<p>Does the admissions committee also see scholarship applications? Or is it a separate department?</p>
<p>I was nominated by my guidance counselor for a merit scholarship (Danforth) that I really have no chances of getting. I am not motivated at all to apply for it. Will the people making the admissions decision see my scholarship apps as well? Can they even tell I was nominated if I don't submit an app? I really don't want to half-a$$ the essays and it impact my actual admissions decision.</p>
<p>I cannot tell you for certain that the admissions officers do not see the scholarship applications, but I’m pretty sure they do not. What I can tell you is that my daughter was in the same situation last year - nominated for Danforth but didn’t want to go through the effort of applying since the chance was so slim. She did not apply for the Danforth scholarship and she did receive a WashU acceptance. One person’s results :)</p>
<p>As I understand it, if you apply for a scholarship they know that you have applied (it’s why adreps will say they consider that part of the “interest shown” checkbox).</p>
<p>No idea if it works the other way (like in your case with the Danforth nom), but I’d assume it wouldn’t hurt your app if you don’t apply.</p>