I’ll try to keep my situational sob story short: my parents make a lot of money, but have absolutely no interest in helping me pay for college, which puts a major strain on my ambitions of attending a competitive and expensive college like Kenyon. This circumstance has made me really strive to make myself as competitive an applicant as possible in the hopes that I might receive some merit aid from Kenyon should I be accepted. I love English and writing (which is what originally drew me to Kenyon College) and plan on studying it after high school. Below is my resume in a nutshell; please use it to give me a realistic idea of whether or not I have any shot of receiving merit aid from Kenyon when I apply during my upcoming senior year of high school:
STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES/GPA
-GPA: 4.00 unweighted; 4.59 weighted (as of the end of my junior year)
-ACT Composite: 35 (English=36, Math=32, Reading=36, Science=36, Writing=9)
-SAT Subject Tests: 770 in literature; 720 in Physics (plan to retake Literature as well as try Spanish and Biology in the future)
-PSAT: 216 (I live in Kansas, and this score has never not been high enough to make National Merit Semifinalist status {knock on wood})
-AP’s: AP European History=3; took 5 my junior year and am waiting on my scores; taking 7 my senior year
EXTRACURRICULARS
-Cross Country: 9, 10, 11, 12?
-Swimming: 9
-Track: 9, 10, 11, 12 {varsity}
-Debate: 10, 11, 12 {varsity}
-Book Club: 11, 12
-Student Council: 11, 12
-Tiger Mentor (council a group of underclassmen on high school life for about 1 hour per week): 11, 12
-Science Outreach (go to grade schools and do science experiments to get kids interested in science): 11, 12
LEADERSHIP
-elected Junior Class Secretary
-elected Executive Student Body Secretary
-elected Secretary of my high school’s chapter of the National Honor Society
-regional leadership conference attendee
-Herff Jones leadership seminar attendee
-chosen to represent my high school by serving on the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Board, a committee that meets every semester to discuss how the school district can best adapt to meet the needs of its students
COMMUNITY SERVICE
-volunteer weekly during the fall and winter as a youth group leader at my church (10, 11, 12?)
-involved in Gift of Life Rally (an organ donation education group; 11, 12)
-a myriad of other things through my involvement in student council
HONOR SOCIETIES/AWARDS
-Principal’s Honor Hole every semester
-National Honor Society
-National Spanish Honor Society
-National Science Honor Society
-National History Honor Society
-Mu Alpha Theta (Math Honor Society)
-National Forensics League (Debate Honor Society)
-Ayn Rand Anthem Essay Contest Semifinalist
-NCTE Award for Superior Writing Performance
-1st Place Winner of the District Poetry Contest
-Published Author of Poetry (in a national anthology of high schoolers’ work; less than 2% of entries were accepted for publication)
***Additionally,I saw online that Kenyon offers a variety of different merit scholarships. Is it possible for a student (albeit an incredibly talented one) to receive more than one of these merit scholarships? Thanks in advance for your response!