<p>I applied for the Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship over the Winter Break. I kept in contact with the Scholarship Director (Ms. O'Neill Shows) via email and everything seemed to be going well...until I wasn't asked for an interview. I e-mailed Ms. O'Neill Shows with my concerns, and she assured me that the interview process was simply a preliminary event, and she provided some statistics:
-3,000 kids applied for the CV Scholarship
-300 receive the scholarship
-80 kids were interviewed</p>
<p>Somewhat relieved, I bit my tongue and anxiously waited. However, at the beginning of April, I learned that I did not receive any form of merit-based financial aid from Vandy. I pretty much was devestated, ****ed, ticked off, and upset (as most high-schoolers are when they do not receive what they want).</p>
<p>I'm just curious...do you think I have a legitimate argument to plead to Ms. Shows for any spare change, or do you think I am just another whiny adolescent who should simply appreciate my acceptance?</p>
<p>I don't mean to be touting my resume but I am simply searching for further insight---Here it is:</p>
<p>SATs: 1560/1600; 2270/2400
GPA: 4.522-Weighted; 3.956-Unweighted
Rank: 11/660
ECs: Wide Range of activities (anything from trumpet to running to church to community service to NHS/Beta)
Leadership: President of Latin Club; Presdient and Co-founder of Red, White, and Blue Club; Youth President on Church Council
Essays and Teacher Recs: They may not have shot me through the roof but I don't think they hurt me</p>
<p>Once again, I hope I don't come across as arrogant but I just want an honest evaluation of my credentials...I'm really confused why Vanderbilt would not consider me for a scholarship in the slightest regard. The only thing I received in the mail was a curt letter saying I did not meet the cut. Where did I go wrong? I may be really off the ball, but I just want to know what you all think I should do from here on out. Should I forget about it? Should I feel like I got shafted? Should I send Ms. Shows an e-mail? Should I offer to meet with her face-to-face on my next visit to Vandy?</p>
<p>Sounds like there were just many who were more qualified than you. Your rank is lower than the typical 1% who get this scholarship.
A lot of people are surprised when they get into college and discover they are not at the top anymore, but rather one of many.</p>
<p>You are certainly a top student, but you would be AMAZED to see the stats for other top students! They have published research, started foundations, run their own businesses, won science competitions, run charity events, etc. This is the Big Time. </p>
<p>Was Vandy good with need based aid? I am betting they were.</p>
<p>I think there is often a misconception about merit awards. The big merit awards, probably at all schools but especially at the privates, are not granted as ‘rewards’ for working hard and doing well during your high school years. A student doesn’t earn ‘the right’ to be given these types of scholarships by meeting some vaguely described minimum standards. </p>
<p>Instead, big merit awards are key components of a school’s enrollment management toolbox and are used to entice certain applicants to enroll after receiving an admission acceptance. A term often used in describing how merit scholarships are awarded is ‘preferential packaging.’ The school wants you enough to offer you an admission but not enough to offer you a major merit scholarship as an extra incentive to enroll. That can hurt the ego a little, I know. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, just because your stats seem to compare favorably to the minimal information that might be available about the stats of students who have received the merit award in the past, does not mean you were ever seriously considered for a scholarship. And, why not, I think you are asking? Who really knows? Maybe, as kelsmom has pointed out, your stats are good enough to be offered an admission to Vandy (which, congratulations, means you are a very good student), but those stats may not really put you in the tippy-top, stellar category of others in your applicant pool. Or, maybe Vandy needed a hula dancer this year and, instead, you are one of twenty-five trombone players who have been accepted, they only really need three trombone players to complete the orchestra and figure their chance of getting at least five to enroll are pretty high. Why or why not really doesn’t matter. It is Vandy’s money and they are not beholden to you when deciding how to parcel it out to their applicant pool, nor do they need to justify their decisions to you. </p>
<p>You asked if you should forget about it. IMO, yes. Forget about it. Your chances of getting any significant merit money now are slim to none, again IMO. I am reading between the lines a little, but it sounds like you still want to go to Vandy and can afford the package with or without the merit money. Go and excel. I don’t know anything in particular about Vanderbilt, but maybe they offer departmental scholarships to proven upper classmen. In any case, I wouldn’t burn bridges to someone called the scholarship director at a school I plan to attend, and pushing said chairman now about merit scholarship decisions could burn a bridge you need to cross in the future. If you can’t afford it and are truly willing to walk away from the acceptance without additional grants, you might contact the financial aid office (and not the scholarship director) to determine if your financial aid package could be adjusted in some way. Good luck.</p>