I was wondering how much of an emphasis is placed on academics when applying for these scholarships? I feel like I am an exceptional applicant for both of these scholarships (2000 hours of community service, extremely involved in social justice, worked on government campaign for community service), but my stats are not super impressive and put me in the middle of the pack.
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted: 4.4, will be higher once first semester senior grades are in (15 AP courses taken)
Class Rank: top 2% (one of top schools in country, top school in state)
SAT: 1510 (720 CR&W 790 M)
ACT: 32 C (36 M 34 E 32 R 32 S) <— the subscores are from separate sittings, but that’s my highest composite.
have you already applied? selections are very unpredictable. Recommendations and essays matter. Academics matter a lot but you have a fine academic record. Please be proud of yourself and focus on making very smart shrewd decisions in April. You have all it takes to soar in college.
@Faline2 I already applied. I did not actually read any of my recommendations, but from what my recommenders have told me, they were glowing. I poured my heart into the essays.
All you can do now is be pleased with yourself for putting yourself in the game of life. This will be required of you many many more times and has intrinsic value whether or not you get merit scholarships offered to 1% of admitted students. Play your long game! My son won a merit scholarship and I can tell you that everyone I met in his circle of friends at Vandy deserved one just as much as he did. These things are not predictable or definitive of your worth at all.
I’d just like to update this thread by saying that I was selected for the Chancellor’s Scholarship at Vanderbilt!