Merit and/or Honors Possible ??

<p>I am very hopeful that my child will be getting in. Is there any chance of Merit Money or Honors Program?</p>

<p>OOS
RD
30 ACT
3.7 UNW
4.0 W
8 APs
All Honors/Accelerated Class Schedule
SAT2 Both 680
Major EC with lots of leadership
Possibly a Business Major.</p>

<p>IMHO your child does have a shot at the Honors Program if she/he wrote a great Honors essay. The ACT score is a little low (average for students admitted to Honors Program was 33-for non-honors was 29). The high SAT subtests may help compensate for this coupled with the intense rigor of HS courses. I feel she/he would have little problem being accepted for regular admission and I have little doubt would receive some degree of merit aid no matter which program she/he was admitted into (amount is really difficult to predict-wild guess would be 7-12K). OOS Competition for acceptance to UD continues to escalate so it is becoming increasingly difficult to make predictions. Best of luck to your child.</p>

<p>I think Mwallenmd is right on. The only thing that I would add is that when the offer comes, you should look closely at how much AP credit your student will receive at UD versus other schools. We found that UD was much more liberal in accepting 3’s and 4’s than some of my daughter’s other options. As a result, she entered UD with 24 credits and will be able to complete a 4+1 (bachelors + masters) in 4 years if she continues to stay on track. With her merit scholarships covering nearly all her OOS tuition for 4 years, this ended up being her most lucrative offer, i.e., a bachelor’s plus a master’s degree for the cost of room, board, and expenses for 4 years. While I would not want this for my daughter, those 24 credits could mean she could complete the bachelor’s degree in three years, meaning a savings of the cost of 1 year. Another way to look at it is that many AP credits allows plenty of opportunity for double majors, multiple minors, etc… Anyway, my point is that one should consider transferable AP when comparing offers. Good luck.</p>

<p>Great point crobinpa. Actually I was delighted to find out when we visited UD that all of my child’s current APs would be accepted. Now I hope this years’s scores hold up! I agree, the APs, should be factored into the mix when making final decisions in comparing schools. Starting college with a year of credit under one’s belt is awesome. we are hoping for merit $ and making it into Honors is something that might make my child even more interested.</p>

<p>Doingthisagain, its my and my daughter’s opinion that the honors program is worth it. My daughter says the classes are smaller and seem to be overall better experiences. The honors dorm was also a great experience for her. Her big learning was that you could be a serious student and still be fun, cool, normal. For me the biggest benefit is that she is now established in peer group of friends that is committed, self-directed, and oriented toward achievement and learning. They also have a lot of fun. Anyhow, Since it looks like your student may be borderline, I would recommend that he/she write a short letter or email stressing interest in the program. It may not hurt to intimate that acceptance in honors could be a tie breaker in the choice of college. As far as merit scholarships go, my D got one from the university at large and one from her department. My advice is play every angle and don’t be afraid to ask for what you want, need, or feel your child deserves. I have found UD administration to be very accessible and reasonable…especially for a relatively large school. They are also very eager to enroll students with your child’s stats. BTW, what does RD mean in your child’s stats? I’m sure I will say “duh” when you tell me.</p>

<p>I certainly agree that being in the Honors Program has a number of advantages to it. However you need to be aware that there are many students who decide to attend UD who have the stats to be accepted into the Honors Program but for a variety of reasons decide not to apply for admission to it. The vast majority of students at UD are high achievers and remain highly motivated to learn. Actually you can apply for admission to the Honors Program even after you start at UD (details in UD’s Honors website). You can also take Honors courses after your first semester even if you are not in the Honors Program if you have a high enough GPA and open slots are available (they usually are for most courses). This can look very good on a student’s transcript (but they do usually require more work than just the regular courses) especially if the courses are specific to the student’s major (as opposed to general ed courses). Finally you can graduate from UD with Academic Honors (cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum laude) even if you are not formally in the Honors Program if your GPA is high enough (top 13%). Just thought I would share this information with you.</p>

<p>last year I was accepted to the Honors Program and business school with similar stats.
30 ACT
101.52 GPA
690 on Math I and Math II
Rank 3/600
Strong EC’s esp. leadership.
Strong essay.
I loved UD but chose to attend another school.
I received roughly 9500 per year in scholarship.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask.
I have several friends at UD and every single one of them is in love with the school.</p>

<p>Thanks RR: Your ranking and GPA are terrific! Out of curiousity, where did you decide to attend???</p>

<p>Thank you very much. The work I put into high school paid great dividends in the college process. I felt blessed to have such luck.
As for your question about where I chose to attend, I ended up enrolling in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.</p>

<p>Tell your child to take a look at Georgetown. There is certainly a chance that your child could be accepted here. It is a very challenging course load, but I am receiving a great education at the same time.</p>