to do, I'm so confused.</p>
<p>I had decided on UPenn, I only found the Wilson letter when looking for the response card.</p>
<p>What should I do??? There's no time to visit, or make an informed decision about my next four years.</p>
<p>hahahah</p>
<p>im speechless.</p>
<p>Haha...</p>
<p>It's probably fated that your next four years will be at Johns Hopkins. =p</p>
<p>huh? why's it fated?</p>
<p>Because the irony of it all is that he found out about the research fellowship just when he was about to turn down Hopkins.</p>
<p>LOL. Well, I guess you should visit Hopkins definitely even if it means missing school, etc. That's way more important than say, studying for a few stupid AP tests which Penn and Hopkins probably won't accept anyways.</p>
<p>I just don't know what to do, I'm kind of freaking out.</p>
<p>It's April 25!!!!</p>
<p>No matter what choice I make at this point, it'll be haphazard.</p>
<p>I'm in a similar situation. Hopkins gave me an 86,000 Hodson Trust Scholarship and my other choice is Penn. I really have no clue which one im going to pick.</p>
<p>Wow, congrats guys! But still, in both your cases, I think the final choice will come down to preference. I mean, both colleges are academically solid, and I'm sure the social atmospheres are great. If you guys can afford both schools, then it all boils down to location, weather, and other little things. Or you can see which school is stronger in your intended majors (that's probably what I'd do). </p>
<p>BUT, I was wondering for whoever knows a lot about JHU-- what happens if the students that received these scholarships/fellowships don't accept them? Are they given to other JHU students later on?</p>
<p>why would anyone hate you for anything ? COngrats !</p>
<p>well after all the initial excitement, i declined admission to hopkins as planned. the wilson thing made it a much, much tougher call, but i've decided to stay the course.</p>
<p>I got a Hodson scholarship also and, to be honest, it has only made my life difficult. I don't mean to sound cocky because I was in no way expecting anything like it. It's just that I was all set to go to my top choice, Brown (which I was ecstatic to get into) and the scholarship has given me a very tough decision. I like both schools a lot but I love Brown. My family is very well off and I'm fortunate to still be allowed to make a choice in this situation. That said, it makes my choice harder because the scholarship money will go to me upon graduation and I know how much easier it could make my financial situation for quite a while. I really wish they had given the scholarship to somebody else who really wants to go to Hopkins but can't because of finances. I think I'm going to go to Brown but I'm worried I'm going to regret not taking the money sometime in the future</p>
<p>Can you keep the money for 4 years, based on the cume QPA requirement? Wanna make a life time bet on it? </p>
<p>Want to bet a doughnut and a bad cup of coffee at Winky's? </p>
<p>If not, you will fall into a money pit you never saw coming, my friend. </p>
<p>College is a business and they count on a percentage of high-dollar scholarships to not make the cut and then pay their outlandish "full sticker-price" to stay where you are. Don't get suckered in to this education scam.</p>
<p>Go for value that your parents can afford.</p>
<p>I always wonder what colleges do when major scholarship winners decline their offers. Do they simply forget about awarding a scholarship? Or do they select someone who is planning to attend?</p>
<p>It seems like Hopkins suffers from this a lot, since its top scholarship winners usually pick HYPSC and ivies over Hopkins.</p>
<p>I was wondering the same thing. What happens to those scholarships??</p>
<p>back into their pockets?</p>
<p>Isn't it ironic? My son turned down JHU for a few reasons, but one of them being is that we didn't get any aid...financial or merit. Who knows why the powers that be think that a middle class kid from the suburbs whose father is a retired law enforcement agent has the money to pay full tuition. Because we saved some money over the years through scrimping and not living an extravagant lifestyle? </p>
<p>Anyway, he is happy with his choice of Lehigh, where he will be an IBE major. (Integrated Business and Engineering). Lehigh was kind enough to offer him a $10,000 x 4 year Deans Scholarship, which actually has some additional perks. Another school also offered him a $10,000 x 4 Chariman of the Board Scholarship. So, you know that his background was good.....SATs in the 1400s, top 10% of his class, top athlete, leadership skills, volunteerism, etc.,</p>
<p>What is going to happen to all of the bright and ambitious middle class kids out there that can't afford the college of their choice? I think it is heartbreaking that so much financial attention is placed on what society feels is the "lower income" bracket. What we make in the NY metropolitan area is probably equivalent to a much lower salary in a different location in the country. So what is fair? What can't the Fafsa take into consideration one's geographical location. My property taxes alone are over $10,000 a year...and that is lower end of what most other people pay in my town (my house is a bit older and thus lower assessed). You want to hear about car insurance? Try $3500 a year....no accidents, no nothing.....Walk into a supermarket in the NY metro area and your socks will be blown off. </p>
<p>I really think that the whole financial aid formula is very, very discriminatory.............against the average middle class student.</p>
<p>ugh, I feel for you MommyPain! It's great that he got some merit money from Lehigh though!</p>
<p>I will answer. Hopkins accepts a certain amount of Hodson trust scholars each year but based on past models, anticipates about 50-75% enrolling. Therefore they are not expecting 100% yield from hodson scholars and if 100% were to come, Hopkins would face a financial aid deficit. Its tough because many people believe Hopkins is rich through its 2 billion dollar endowment but most of it is restricted and earmarked for other divisions of the university and is a safety net for tough times. Hopkins is given a set amount of financial aid funding that it distributes to all accepted students. A common misconception is that Hopkins rejects students who are borderline and needy. This does NOT happen. Rather these students are admitted without financial aid which may or may not be the case here (not to imply your son is a borderline candidate). This happens to about 25 admitted applicants each year. And while other schools, specifically Georgetown has a need blind policy, it does not. What Georgetown does is it determines a financial need of an applicant and finances the student through a substantial amount of loans. Hopkins is taking steps currently to move towards a "true" need blind admissions program in which all students who are admitted have their full financial need met also (currently 95% of all financial need expressed by students are met). By doing so they will revise the way they calculate financial aid so that issues such as cost of living variation is taken into account along with property taxes. A substantial portion of the current phase of the Knowledge of the World campaign is focusing on the undergraduate financial aid issue.</p>
<p>Collegiate is right. I went to the reception for the Hodson scholars and got to spend a lot of time talking one on one with admissions officers. They showed me a list with about 32 names on it, but said they expect about 18-20 to go. I talked to a lot of the other kids there and only a few were certain that they were going to go to Hopkins. I know at least one isn't because I turned down the Hodson scholarship in favor of Brown in what was probably the most painful decision of my life. I think I made the right choice, though I know there will be times when I wish I had that extra cash.</p>