<p>I am a senior high school and will apply for admission to freshmen in fall 2011.
I have questions about merit-based scholarships. Is it for national merit finalist only? Or anyone should try to apply for it? The deadline is 11/1. I wonder I should just finish my app by that date.</p>
<p>If you have an interest in the JES scholarship and think you even have a chance of qualifying, you should get your app in by 11/1. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt to be a national merit finalist, but do not think that is a requirement. You should give it a shot!</p>
<p>do you know how many students can get the scholarship and their statistics last year? I am not sure if I am able to finish my app by 11/1.</p>
<p>I was wondering about the merit-based scholarships as well. I know the deadline for the application is 11/1, but is that also the deadline for teacher and counselor recommendations? I e-mailed the admissions office about this and haven’t heard back. It’s hard for me to call during business hours since I’m at school from 7:00am to 7:00pm. If anyone has the answer to my questions, I’d be most grateful!</p>
<p>get2200, I don’t think this information is publicly available. You can get an idea of who might qualify for this scholarship by looking at past CC postings and some of the statistics posted by students who were invited out to CA for the JES Scholars Weekend. My daughter received this scholarship last year (I do not post my children’s statistics). I’ll just share that when we looked at statistics of other posters, we thought she might have a chance - but did not think it was a certainty by any means. I understand that it’s sometimes difficult to complete applications by 11/1 - but it also gives you a leg-up on the rest of your applications - really helps get you on track if you have that main essay done. Also, just want to add that students’ statistics, essays, etc. may get them invited to the JES scholarship weekend, but there is also an interview component. So, I believe Scripps really does try to look at the ‘whole’ student when awarding these scholarships.</p>
<p>kdkoregon, please verify with the Scripps admission office - or perhaps Eternal Icycle can chime in here - she is a current Scripps student who is very familiar with this process. My sense is that - if you get your part of the application in by 11/1 - main application, graded writing sample, application fee, etc. - and then do your utmost to get your school stuff (counselor rec, teacher recs, transcript, and school profile) in ASAP, you should be okay. Have you already requested teacher recs? At my children’s school, the students submit their apps, and then the counselor tries to get the school stuff to the college within two weeks (usually gets mailed out earlier). Anyway, this scholarship is definitely worth trying for - hopefully, you will be able to connect with Admissions soon and verify what I have said - try e-mailing your regional admissions rep.</p>
<p>My daughter got this email the other day:</p>
<p>Greetings from Scripps College! This is a friendly reminder that the deadline for Early Decision I and merit-based scholarship consideration is rapidly approaching on November 1, 2010. Keep in mind that you must apply by November 1 if you want to be considered for any merit-based scholarships. November 1 is the postmark/online submission deadline for ED I and scholarship consideration. Make sure that your Common Application and Scripps College supplement are submitted by that date; the remaining credentials (including your transcript, standardized scores, recommendations, and graded paper) may arrive in the days following the deadline.</p>
<p>We look forward to receiving your application and wish you a wonderful senior year.</p>
<hr>
<p>Hard to know what they mean “by the days following”, but I do know that the deadline generally applies to the parts that you have control.</p>
<p>kdkoregon- try to get your counselors and teachers to send recs in as close to Nov. 1 as possible, if not before. Some teachers and counselors are way over-extended with recs, but just keep nudging them. 
If you haven’t already requested recs, do it asap. Like, tomorrow.</p>
<p>get2200- the amount of merit-based scholarships awarded varies by year but is roughly 40-ish, I believe. They don’t release statistics for merit scholars, but it is very heavily-based on grades/scores/stats in the initial round. The JES scholar weekend I went on, everyone I talked to had very impressive records as straight A students and high scores (not that we’re the kind of people going around bragging about our grades-- it came up in Never Have I Ever :P). The general Scripps population has an average (weighted) GPA of 4.0, and merit scholars are likely all going to be much higher than that (Scripps weights it’s own GPAs, so don’t worry if your HS doesn’t).</p>
<p>Yes, I second what Eternal Icicle is saying about asking for all of your recs right now. That may not have been clear in my earlier posting - last year my daughter had requested her teacher recs in spring of junior year and the counselor wrote the school/counselor rec over the summer (ideal situation) - so that after my daughter completed her apps, the counseling office simply ordered a transcript and then mailed everything (because it was already complete) to the colleges. So . . . as EI has recommended, if you haven’t requested your recs, that needs to happen today! Best of luck!</p>
<p>Ok, I was just on the line with Scripps and the “deadline” they give for the other documentation was Nov 15th. So getting it in as close to Nov 1st as possible is the best avenue. But I dont plan to wait until the 15th for this stuff, will get in as much as possible as soon as possible. Who knows the person I talked to may be wrong
Caveat Applicant</p>
<p>Are the JES Scholars generally exceptionally strong writers? I feel that that is the weakest part of my application - my English courses the past few years have been very easy and I have not produced any strong essays (nor any that exceed two pages). My application essay is also not very strong. Do I have a chance? (my scores, classes, GPA are good)</p>
<p>maybe23-</p>
<p>All the JES scholars I know are strong writers, but I don’t know how much the quality of writing impacts your candidacy for JES. If you have good stats and your writing is “strong enough,” you may have a chance. </p>
<p>As a JES scholar myself, my Writing and Essay score on the SAT was low (lower than mid-50% range according to Collegeboard [640-730]) which for me was quite aberrant, but I wasn’t bothered enough to retake it. I thought my college essay itself was strong, and I don’t even remember what exactly I turned in for my Graded Writing Assignment (I just wanted to find something that was long enough, graded, and that I at least liked ok).</p>
<p>Hope that perspective helps. The merit scholarships are so competitive, and it’s very possible that even good scores, classes and GPA are not “good enough.” Best of luck with your app and the process. Hopefully, getting everything ready in time isn’t putting a damper on your Halloween weekend!</p>
<p>does anyone know if the deadline is the same as ED (as in November 1st, midnight) or is it oct 31st, midnight?</p>
<p>It’s the same deadline as ED</p>
<p>If the deadline for other materials is November 15th, does that mean I will need to rush my SAT/ACT scores for scholarship consideration?</p>
<p>If you haven’t already sent them, then yes, I’d think so. You could always call admissions tomorrow morning to double check.</p>
<p>Somewhere in the process of sending scores, you can see if the school has the scores either electronically or by snail mail. If it is electronic, then rushing scores actually takes more time (yet they still give you the option and charge you for it. go figure!)</p>
<p>I think if you did it today, they would arrive in time.</p>