<p>I remember reading about how OOS students with SAT scores (CR+M) of 1450+ automatically receive full scholarships, and I was wondering if it still is available with the recent budget cuts?</p>
<p>If not, would I still be able to acquire a substantial scholarship with my stats? I'm going in for Computer Engineering.</p>
<p>NY Resident
African American
Top 15% of my class, hopefully enter top 10% with first marking quarter of Senior year
3.68UW/3.92W GPA
SAT 1330/1950 (I'm working hard for the extra 120 points and I hope it won't be in vain for Pitt, retaking SAT in October)
Lots of normal EC's
District Band (auditioned)
National Achievement Commended
40 or so Unofficial Volunteer Hours</p>
<p>What budget cuts? There is going to be a reduced disbursement of the endowment over the next two years but I don’t think it will affect scholarships. You should be in good shape. I don’t know if any scholarship is technically “automatic”, but I doubt they’ll be less of them.</p>
<p>I don’t think full tuition is automatically granted based upon just your SAT score. We were told there are three main considerations, the ACT/SAT, GPA, and class rank. As I recall, they look for top 5% in your class in addition to the scores and grades.</p>
<p>Pitt strongly considers rigor of HS curriculum and class rank, as well as SATs. Even if you don’t get a full ride, you may get very substantial help. Certainly, the better scores the better shot. It certainly doesn’t hurt that you are both out-of-state and a minority. BTW, Pitt just released their budget today. The good news is they ended salary freezes and added $6 million to the budget for financial aid. The bad news is OOS tuition went up 3.0%, which isn’t that bad considering what is happening across the nation.</p>
<p>Sounds good. And I’ve taken the toughest course load that is possible at my schools which will amount to all honors courses and about 8-9 AP classes in which I’ve gotten 3+ on the AP exams on. I really hope my class rank doesn’t hurt me.</p>
<p>The full scholarships are NOT AUTOMATIC! There have been plenty of students who didn’t get the scholarships even though their score was better than the 1450 and their stats were better than those who got the scholarships.</p>
<p>Pitt is “known” for giving out merit scholarships so the numbers of students applying are increasing especially those with great stats. I am sure the full scholarships will be extremely competitive this year as it was last year.</p>
<p>I guess what I’m trying to say is – don’t be surprise if you don’t get one but if you do :)</p>
<p>The “full scholarship” you’re referring to is actually full tuition. It is not an automatic scholarship, but it is heavily based on stats and if you have 1450+ M+CR you are competitive. The time you file your application is important too, since if you apply late there will be fewer of those scholarships available since they are awarded on a rolling basis.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. I think what most worries me is my class rank, but there’s not much I can do about it. What truly frustrates me is that I would be in the top 5% if I did not slack freshmen year. No use ranting about it now. Guess I’ll know how it all turns out when I apply, but I hope to ask an admissions officer (though I know it’s all speculation) at my campus visit next Saturday.</p>
<p>mictedgin, best of luck to you at Pitt! We are also New Yorkers. Let me know if you have any questions. My daughter will be a senior at Pitt. She’s had a great experience there.</p>
<p>Kalookakoo, definitely apply to Pitt if it meets your needs, and keep your fingers crossed for scholarship money. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Let me ask you guys something. I would like to apply in October, but if I were to wait until November when first quarter ends my rank would most likely go higher (not into top 5% though) and my unweighted average would increase. I don’t know if waiting another month would work against me though.</p>
<p>It may not be worth waiting, Kalookakoo. Some schools use the rank at the end of junior year for rank and don’t adjust it every quarter. You might check with your school.</p>
<p>I would recommend not waiting, and apply in October as you planned. You can always send in your updated rank later. If you look through some of the past scholarship/acceptance threads on this site, there were stats posted from some of the minority scholarship recipients. You might have a good chance at that as well, as someone else mentioned earlier.</p>
<p>My son had a 1500+ SAT score and a 3.9+ unweighted GPA, but was “only” in the top 10%, not 5% when it came to class rank. His class rank was “lower” in part because he went to a particularly competitive high school, and in part because his high school chose to not weigh the grades for Honors and/or AP classes (in other words, if you took all regular classes and got only A’s you ended up with a higher rank than someone who took AP classes and had a mix of A’s and A-'s). Anyway, S was offered a full tuition scholarship and will be a Pitt freshman this fall. So I wouldn’t worry too much about your class rank if you think that your application is otherwise very strong.</p>
<p>Kalookakoo, if it’s your freshman grades that affect your class rank, that might not be such a negative because you demonstrate an upward trend through high school and have recently taken challenging classes (yes, Pitt puts a lot of weight on a rigorous transcript). Pitt’s application offers a lot of latitude in the essay choices and even allows for an addendum. You might consider submitting a more typical essay and also include an addendum explaining why your freshman grades were lower. Perhaps you can also have your counselor or a teacher address this in a recommendation.</p>