<p>What are some characteristics of someone who receives the Johnson scholarship? I have good grades, decent test scores and I'm in the top 4% of my class. Im also very involved with student government, my schools cheerleading team, and my churches youth group. W&L is my number one and dream school and I was just wondering if I had any shot at a scholarship!</p>
<p>I think that community service and a sincere desire to give back is very important. My guess, and this is just a guess, is that there were several things that helped my daughter: a great alumni interview/recommendation (they really hit it off), rapport with her admissions counselor (e-mail him or her with sincere, not pestering, questions, and keep up pleasant, appropriate communication), great essays, appropriate GPA/scores, etc. and long-standing, sincere leadership in community service activities. Also, I am very involved in my sorority as an alum, and I think that probably helped show parental support for the W&L culture. Honestly, it really is a great fit for my daughter, and I think that came through loud and clear in her application and during the Johnson competition. She’s also from an underrepresented geographic location, so that probably helped, too.</p>
<p>It sounds to me like you have a fair shot at it. I won a Johnson Scholarship and will be enrolling in the class of 2016. Basically you need to have solid test scores, (2250+ is ideal, but not an absolute cut-off) show dedication to your extracurriculars, and do well in your interviews. Also, despite what others on this forum have said about it being based on race or income or sports, it is still completely possible to win if you’re white, your parents make a lot of money, and you suck at sports. (that’s me, and I’m not ashamed to say it 
)</p>
<p>Basically just write a great essay, be witty in your interview, and express a lot of interest.</p>
<p>If you are a Johnson scholar, what schools were you accepted to and had to turn down to go to W & L?</p>
<p>The Johnson formula is pretty simple. </p>
<p>They have 44 scholarships funded. </p>
<p>22 are for students based on pure merit. These are for students who can afford to go without financial aid for the most part. You simply have to be a very strong student (difficulty of curriculum, AP/IB, Standardized test scores, etc.) with other attributes and interests the school finds attractive (athletics, volunteerism, co-curricular work robotics or some specific personal specialty). These 22 are similar to the Robertsons at Duke, Jeffersons at UVA, Morehead-Cain at UNC, etc. </p>
<p>The other 22 are for students with major financial need. You still have to have a strong transcript and other interests. </p>
<p>They dont publish this but the transcript and score hurdle for those seeking pure merit scholarships is little higher than for those with significant need from what I understand.</p>
<p>The typical student asked up to the Johnson competition has SATs in the 2270 range. The typical enrolled Johnson has SATs in the 2220 to 2230 range.</p>
<p>The recipients of the Johnsons are probably a somewhat more diverse group than those who accept them and enroll. I have heard that the number of students offered a Johnson is about 2x the number who accept them.</p>
<p>See where you fit in the above and then decide if you want to go for it.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Xwords59–My son turned down offers of acceptance to Vandy, Wake Forest, Lehigh, Penn State-Schreyers Honors College, Pitt, Ursinus and Fordham. Had scholarship offers from all but Vandy and Wake.</p>
<p>D turned down Princeton, Columbia and UVA</p>
<p>Xwords–son turned down Bowdoin, Georgetown, Hamilton, Notre Dame, Lafayette.</p>
<p>For those who received Johnson’s and enrolled at Washington and Lee, the school acceptance lists were nice. </p>
<p>However, the real qestion is did the other schools offer as much money? From those listed, I don’t see many that offer merit scholarships. </p>
<p>So, if you needed money did you get it? </p>
<p>If you did not, which schools offered merit scholarships? Was the money W&L offered the decision point to enroll there?</p>
<p>Ivies do not give merit/academic scholarships. Everything is tied to financial need. We did not qualify for financial aid. That being said it was her decision and she chose W&L.</p>
<p>The interview trip pushed it over the top. She couldn’t be happier.</p>
<p>I was accepted to Pomona College, Wellesley, Georgetown, and Harvey Mudd, among some other schools. Other than the Mudd Scholarship at HMC (a merit scholarship) which gives you 10k/year, I wasn’t offered any sort of financial aid anywhere. I’m from Arizona so my final decision was between Pomona (arguably the best west coast school) and W&L, with my parents preferring Pomona because of its location. I ending up choosing W&L-to a certain extent for the money, but also because I was incredibly impressed by the Professors, excited by the prospect of studying abroad for a full year, and able to live in a quaint town (I live in a large metropolis).</p>