<p>to share with me your thoughts about why the merit aid received was generous.
Do you think the scholarships/merit aid was awarded because high gpa, high scores, a killing portfolio, amazing EC or others? your feedback would be highly appreciated.
My D got into top programs but merit aid is low. So I'm trying to learn from the studenst/parents who received a good amount of merit aid. Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>“My D got into top programs but merit aid is low.” I am assuming your DD got some aid to attend a top architecture school, but not enough to meet your needs. Is this true?</p>
<p>raising2, the merit aid is low comparing to others. The names I mentioned in my posts have 15k, 25k, etc., in merit aid. I think that is a generous amount.</p>
<p>Well, I do believe that there are minimum sat score and gpa requirements at a number of schools, but i do know that there are many people who got more money that i did. i believe that it is the complete package. as i finish the process of college admissions, i realize how varying schools choices are. There are a lot of decisions at my high school that do not make logical sense, but each school is looking for something different and looking for certain individuals and characters. Depending on the school, it varies. I think that Syracuse looks at gpa, class rank, and portfolio. I think that Wash U looks at portfolio and sat scores. RPI probably looks more at extracurriculars. These are only my opinions and i have not been told these by anyone who works at the schools. if you have any more questions, just as. :)</p>
<p>hawkswim09 thanks for the feedback. You have a really high gpa and your test scores are high too. Congratulations on your acceptances with such a nice merit aid. I’m sure you worked really hard during HS. Your stats give me a better idea. My d was a lower gpa than you and got lower merit aid too. I think my D portfolio, EC, community service, leadership, etc are very good so the only variable left is the gpa and test scores. I’m guessing there is correlation about grades/scores and amount of financial aid at top arch programs. Again thanks for your comments. have you decided what college are you going?</p>
<p>The Founders scholarship at Syracuse that my son received is 12k. According to their website: “Syracuse University awards academic scholarships to eligible students based on the student’s admission application. Selection is done by the Admissions Committee and eligibility is based upon a student’s academic credentials, performance on standardized tests, class rank, portfolio or audition results (if relevant), community and extracurricular involvement, and overall citizenship and character.”</p>
<p>My son did not have much community or extracurricular involvement. Grants are usually not based on merit but on financial need. His GPA is 4.93 out of 5.00 and his ACT is 31.</p>
<p>The financial aid package at Syracuse was very good. His choice is between Syracuse and USC (still waiting to hear on their financial aid package).</p>
<p>msheft, thanks! your son has a high gpa. On my mini survey, your son and hawkswim have high scores and got generous merit aid.
Which program your son likes more Syracuse or USC?</p>
<p>My son really wants to go to USC but it will come down to their financial aid package. His second choice was Penn State but he received no merit aid and only $5,500 in loans, no grants. Syracuse was his 3rd choice.</p>
<p>My son received no merit aid from USC. USC came up with a higher EFC than Syracuse. Right now I am trying to figure out if we can swing the extra $$ for USC.</p>
<p>First let me start off by saying that most of the schools I’ve heard from so far have given very little to me in the way of “need-based aid” (which makes me glad that I worked so hard all those years of HS). My stats are what helped me out the most considering that I hadn’t had any art training and assembled my portfolio with work solely from Senior year of high school. I had a 3.98/4.00 (unweighted) and somewhere over a 4.8 weighted (not quite sure of this figure). I didn’t take the ACT, but got a 2180 on my SAT (780 CR, 710 Math, 690 WR) and 760 on Math II. I did have a good amount of ECs (president of this, captain of that). The aid that I received from RPI was mostly merit based ($22,000 in scholarships and grants out of a total of $34,500). The same seems to be true with other schools (although Cornell is ONLY need-based). Anyway, I would have to say that the money is probably based on GPA because other than that, I’m just a middle-class, white male… not too much interesting here.</p>