<p>they did not assess need at all, he applied for scholarship, went for scholarship weekend.</p>
<p>are you asking us to believe that the admissions dept shared this directly with you? who are you? a prospective student? a rejected student?</p>
<p>The link says nothing of the sort. Look at the picture.</p>
<p>Read the Johnson website. How long ago did you son get the schlorship?</p>
<p>Just for the record, rich white suburban girl here…nothing special besides high stats and good ECs and I’m a finalist…</p>
<p>“The only common denominator that runs through all those applicants is academic excellence,” Hartog said. “They come from all sorts of backgrounds. Many have financial need; many do not. Many are from quintessential middle-class households.”</p>
<p>Sounds like I hear an axe grinding.</p>
<p>Usually I prefer to just read these kinds of threads with silent amusement, but for those of you responding to orcaaa, don’t waste your time. The whale has already established itself as a bitter ■■■■■ who can barely speak English.
As far as the Johnsons go, I was an upperclassman when they first came. We were all worried at first that they would ruin the school, but so far most of them are nice and normal and fit in well. Many of them have made significant contributions to the school. Some of my good friends are Johnsons and they deserve every cent of that scholarship money.
I adore my alma mater and rarely say anything negative about it, but I do think that W&L, like most schools, may be trying a little too hard with this diversity thing. Sure, the Johnson and this Questbridge thing are part of W&L’s effort to attract more minorities. If ever the day comes when W&L starts admitting people with lower merits simply because of skin color, the admissions office will hear from me. But it seems like the Johnson winners really deserve their awards. Congratulations to the finalists.</p>
<p>listen to SeniorGeneral about orcaaa, he/she is just ■■■■■ and has been on other parts of the W&L forum just posting trash about the school.</p>
<p>I see both sides. But in my personal opinion, the system is one in which there’s so much pressure to democratize, democratize, democratize, we often lose sight of true academic merit (whether consciously or unconsciously). I attend a prestigious prep school, but the fact of the matter is that, while I am a very competitive candidate (internship with UBS, etc.), I simply cannot compete with URMs and many (not all) public school kids who “play the system” and stack up on EC’s, AP’s, and so forth. It’s disappointing, but I’m not going to slander W&L as a result of its role in this system that encourages democratization - which is good to a certain extent - rather, I’m going to criticize the greater, imperfect system of higher american education. Sure, we have the among best education in the world, but we miss out on so many qualified candidates as a result of our woodenheaded thinking. Just my opinion.</p>
<p>Last year my daughter received the Johnson Scholarship. She is white, upper middle class. We are not what I would consider rich, but we do not qualify for financial aid. She did not end up attending W&L. Although she really loved the school, she did not feel it was the best fit for her. Just chiming in to support the facts…this scholarship is not need based. I am sure they use it to attract the candidates they want, and I’m sure diversity plays a part in their decisions. That is not a bad thing. There is equal opportunity for all. In my daughter’s case, I think truly outstanding passion for community service was the key. Good luck to all of this year’s candidates! According to my daughter, the visit was very fun.</p>
<p>@vixtrader-I’m not sure what you mean by “true academic merit”. I’m sure you were a compelling candidate, but why do you assume that those who are finalists and scholarship winners possess less true academic merit than you? And as far as your “not being able to compete with” URMs and public school kids who “play the system” you yourself say you attend a prestigious prep school and have had the benefit of a UBS internship–I shouldn’t make assumptions, but I will guess that your family or friends or school have some personal connections that got you that internship. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But it’s hard to see that someone with prep school and prestigious internships going for them are at a significant disadvantage in anything. In fact, I’d say you have had some excellent preparation to be very successful in whatever you endeavor.</p>
<p>To everyone participating in this heated discussion:
I hate to see people preoccupied with manners such as these,
Whether you believe the system for selecting Johnson Scholars is skewed or not, there is no benefit for anyone in this discussion</p>
<p>To those who suggest that the finalist are solely chosen based on stats and URMs:</p>
<p>I believe that you should silence you objections, as they are clearly aimed to devalue the accomplishments of the current finalists. In my personal opinion that is in poor taste and you should refrain from insulting your fellow students </p>
<p>To those who argue that Washington and Lee accepts finalists solely based on academic merit:</p>
<p>I understand you feel the need to validate your candidacy , I do as well. But we have to acknowledge the selection process is not entirely unbiased and there are likely many applicants as qualified as us who did not receive the scholarship</p>
<p>In shorter terms: This discussion appears to becoming malevolent and may soon result in many hurt feelings. If possible, I urge us all to act maturely about our opposing opinions and refrain from making comments that in any way could be perceived as rude.</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>Danigirl162 obviously shows a lot of maturity in her posts and maybe that is one of the things that makes her so special to the people that pick Johnson Scholars. My daughter is a finalist as well, and I do take offense to many of the comments made by people who make generalizations without knowing a persons real situation. My daughter is white and we live in an affluent area. Because of some very sad events she has grown up without a lot of priviledges most of her friends have had. She has been forced to have a job and work over 25 hours a week on top of participating in many after school clubs and community service activities. She is also in the top 5% of her class, taking the hardest courses offered, with very good SAT scores as well as many other accomplishments. Should she not be able to go to a top school because of finances?? I will also tell you that QuestBridge is a fantastic program that has afforded my daughter experiences she would not have been able to have.</p>
<p>All the qualities mentioned above of your daughter were similar to mine… I worked 42 hours a week for 3 years in a row… </p>
<p>My SAT though wasn’t stellar. Only thing that killed me, may be, was that I was an international student. On top of that, I was asking for astronomical amount of aid. </p>
<p>"Should I (she) not be able to go to a top school because of finances? "… I am asking the same question to myself…</p>
<p>The answer to your question is 100% NO!! But, if you are a top candidate then it won’t matter about your financial situation because all the top schools give unbelievable aid now and your decision is totally need blind. So, you will hopefully get all that you have worked so hard for!!</p>
<p>Posting here for my sister who is also a Johnson finalist: white, upper middle-class, (will not qualify for need based FA, but merit money would be helpful.) She has excellent stats, leadership in and out of school, and impressive ECs. But above and beyond that, she has a passion/demonstrated talent in two performing arts and is already admitted to some conservatory style programs (some in the context of high academics/some not). She sent an arts supplement with her application and wrote a compelling essay. She will definitely bring something “special” with her to whatever campus she decides to attend.
Just my 2 cents, but diversity in applicants may not always be related to race or economic status.
She is looking forward to the finalist competition to see how good a fit she is with W & L.</p>
<p>My D and one of her classmates received word that they are Johnson finalists. Great news. Looking forward to her catching a plane to Roanoke in a few short weeks.</p>